Family Setbacks Won't Stop Star Student Edward Nguyen From Being A Success
Edward Nguyen starts his day early at Ohlone Community College where he is a full-time student. Then, he heads to Palo Alto where he works full-time at a law firm to support himself. Full-time. It seems like a lot but this is actually a lighter workload than the one Edward used to carry.
We first met him when he was a senior at Mission San Jose High, two years ago. He was standout student -- very much a leader, but it was always his work at home that made him special.
Edward was only 6 when he witnessed his father choking his mother. Soon his father left them. Edward's mother had to pick up a second job to support him and his sister. Her work ethic and sacrifice deeply affected Edward.
"She doesn't ask for anything at all….there's really no way I can repay her," he said. Edward became the man of the house.
"It taught me how to become that man of the family so I could take care of my sister and take care of my mom as well."
Two years later, Edward has graduated and spent two years at Santa Clara University. Then, his mother's landlord, facing foreclosure, evicted his family. Edward's sense of duty kicked in.
"It's like a red flag going up. I must go home and make sure that I have to be there for my mom and my sister and make sure they're okay. That's my priority."
To do that, he had to go home from 3 out of 5 days a week, skipping classes. His grades dropped. Eventually he ended up in the emergency room,
"Suddenly I felt this pain. I had to call the emergency service an eventually a friend to take me to the hospital," said Edward.
The doctors initially thought it was appendicitis but in the end they never figured out what it was.
Edward's advisor, Dee Dee Romo-Nichols, said Students Rising Above advisors see it happen a lot to low-income kids who have grown up with a lot of responsibility. The problems they faced growing up don't end when they go to college.
"They love their families and they really want to be able to support them. They'll do anything to help take care of their families," said Romo-Nichols.
She said in Edward's case, "he finally hit the wall and he couldn't handle it anymore and so, he just had to step back."
Even though he had a scholarship for tuition, Edward still had to pay his dorm fees -- $13,000 a year at the private school. When they went up, it was financially too much for Edward who couldn't rely on parents for help.
"I am not like most college students. They don't have to worry about their finances. I have to come up with the expenses myself and be able to find a way to live."
For kids who are the first in the first in their families to go to college, having an advisor is crucial. Since they can't rely on their families for guidance, they need that outside help to navigate. This is where Students Rising Above is crucial. Edward's SRA advisor became his flashlight, helping him figure out how to move forward.
"She definitely began slowly to help me open up and just express how I was feeling," said Edward.
Romo helped him transfer to the community college.
"She helped me change my perspective about getting a college degree and finishing as fast as I can and she's opened me up to… exploring what I actually want from college and what I actually want as far as career in the future," he said.
What had been a crisis turned into a liberating experience for Edward. His load lightened, even when he took on the job at the law firm.
Dee Dee Romo is confident.
"He will be fine, he's going to be more than fine. He's going to accomplish greatness because that's the kind of person that he is."
Edward plans to transfer to a U.C. next year.
