Courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit are the five Taekwondo tenets that Vincent Nguyen, Lone Star College-Online Executive Director Student Success, lives daily. Those beliefs led him to bring home the gold from the Asia-Pacific Masters Games recently held in Jeonbuk, South Korea.
“Taekwondo is instilled in my being, my way of thinking and how I build relationships with others,” said Nguyen. “The sport keeps me grounded and helps to dictate how I live my life, how I raise my family and how I conduct myself at work.”
Nguyen started Taekwondo at age 13 and has become a well-rounded practitioner experienced in Poomsae (forms) and Kyorugi (sparring). In the last 32 years, he has participated in local, regional, national and international competitions where he exhibited his mastery in speed and strength breaking and participated on demonstration teams. Nguyen’s skills have earned him numerous awards and medals.
“All of the competitions are truly memorable, but the ones that I hold dear are winning top podium at the 1994 U.S. Junior Nationals and bronze at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team Trials,” he said.
Growing up, Nguyen wanted to be a physical therapist, but his experiences at Tyler Junior College and the University of Texas at Tyler inspired him to pursue a career in higher education. Nguyen started at LSC-Montgomery in October 2014 as the First Year Experience Program Manager and later became the Online Student Support and Enrollment Management Director.
Now as the Executive Director of Student Success at LSC-Online, Nguyen has over 25 years of experience in higher education.
“I met so many great administrators, faculty and staff who were instrumental in helping me achieve my college education,” said Nguyen. “Those interactions motivated me to seek a career that will positively impact the next generation.”
As for the sport, Nguyen teaches classes at Bang Elite Sport Taekwondo in the evenings and coaches his daughter, Olyvia, who is a current Taekwondo national champion.
Lone Star College added LSC-Online as its eighth official college to help address the growing demand for virtual learning in 2022. Visit LoneStar.edu/LSC-Online/ to learn more about LSC’s newest campus.
Lone Star College enrolls over 80,000 students each semester providing high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., serves as Chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and has been named a 2022 Great Colleges to Work For® institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education and recognized by Fortune Magazine and Great Place To Work® as one of this year’s Best Workplaces in Texas™. LSC consists of eight colleges, seven centers, eight Workforce Centers of Excellence and Lone Star Corporate College. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.