Phuong Nguyen
Graduate, Ottawa Hills High School
“I hope to make the world a better place.”
Phuong Nguyen came to the United States from Vietnam with her family when she was 15. When she started high school at Ottawa Hills, she didn’t know anyone, she didn’t know what was expected of her, and she barely spoke English.
It made for a rough start. When she told her parents it was too difficult, they told her that in the U.S., even if you do not speak English, the schools will help you. So they told her to keep trying, and to seek help.
Fast forward four years, and Phoung is a proud Class of 2011 graduate. She has become a proficient English speaker, reader and writer, and she was accepted to study pharmacy at the University of Michigan. Phuong says her guidance counselor Mrs. June Anderson gave her the best encouragement and advice. “She told me to believe in the beauty I have, the goodness, and the wisdom that are uniquely mine,” Phuong says. “There is only one Phuong, and the world needs me just as I am.”
