Alumni Spotlight: Nancy Nguyen
(May 16, 2018) - It doesn’t take much to see how Clayton State alumna Nancy Nguyen ’13 has a passion for helping others become exposed to and understand the Vietnamese culture that has such a large impact on the community surrounding the university. Trailing only Gwinnett County, Clayton County has the second-largest Vietnamese population in Georgia.
Nguyen’s parents fled Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in the 1970s. They sought refuge in Malaysia and Philippines before being sponsored by the International Rescue Committee and arriving in Los Angeles, where Nancy was born, and eventually settling in the Atlanta area.
Nguyen grew up in Henry County, graduating from high school and setting her sights on Clayton State where she immediately began making an impact on the campus.
She served as vice president of the Clayton State chapter of the American Marketing Association and vice president of the Vietnamese Student Association helping students gain exposure to the culture, food, and language.
“We held an annual charity dinner with a full program that consisted of a talent show, cultural pageant, skits, etc. to promote and raise awareness of Vietnamese culture and raise money for a charitable organization,” Nguyen recalls.
Further, she took multiple study abroad trips while at Clayton State traveling to Costa Rica, Panama, China, Prague, and Budapest.
“I love to travel. What’s better than traveling for class credit? I would recommend every student take advantage of any study abroad opportunity,” she says.
Even as she became an actively engaged student leader, Nancy still maintained her academic studies graduating with a degree in Marketing, as well as an MBA.
Thinking back to her favorite professor, Dr. Gary May, she says he “not only challenged us in class but also taught us how to plan our career and provided us feedback and direction.”
Nguyen currently works at Microsoft as an Azure Data and AI Specialist. The software giant’s MBA Career Hire Program helped her score the position. She works with Fortune 500 companies’ C-Level executives discussing their data strategy and how they will leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the Internet of Things to increase innovation.
Nguyen says she is excited about working in a pioneering field.
“I love being in the forefront of technology and seeing incredible changes in the world,” she says.
Besides having a stimulating career, Nguyen is an adventurous spirit taking trips hiking an active volcano, exploring ice caves, and kickboxing.
Nguyen continues to expand the reach of Vietnamese and Asian culture in the local community, recently assisting the City of Morrow in coordinating and planning the first Lunar New Year Celebration to promote diversity and inclusion in Morrow and Clayton County.