EMILY NGUYEN

Emily Nguyen of Valley Center High School 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.

Throughout high school, Emily involved herself with a variety of extracurriculars and activities. Her primary activity is cheerleading, but she prides herself on being an active member of her school’s Educated and Empowered Student Voices Club (EESV) and DECA chapter. As a member of the EESV Executive Board, she promotes the diversity, inclusion, and understanding of all demographics at Valley Center High School. Cheerleading in particular aided in the expansion of her social circle and the exposure to all corners of society. Since middle school, cheerleading has taught her valuable lessons in teamwork, conflict resolution, leadership, and perseverance. 

Emily seeks an undergraduate degree in psychology and hopes to focus on cultural psychology, cognitive psychology, or psychoanalysis during graduate school. Her love of the psychological sciences stems from the diversity of world personalities, those in her community, and a lifelong desire to help others. She hopes to study the divide between people of different cultures to aid clinical psychologists and psychiatrists in their treatment of patients. “Our cultural and familial traditions affect so much of how we think. Humans are amazingly complex and unpredictable––there’s so much to uncover. One psychological approach does not fit all, especially in cases where a language or customs barrier exists. It’s a huge part of why I am ”

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 that she gained from interacting with the students and was inspired by their desire to pursue a different path in life. She hopes to use this experience as a building block in her future psychological endeavors. 

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.