TUCUMCARI’S NGUYEN’S MIRROR IMAGES OF EACHOTHER IN ACADEMIC SETTING

August 8, 2003

TUCUMCARI’S NGUYEN’S MIRROR IMAGES OF EACHOTHER IN ACADEMIC SETTING

They are four year’s apart in terms of age, but Tucumcari’s Rosalyn and Jimmy Nguyen are mirror images of eachother in terms of the academic successes at the University of New Mexico. The two graduated from UNM recently – Rosalyn with an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Jimmy from the UNM School of Medicine (SOM). Between the two of them, there were four ceremonies to attend including the University Honors Program and Anderson Schools of Management for Rosalyn, Jimmy’s SOM ceremony and UNM’s general ceremony for both.

At Tucumcari High School, they were both Student Body Presidents. Jimmy was the class valedictorian in 1995, while Rosalyn achieved the same feat in 1999. They both also earned Regents’ Scholarships at UNM.

Jimmy set an example for his younger sister, who has essentially followed in his footsteps.

“It may appear that there is competition since I have paralleled some of the successes that Jimmy has accomplished, but the only reason that happened was because I admired his achievements so much and wanted to be like him,” said Rosalyn. “I don’t see us as competitors at all and never have. You can see it even from our diverse career choices. We just take our own interests and run with them.”

While they are alike in many ways, their respective career interests were molded through their parents. Jimmy’s interests started at an early age when he used to spend time at his dad’s medical office.

“I really enjoyed medicine at an early age because my father Thanh served as my role model,” Jimmy said. “I used to hang out at his office and play around with instruments. I think that seeing my father’s patients’ gratitude and respect for his care of them really instilled many values in me concerning medical care. He used to bring me small syringes and I would administer “shots” of water to my sister’s stuffed animals. I remember one Christmas I received a Play Skool Doctor’s Kit. I used to carry it around wherever I went.”

Jimmy is currently an intern serving his first year of residency at the University of New Mexico Hospital. He eventually plans to study Neurology at the University of Arizona.

“I really like Neurology because there is so much physiology in the disease process. Nerves are basically bundles of wires and when some of them are cut or damaged, you can predict and see what’s wrong. There is also so much to learn and neuroscience is making leaps and bounds everyday. Our brains are really big black boxes that no one really understands yet and that makes it all more intriguing.”

Rosalyn has followed in her mom’s footsteps. Her mom, Jan, has a degree in business management.

“I always had an ‘intuitive interest’ in business,” said Rosalyn. “Forever talking with her about it (business) instigated my interest.”

Rosalyn has served as an intern at Smith Barney, a financial investments firm for three years where she has performed research on various stocks and investments, tracking the stock market, and watching stock trades getting executed.

Rosalyn is taking her finance degree a couple of steps further beginning in August when she will begin pursuing her MBA and also a Law degree and will earn both degrees in four years.
She’s been accepted into UNM’s dual-degree J.D., MBA program that entails a curriculum of law courses and business graduate courses taken simultaneously.

“I’m going to get my MBA in Public Policy and Planning because I think it will serve as a helpful connection between business and law, since ultimately I would like to practice corporate law.”
Jimmy and Rosalyn also have a strong interest in government and policy, which in a roundabout way, is how they ended up with their first names. Their parents, after immigrating to the United States, named the two after former President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalyn Carter when he was in the White House.

“We both have a strong interest in government and policy,” said Jimmy. “Rosalyn is very active in the ASUNM and related activities, and I have tried to maintain an active lifestyle in medical related projects including the New Mexico Society of Medical Students and as a representative from the UNM School of Medicine at the American Medical Association’s Medical Student Section National Conferences.”

“Because our parents have instilled in us the importance of serving society and humanity, I am driven to be involved no matter what community I’m in – either Tucumcari, UNM or in Albuquerque,” said Rosalyn. “In addition to my extracurricular activities at UNM, I try to volunteer in Albuquerque as much as I can. I was very honored to receive the Lena Clauve Outstanding Senior Award this spring at UNM. I think that it defines a role of one’s service to the campus community, the greater community of Albuquerque, and maintaining excellence in academics.”

Given their academic and community oriented backgrounds, Rosalyn and Jimmy will likely continue to mirror eachother by serving the community and being a positive influence once they complete their educations.

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