Meet My-Linh Nguyen | Community College Counselor Faculty

We had the good fortune of connecting with My-Linh Nguyen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi My-Linh, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Work life balance definitely changes over time as I went from building my career, to part-time stay-at-home-mom and then circling back to solidifying my career and long term goals. My 20s were spent in school, trying to figure out what I wanted to be “when I grew up”, and gaining work experience. I was unmarried and no kids at the time, so the balance was certainly lots of work, and play on an entry level budget. Once I got into baby making mode – I made a decision at the time to cut back on my work in order to stay at home with my children. I never stopped hustling however and was able to secure a fully remote/online job back in 2010 when “WFH” wasn’t even a known acronym yet! It was a wonderful balance that allowed me to enjoy time that I would have never had otherwise. I did that for 4 years before I circled back into career mode and the shift changed some more. As my children got older, I got more of my time back – time I was able to redirect towards my career (to be able to afford the life I want) and most importantly back to myself (to be happy about the life I have). I found ways to let my creative skills have their own outlets through my part time photography business, hand-lettering projects, and social media for my husband’s restaurant Ju-ichi.

I will say though, that throughout the past two decades of really balancing work life as an adult – one thing has remained pretty constant: how much I value time and how much I need things such as travels and fun experiences to keep me sane. I enjoy finding ways to do the most that I can do workwise in the least amount of time, because to me, time is money. By doing this, it allows me to assure that I have enough time set aside for my friends, family and self. I think I’m quite satisfied with the balance that I’ve created for myself now. I feel like for the most part all aspects of my life receive enough attention, and I’ve learned that there is absolutely nothing wrong with putting myself at the forefront of that attention as well. You know that phrase “work hard, play harder”…. it really does ring true. And by playing harder, it makes me want to work more efficiently so that I can play even harder than that.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have built my career around being a counselor in education. I’ve been a community college counselor locally across various campuses in our county for the past 17-ish years. After working at multiple campuses across the first decade of my career, I ultimately landed at Cuyamaca College and have planted roots there now, since 2015. At this very moment I’m on sabbatical and focusing on examining how our counseling services can transition back in a post-pandemic environment and best serve students both back on campus and online. I look forward to returning back to my position as Department Chair of Counseling this summer and using the knowledge from my research to improve our services.

I’d say getting to where I am today professionally was not a cake walk, but I didn’t know what to expect really when I was just a 21 year old, fresh out of SDSU with a psych degree that I had no idea what I was going to do with. I feel like my own personal experiences getting out of high school and maneuvering through community college and onto the university system – is what directed me into what I do now. The process of career exploration and one’s educational journey can be so overwhelming for most, that I’ve found great satisfaction in knowing that I can have a role in making that process a little easier for my students. I didn’t have that direction from my counselors when I was going to school, and I wish I had, because I feel like I honestly got just lucky that I landed in something that I enjoy and am good at.

I think what I’d most want people to know about my story… is that for one, it’s ok not to immediately know what you want to be “when you grow up” because its a journey and there are resources out there to help you. Also…. let’s remove the stigma that community college is just a “plan B”. 🙂

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ok. I’m an SD native and an informal foodie at heart. I love to travel, but it feels just as good to return home to good ol’ San Diego. We have so much to offer here! Weeklong trip? Here’s the itinerary:

Day 1: First things first… let’s go eat while waiting to check into a hotel somewhere close to downtown/Gaslamp. I love cute boutique hotels and I believe staying in that area is in itself a vibe. Its early, so brunch at Queenstown Public House please. Since we are in that area, spend the afternoon at Seaport Village, catch the sunset there, before circling back into Gaslamp for the evening. Dinner at Rustic Root…. then hop around some rooftops like Altitude for the views. Then if we got the late night munchies, head over to Brian’s 24.

Day 2: Brunch at Craft & Commerce. I would cover exploring areas nearby, like going to the Waterfront Park, USS Midway, the old ship, and Balboa Park. In the evening, we can head into Little Italy for dinner – Born & Raised – hands down for dinner. One of my faves. and then just walking around the area at night is nice. Let’s not leave Little Italy though without grabbing some yummy steamed character buns from Harumama. Depending on the day of the week, stay in Little Italy or head back to Gaslamp.

Day 3 – We slept in after partying last night.. so can we rooftop pool today to relax a bit? The Pool House looks like fun. Need something refreshing so we head to Sugar Factory for some over the top drinks and shakes. Afterwards, we head to Old Town to explore one of San Diego’s staple areas. We even swing by Presidio Park just to catch some views. This then reminds me that a visit to SD is not a visit to SD without some tacos… so we definitely grab some of that… Birria tacos have been all the rage – but when I have visitors, I feel like they gotta get the real deal Tacos el Gordo.

Day 4 – Weather is still looking great of course because its San Diego – so breakfast at Cafe 21 and then head to the beach… picking up some Donut Bar on our way to swinging by Crown Point and making our way to Pacific Beach. Crystal Pier is so pretty so let’s post up there first……. and walk down Garnet Ave to explore the fun shops and grab lunch at The Fishery. Afterwards we head to Belmont Park to digest. We got the City Pass so that we could get an unlimited ride bracelet for fun. Sun is setting so we clean up and eventually make our way to Liberty Station. Soooo much to eat in the Food Hall – mhmm Wicked Maine Lobster. Lots of brewery options nearby so I’m sure thats where my friends would be the rest of the evening.

Day 5 – Brunch at Morning Glory. Let’s pretend it’s Saturday so that we can wander the Little Italy Farmer’s Market after. Its my fave local market set up. After picking up snacks and things at the market vendors… we venture into East Village and do some mural hunting, because that’s what I do – I love mural hunting and there’s a bunch in East Village as part of the Ladies Who Paint events the past couple years. We can find some of my faves done by PANDR Design and Hannasmurals. For dinner, there has to be a Korean BBQ night – so we need to head to Convoy District because thats where Asian foodie central is. Going to Olleh AYCE KBBQ – they have a great selection of sides and then we can walk right over to Hui Lau Shan for some yummy mango sago dessert. After stuffing our faces, we can dance it off that night at Nova SD because Insomniac always comes through on bringing great artists in.

Day 6 – Its San Diego… we need more beach time! This time we venture straight to La Jolla. We cruise by La Jolla Shores, The Cove… and then spend the rest of our mid-day at Windansea. For dinner we head back to Convoy District because there’s too much good food there you can’t just do it in one meal. Ju-ichi will be open by then… so we must go there and get the best contemporary Japanese food…. I would then save room for some boba from Snoice. For some evening activities, if we are staying around the Convoy area – There is plenty to hop around like Hive, or a Karaoke Bar, Axe Thro Co is also super fun if we want to keep it low key, and definitely making sure we spend some time at 52 Remedies Speakeasy. Either way, afterward, we would probably be ready for another sweet tooth fix, so maybe swing by Somi Somi.

Day 7 – Is it really our last day already!? So sad. I’d kick off the morning with coffee from one of my favorite coffee shops, S3 Coffee Bar. We need to head to Coronado today and catch those last views of our beautiful city. We cross the bridge and loop back to Dunedin for lunch before heading to the airport.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I certainly have some people professionally that I have thanked in the past for contributing to my successes within my career. But I feel that my overall feeling of success in life is supported through my friends and family. I’m a counselor, so many of my colleagues who grew into good friends of mine, are also counselors.

I feel so blessed to have access to so many great counselor minds that I can vent to for free. 🙂 And then there’s my mom squad…. because raising a family really does take a village. No one tells you how hard it is to be a mom, and how much you’re just going to wing it most days. Sometimes, when you’re a complete hot mess, you just need someone to remind you that you’re doing your best, and that’s ok.

Website: www.juichi11sd.com

Instagram: Traveling Dress: @wanderlinh | Restaurant: @juichi11sd

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=r-H0xR52CjM2Trrkwvspew

Other: http://www.amazon.com/shop/my.lsd

Image Credits
Top Shelf Photo