EMILY NGUYEN

Emily Nguyen was selected as a finalist for the 2023 Lifelong Learning Scholarship. Her parents are Dai Nguyen and Hanh Dang and she has two younger brothers named Byron and Gordon.

At Valley Center High School, Emily involved herself with a variety of extracurriculars and activities. Her primary activity was cheerleading, but she prided herself on being an active member of her school’s DECA chapter and board member for the Educated and Empowered Student Voices Club (EESV).

Emily currently attends the University of Kansas and is pursuing an undergraduate degree in psychology with a minor in Spanish. Her love of the psychological sciences stems from the diversity of world personalities, those in her community, and a lifelong desire to help others. Her pursuit of psychology was strengthened by her time as an intern at McAdams Academy, an alternative school in Wichita. As a high school student, she valued the learning experience she gained from interacting with the students. She especially enjoyed interacting with them one-on-one and will never forget the sense of community she felt during her time there. 

She intends to further these passions by involving herself with the Legal Education Accelerated Degree program (LEAD) at KU as well as with the university’s Global Awareness Program (GAP). Her active participation as an executive board member with KU’s Asian American Student Union helps her connect with a diverse array of student organizations on campus as well as with communities outside it.

Thrilled by what the future has to offer, Emily is grateful for the opportunity the Timothy O’Shaughnessy Foundation provided her and eagerly anticipates the coming years. She hopes to follow in Timothy’s footsteps and create long-lasting bridges between her own worldview and those of others around her.