Senior Profile: Phuong “Lan” Nguyen, Wake Early College of Health and Sciences

Phuong “Lan” Nguyen was born and raised in Vietnam, living there for 10 years before moving to the United States in 2016.

From a surprisingly young age, she wanted to become a pharmacist. “I got sick a lot when I was younger,” Lan says. “Even when I was tired and everything, when I was at the doctor’s office, I was really interested in all the medicine. In Vietnam, usually, the doctor gives you medicine right at that appointment, so they have a cabinet of it kind of at your eye level. It made me really interested in medicine.”

Thanks to her teachers, counselors, and fellow students at Wake Early College of Health and Sciences, Lan is well on her way to her dream job.

After completing five years of study at Wake Early College of Health and Sciences, she will be graduating with the equivalent of six years of formal education:

A high school diploma,

A diploma in Pharmaceutical Technology, and

An Associate of Science for College Transfer degree.

Vietnam to Wake County

Lan’s grandmother on her father’s side lived in the United States, and Lan’s family arrived in the U.S. eight years ago. She was a strong middle school student with good grades and behavior, but her drive for accomplishment really kicked in when a counselor described WCPSS’ early college programs. Given her pharmacist dreams, “I figured Wake Early College of Health and Science would be the one that fit the most, so that’s why I went. And I’m the oldest [in my family], so the drive has always been there.”

At WECHS, Lan fell in with a supportive group of friends who were also “great overachievers,” and they encouraged each other to excel. That, combined with a supportive faculty, helped her overcome any intimidation from taking classes at Wake Tech with older students. Lan couldn’t single out any particular teacher or counselor who meant a lot to her, “because they’re all awesome. They’re very approachable. You don’t feel like you’re bothering them or intruding.”

“If Lan didn’t tell her classmates that she was an Early College student, they probably wouldn’t have known the difference,” says Shannon Natali, MPA, Wake Tech’s department head for pharmacy technology. “She’s a lot more mature than even some of the adults that are in the classroom with her.”

A Community Partnership

Wake Early College of Health and Sciences, or WECHS, immerses students in health and science fields. The school, a partnership between WCPSS, Wake Tech, and WakeMed Health and Hospitals, integrates health and sciences into the curriculum. School counselors and Wake Tech academic advisors help students determine a course of study that will support their college and career aspirations. Students also can pursue job shadowing and internship opportunities at WakeMed, which is located right next door to campus.

Getting involved, paying it forward

“It is impressive how quickly she learned the language, has been very successful in our accelerated program, and is now pursuing even more certifications to pursue her dreams,” says Lan’s principal, Lisa Cummings. “She has used her immigration experience to help other families coming to the United States.” Her other activities include the American Red Cross Club, where she assisted with international mapping and children’s emergency preparedness programs, and the World Cultures Club.

Nicole Hill, WECHS’s career development coordinator, predicts that in ten years, Lan will be “working in a pharmacy, probably serving as a role model and mentor who are in the pharmacy tech program. And I would estimate that she’d probably be working with the Wake Tech program…paying it forward to the students.”

That’s one possibility in Lan’s mind, but there are others. “I don’t know whether I will be in research yet or not, or just going to be in a hospital or retail setting,” Lan says. “But I would say I will be a pharmacist.

“I will be helping everyone.”