Building Bridges: Nguyen La’s Journey from Vietnam to Carroll and Beyond

When 14-year-old Nguyen La stepped off the plane from Vietnam upon landing in the U.S., he wasn’t just entering a new country—he was crossing into a new life. The sidewalks, the slang, even the way people smiled and greeted each other, it all felt foreign to him. “I was just a kid trying to figure things out,” he recalls. “I had to relearn everything.”

That feeling of standing at the edge of the unknown could have been isolating. Instead, Nguyen began to build bridges—between cultures, between career paths, between who he was and who he wanted to become. One of the most important bridges on that transformative journey was Carroll Community College.

Tackling a Tough Transition

“Growing up in Vietnam was the only thing I knew,” Nguyen recalls. His only exposure to Western culture was through American media like MTV and Hollywood movies. Despite learning basic English skills in school back home, Nguyen faced a steep learning curve when he moved to the U.S.

“I remember the first two years here—8th through 10th grades—was the most horrific time,” Nguyen shares. “I would ask myself every day, ‘How am I ever going to communicate with other people in English?’”

He describes a daily mental translation loop: converting spoken English into Vietnamese in his head, forming a response in Vietnamese, then translating it back to English—all this before actually saying anything out loud in reply. Socially, he felt disconnected, missing many of the pop culture references and sports knowledge that many of his peers took for granted.

Then Nguyen enrolled at Carroll. There he found not only a place where he could figure out his future, but also a sense of community. A large contributor facilitating his acclimation to the U.S. was when he joined the Hill (now Pappalardo) Scholars honors program, a “cohort of others going through the same thing, trying to figure out what they want to do when they grow up.” The program created space where he could be vulnerable, ask questions, and grow with the support of his professors and peers.

“I think having that bond really helped,” he says. Nguyen remembers how the entire Carroll community embraced him. “They had been very welcoming,” he says, “within the cohort and even people outside the cohort as well.” He especially appreciated Carroll’s diverse student population, which included many nontraditional students pursuing their own career paths. “Seeing people at different stages of life come together at Carroll helped me understand that it’s never too late to learn or reinvent yourself.”

Finding His Way Forward

Like many first-generation college students, Nguyen faced a variety of systemic hurdles when he started Carroll. Without college-educated family or friends who could share their insight with him, he found it hard at first to navigate the many opportunities the College had to offer. There were familial pressures, too. “This may be stereotypical of Asian households,” he explains, “but I think my mom always had a much higher expectation for me to succeed.” This proved to be a major motivator for him when choosing his career path.

“I think it was in 10th or 11th grade,” Nguyen recalls. “That was the year you take the test to see what careers you may qualify for.” The two strongest options for him were the STEM field and music performance. Starting at age four, his parents had gotten him lessons on keyboard and piano. He later learned to play other instruments: the trumpet, trombone, baritone, and more. “When I moved to the U.S. from Vietnam, not being able to speak English well, I was able to express myself through music.” Music thus became a bridge between two worlds, a universal language that helped him feel a sense of belonging.

When it came time to choose a career path, Nguyen stood at a crossroads between passion and practicality: music or STEM. He ultimately chose the “safer bet” and followed the Science and Math track, seeing it as a more stable pursuit—but the decision wasn’t easy.

Fortunately, Carroll helped illuminate the way. Professors like Dr. Kristie Crumley, now Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, and staff like Barb Gregory, Director of Career Development (now retired), became trusted mentors, offering him advice on everything from work/life balance to job hunting. “They really saw the potential in me and wanted to give me the proper foundation to continue to grow,” Nguyen says. “I think everyone deserves that.”

Making an Impact on Ideas

Nguyen next transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering, followed by a Master’s degree in Systems Engineering from University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Today, he works as a Systems Engineer and Design Strategist at a leading research lab. But his career path goals have evolved beyond the technical.

He’s now exploring how to channel his passion for connecting people and ideas. “I get very energized about being able to match the right needs to the right end user,” he says. His work often involves bridging what’s known as the “valley of death” for innovation—i.e., helping good ideas cross the finish line into real-world application.

Meanwhile, Nguyen continues to enjoy his other longtime passion: music. During the pandemic, he bought himself a nice stereo system and plumbed into a variety of genres, from classical to K-pop, movie soundtracks to rap. He even treated himself to a new digital piano and plans to return to playing soon, connecting his past pastime to his present pleasures.

It was Nguyen’s time at Carroll that helped lay all these bridges so that, by learning how to bring out the best in himself, he can now bring out the best in others.