Paving the Road to Success

By Josephine Liang

How do you define success? “Three things, doing well, doing good, and feeling good about what you do” said Khanh-Ni Thi Nguyen, alumni of AASuccess.

AASucess is a non-profit organization that aims to empower individuals of all age, race, and ethnicity, to achieve academic, social, personal, professional fulfillment, through engagement with committed skilled professionals and students. Dave Nguyen, the co-founder of AASuccess, wanted to start a civic service to help younger students overcome cultural barriers and exceed in life. He lived in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and moved to United States when he was a teenager. At 2006, he reached a turning point in his life and wanted to share his experience to help others realizing the American Dream.

“I would definitely say, hands down, the most unique aspect of AAsuccess is our Life Skills Academy,” said Khanh-Ni Nguyen. Life Skills Academy (LSA) is a curriculum that introduce students to the intergenerational support community of different professionals, also known as LSA coaches, in order to develop skills that are essential to excel in today’s world: critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, and writing skills. “I think this program is so beautiful because a lot of students learn at school, you know, math, science, English writing, but what they don’t really learn much about is public speaking, how to write emails, interpersonal skills, and getting into business environment,” said Khanh-Ni Nguyen, “what I think is so amazing about LSA is that, as the students becomes older individuals who maintained all the information given to them, eventually we hope that they will return to AASuccess and give back to the community that gave them the resources that make them the great individuals that they are. It’s a cycle.”

Besides focusing on the academic and life skill, AASuccess is also committed to providing chances for their students to practice what they learn, and recognize high school students for their academic achievements and community service with programs like YouthCon Scholarship. “I really feel passionate to make this as best as possible and help other students to think about leadership or community services. We try to empower the students to challenge them and think outside the box,” said Khanh-Ni Nguyen, who serves as this year’s Scholarship Coordinator. She explained that the scholarship program helped her not only in improving her writing skills, but also to become comfortable in presenting her ideas to strangers, which is a skill that she did not get to exercise much at school.

“We also focus on health, mind and body,” commented Dave Nguyen. AASuccess is committed to provide a wide range of support to their students, from business to music, from interior design to health. One prime example would be LSA coach Bao Nguyen, an alumnus of AASuccess, who is founding his own company that that help people realize a healthy lifestyle through exercise and proper nutrition. This allows students engage in a wide range of activities and grow gradually to well round individuals through tailored, one-on-one sessions with LSA coaches, or group discussions with fellow students, under careful guidance from seasoned professionals and self-motivation. “[The opportunities are] more like a window that get opened until you step up and do more yourself,” explained Dave Nguyen,  “You help yourself, you help people around you, and then once you get there, certainly more opportunities will open up.”

“You need to be passionate, because, in life I feel that not everyone gets everything handed to them,” said Khanh-Ni Nguyen to those who seek success, “so it is a great idea to be passionate and try and grab as many opportunities as you can. ” AASuccess is certainly an organization that provides you with the skills and opportunities to the road of success.

For more information, please refer to AASuccess’s website: http://www.aasuccess.org/