At just 12 years old Duyen Nguyen and her family moved to the United States from Vietnam. As a middle school student, she knew no English, but she was a hard worker. Fast-forward three years…
During Duyen‘s sophomore year at Warren Central high school, she heard an announcement that sparked her interest. Duyen learned that the Academy of Cosmetology at Walker Career Center was accepting applications. Duyen applied and was admitted to the program.
Now Duyen is a senior and she has successfully completed the practical test and the written test to earn her cosmetologist license her from the State Board of Cosmetology! Having finished the cosmetology program, Duyen said that she plans to work part time to make money to go to college. Although she does not have a particular salon in mind to word, she said she will probably work at a nail salon owned by her uncle. Even though moving from Vietnam presented many challenges with a language barrier, Duyen was able to excel in cosmetology with the help of her dedicated instructors, Mrs. Hert and Mrs. Summeier. Duyen understood the majority of the material presented, and she was able to learn other information from a textbook that was written in Vietnamese. Besides learning a new language, Duyen said her biggest challenge was learning different haircuts and hair styles.
Now that Duyen is graduating, she plans to continue on with her education at the University of Indianapolis in pre-med. No doubt, with Duyen‘s work ethic and dedication, she will be successful at whatever she chooses to do! Duyen, Walker Career Center is proud of you and wishes you all the best!