Nhu Nguyen finds her footing in public health

Nhu Nguyen always knew she loved helping people, and medicine always seemed like the logical career choice. However, it wasn’t until she met her best friend during her freshman year of college that public health became not only an educational option to pursue, but also a viable career choice.

“She was the one that told me you can care for people in different ways,” Nguyen said as she recalled her friend’s love for epidemiology. As the two matriculated through college, she remembered her friend explaining the importance of worker health and safety.

“I thought it sounded like a cool job and took a deep dive into the career,” Nguyen said. “Every step I’ve taken towards this journey has reaffirmed that I am where I need to be.”

As she prepares to graduate with a master’s concentration in environmental and occupational health and safety from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, she is grateful for the chance meeting that turned into a yearslong friendship that helped shape a large portion of her career.

Finding her niche
When considering graduate schools, Nguyen said medical school was still a default option and a career where she thought she could be happy. However, after her grandfather passed away, things changed.

“I realized I couldn’t use him as the whole reason I went into medicine,” she said. “That was a dream set by family, and my passion still needed to be found. Then, I started looking into the Industrial Hygiene Program [at UTHealth Houston].”

Now, Nguyen laughs when she explains to people what she studies and what she is already doing for a living. Currently working part time, she plans to transition into full-time work after graduation.

“It’s so funny because it’s not a common profession,” she said. “Industrial hygienists are essentially the scientists that break down the types of exposures workers are operating in.”

Industrial hygiene has provided Nguyen with plenty of work experience already. She completed a summer internship with a mining company and a personal sampling among workers in a bread factory.

Docside Clinic – Galveston
Yet, it was her experience with the Docside Clinic — under the leadership of Shannon Guillot-Wright, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the School of Public Health — where Nguyen takes the most pride.

The Docside Clinic brings medical professionals to docks in southeast Texas to provide primary health care, such as check-ups, vaccinations, and blood sugar and blood pressure testing.

Growing up, Nguyen’s uncles were fishermen and crabbers, and she knew that they were not the safest when it came to this activity. “I could only imagine what happened at the industrial level,” she said.

Due to the nomadic nature of dock work, many don’t have health insurance or access to health care, which can lead to alcohol and drug abuse to cope with aches and pains while working. So, when the clinic was looking for volunteers, Nguyen leaped at the opportunity to help in any way that she could.

Nguyen used her affiliation with the Galveston County Food Bank to provide food for workers during each visit. During her visits, she also noted many workers were Spanish-speaking or Vietnamese. Pulling from her Puerto Rican and Japanese heritage, Nguyen tailored her approach, even providing special meals for the Lunar New Year.

She told her mom about her Lunar New Year meal idea. Over the course of Nguyen’s two years of volunteering, both would spend hours the night before Lunar New Year cooking traditional Asian meals, including pork belly, which represents hopes for an abundant and prosperous life.

“Food is a love language of ours, and I am so happy that my mom and I were able to do that,” she said. “My mom doesn’t necessarily understand what I do, but she understands the love and care I have for others. That’s a memory we’ll always share.”

Family matters
Nguyen, alongside her family, leads a highly active lifestyle when not studying or working. She and her partner are the parents of two young daughters, one age 6 and the other 4 months old.

She enjoys rock climbing, ultimate frisbee, reading, spending time with her family, and cooking. Nguyen and her oldest daughter even have a special bond over their love for banana bread.

“My two favorite things are being an industrial hygienist and being a mother,” she said.

On May 13, when Nguyen walks across the graduation stage to accept her diploma, her daughters and partner will be there cheering her on as loudly as possible, bringing together the things she cherishes the most and making her day complete.