365 - Dr. Stefan Bean - Orange County Superintendent of Schools

Stefan was born as Nam Le Thanh in Saigon in the early 70s of war-torn Vietnam. He was stricken by polio at the age of two, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Due to this debilitating disease, he was soon after abandoned by his parents. 

He was later discovered sitting on the streets and taken to an orphanage where he was further neglected with little to no medical care. On April 6, 1975, as Saigon burned in the background, his future was forever changed with Operation Babylift- a humanitarian war effort to rescue Vietnamese orphans and unite them to adoptive parents in America. 

Stefan has vague memories of that day; frantic staff grabbing orphans and their personal effects and loading them onto waiting planes. In the commotion, Stefan’s bags were loaded on the first plane and he was accidentally redirected onto the second plane. This mistake proved critical, because the first plane crashed 12 minutes after take-off killing 141 of the 149 orphans on board. This would be one of many examples where Stefan would see, “the finger prints of God on his life.”

Stefan escaped the war, but different obstacles awaited him in the US. At 4 years old, he was thrust into the foster care system and placed with the Beans who would eventually adopt him. Despite adoption officials’ warnings of Stefan’s health condition and recent trauma, the Beans adopted Stefan without hesitation. He would be one of 12 children; 2 biological and 10 international adoptees, in the Bean family. 

From day one his parents encouraged Stefan to be independent and refused to see him as any less than any of their other children. Those early years proved difficult as Stefan grappled with English, adapted to a new life, and adjusted to normalcy after seeing unspeakable things during the war. If that wasn’t enough, he underwent multiple surgeries including muscle transplants on his legs and stomach. He also had pulmonary issues and most of his teeth were abscessed which required extensive dental procedures. But with the unconditional love and support of his adoptive parents he not only survived but thrived. 

 In his early years, Stefan was enrolled in public school, but when he wasn’t getting the support he needed, his parents transferred him to private school where he began to excel. Despite his physical limitations, he availed himself to things he could do in sports and extracurricular activities. Instead of being frustrated that he couldn’t play basketball or baseball like others, he would umpire sandlot baseball games and join student council and develop his public speaking. He was a straight A student, elected as sixth-grade class president and his eloquent speaking skills earned him an opportunity to make a speech in Washington D.C. advocating for the disadvantaged. 

After high school graduation, he would receive a full scholarship from USC where he earned a BA in business administration.  

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Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve sat with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen

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