Meet Tuyen Nguyen | Community Leader & Volunteer

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

Hi Tuyen, what do you attribute your success to?
Growing up in a large immigrant family uprooted by war and conflict, my success is rooted in a community where I am part of something greater than myself. I am grounded in history, traditions, and responsibility while charting new paths. This requires being accountable to those around me and the needs of the community, making time, showing up, listening, and doing the work. These values etched in me through early family Sunday mornings newspaper deliveries in the 90s, watching siblings step up for each other in times of crisis, cooking regular meals for 10 people, creating new traditions for younger generations, and more.

I have also learned that risks and failures are part of the path to success. Change, transitions, progress, and growth requires risks. Personal risks of walking into the unknown, of trusting new partners, of entering into potential conflict, of failing, etc. As the second youngest of eight, I have watched my older siblings take risks over the years, failed, recovered, and succeeded. From my eldest sister immigrating by boat on her own at the young age of 16 to the Philippines to another sister defying my parents to be the first to marry interracially. My family has had to march to our own beat to survive and thrive. I am constantly grateful to my parents and older siblings whose lived experience has taught me so much and paved the way for me to step into more adventures and new challenges.

Because of these lessons over the years, I stepped into my own while always fulfilling my responsibility to family and community. It began with the decision to move away to UC Santa Barbara to school, becoming a student activist and community organizer, organizing van pools for 40 students for Hurricane Katrina relief from California to New Orleans, and finding my voice to run for student government. The once quiet introverted found her voice by showing up and stepping into the call of community and family while finding my own passions. I would do so supporting my sisters to grow their businesses and returning to UC Santa Barbara as a professional building coalitions and creating basic needs infrastructures to support student success and well being. Not only was I able to support others, my passion for the outdoors evolved from weekly hikes to backpacking 50 miles through Yosemite.

It is in this belief of community that I returned to community organizing and service. I was able to do so through the inaugural Southern California Asian Pacific Islander Festival. The shared values of honoring histories and traditions while exploring identities brought me to show up, listen, and do the work together with incredible leaders and cultural practitioners that have made Oceanside feels like home. I witnessed the deep care for each other while responding to the Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community’s needs for visibility. Joy and collectivism radiated throughout the festival with community partners taking responsibility and pride in their exhibits, performances, programs, and booths that created heartfelt connections. The success, profound experience, and community response for more following the festival reaffirm to me that when true collaboration and partnerships exist, success follows.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am eternally grateful to be a younger sibling of strong, resilient, talented, and risk taking sisters whose lived experiences have given me the confidence to be ok with not having a direct path to a career. They taught me that success looks different for everyone and that in failure there are opportunity for growth. This mindset have made me adaptable and a change maker. What continues to be at the center is service to others whether that has been through community organizing, working in higher education, developing new services, supporting organizations in transitions, or directing a cultural arts festival.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
San Diego County is an incredible place that I am now proud to call home. Dependent on my friends’ interests there are so many options. Here is a little glimpse.

For the outdoor lover and sustainability minded:

I would start with a drive along the PCH from Oceanside to Torrey Pines. We will start the day at Banana Dang, Oceanside’s iconic coffee shop then drive down the strand in Oceanside with the window down hearing the waves crashing. It is always my favorite part for a quick reminder of the beauty and power of the ocean and quite a unique experience of driving so close to the water. We can then park for a walk through downtown for breakfast in one the many cute local spots. Next stop will be Carlsbad for a walk along the beach to watch runners, volleyball players, and visitors enjoy the sun and beautiful beaches. We resume to drive through Leucadia observing the quaint small beach town vibes with shops and eateries ending in Encinitas at one of my favorite brewery, Modern Times to enjoy lunch with their delicious Vegan food menu. To soak up more of the sun, we would walk down D-street to the beach to walk down the stairs and overlook to watch surfers catching waves and families enjoying a day at the beach. To end a full day of adventuring, we would park along the water and walk up to Torrey Pines State Park to enjoy beautiful overlook of La Jolla and the diverse terrain of luscious trees, rocks, and sand. We then would walk down along the beach on our way back enjoying the sunset to return to our car. We can choose to eat along the lagoon in the same area or choose one of the many amazing other food places for dinner and drinks on the way back to Oceanside.

For the day drinker and explorer:

I would do a similar route as above but via train. This would start at the Oceanside Transit Center with brunch at LTH or one of the other many amazing food spot right downtown. Then, we would purchase a day Coaster pass so we can choose to hop on and off the train throughout the day. First we would ride all the way to Old Town to enjoy the park, the architecture, the food, and drinks then we would hop back on and dependent on time can hop off at Solano Beach, Encinitas, or Carlsbad prior to returning to Oceanside. The great part about the train is that we are able to enjoy the scenery, explore, and safely drink at our destinations.

For the foodie: Dependent on our craving for the day.

For Asian food, we can head to Convoy district for a day of coffee shops, lunch at one of the Asian food options from Laos, Thai, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, ect.., cute and unique desserts, boba, or tea of your choice, explore all the Asian grocery stores and shops, and then end with another delicious meal maybe with K-bbq, Karaoke, or at a Japanese Speakeasy.

For culture and food, we can head to Balboa Park to the Friendship Garden for tea and a walk around the park, go to Mingei Museum for handcrafts and delicious lunch at Artifact, explore the Park, and end at Panama 66 on a Wednesday for drinks, food, and Jazz jam sessions from local musicians.

For the adventurers and more exploring: Taking the train to San Ysidro and cross the border for the day walking around Tijuana for great food and drinks! There are lots more hiking in the region including Potato Rock and the 5 peaks to get us east.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to do a shoutout to Ilima Kam Martinez and Umeke for being the first fiscal sponsor and lead for the inaugural SoCal API Festival in 2023 modeling what true community looks like providing endless of volunteer time to ensure that everyone in the community felt welcomed and the festival was carefully curated to honor traditions, radiate joy, and care throughout. I also would like to send thanks to the current volunteer leadership team of the SoCal API Festival: Fran Bautista, Kimberly Harris, and Chih-Wu Chang for their dedication & time to ensure that the festival continues and the ANHPI community have space to feature their arts, traditions, talents, and much more!

Website: https://www.apifestival.com

Instagram: https://api.fest

Image Credits
Photographs are provided by the Southern California Asian and Pacific Islander Festival.