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Spring 2008
The Nguyens: Spartans deep in the heart of Texas
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Left to right: Vinh, Vu and Tuan Nguyen. |
The fall of Saigon in 1975 was an event that is seared in many Americans’ minds. One Vietnamese family that made it out – indeed, the day before Saigon fell – was the Nguyens.
The parents, Minh and Lan, and their three sons, Vinh, 4, Vu, 2, and 6-month-old Tuan, lived in refugee camps in the Phillipines and in Pennsylvania until they were adopted by a church in Grand Rapids.
Today, they exemplify the American dream. All three Nguyen sons – Vinh, Vu and Tuan – went on to graduate from Michigan State. All three became cardiologists, live near each other and their mother Lan and practice medicine in Austin, Texas.
After moving in with the Slager family in Grand Rapids, Minh, a lawyer in Vietnam, got an accounting degree from Grand Valley State University and worked at General Motors until he passed away in 2000. He encouraged his children to attend MSU rather than the University of Michigan because, in Vinh’s words, “He felt more comfortable with the culture at MSU.”
He also strongly encouraged his sons to study medicine.
“My parents gave us great guidance,” said Vinh, who works at South Austin Hospital. “My father felt that the best way for an immigrant to succeed is to get into a profession where it did not matter where you were from. He believed that in medicine, you could succeed as long as you gave good care.”
Vu and Tuan work at St. David’s Hospital.
“Our family is very closely knit,” said Vinh, who describes their Spartan tailgate Saturdays when the entire clan – including their wives (two also from MSU) and eight children – gathers at one of their homes to watch MSU football. “It’s quite funny. All the kids are running around dressed in green and white. We get together for basketball games too.”
The Nguyen brothers plan to endow a scholarship in their late father’s name to help future student-athletes at MSU who choose to study medicine.
Reprinted with permission from the MSU Alumni Association Magazine
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