Vivian Nguyen

she/her

Class of

2022

Hello! My name is Vivian, I'm currently a computer science major at UC Santa Cruz. My greatest enjoyments involve being creative and going on spontaneous adventures with my friends. Fun Fact: I ate so many apples a day that I developed an allergy and went to the doctors anyways

If you could give your high school self a piece of advice, what would it be?

If I could, I would tell my freshman self to pursue my interests rather than worry about the judgment of others. Although I did eventually overcome this mindset, I regret not having the confidence to push through earlier on.

Did you have any goals that pushed you throughout high school? How did you approach those? Are you still pursuing them now that you're out of high school? If not, why?

In high school, I started out with the same common goal as many: to get good grades. While I pushed through to achieve satisfactory scores, it made me miss out on the things that I wanted to do most. Achieving good grades isn't a bad goal to have, it's rewarding in the long run! But when I began to wear down from the pressures I had on myself, I created a new goal: to be someone I could be proud of. I didn't want to be hard on myself at all times, I wanted to find fun in the things I pursued and such is something I am still working towards! Studying and doing work is one thing, but feeling most satisfied with my overall capabilities is something even more rewarding for me.

What experience had the greatest impact on you at EVHS?

Truthfully, when distance learning kicked into effect, that was likely the most impactful event that occurred during my time at EVHS. Being pulled out of the school environment really made a difference because it gave me a chance to rediscover the person I wanted to be. I was able to find clarity in personal relationships as well and developed better connections that changed my academic life entirely.

Have you kept some relationships with the people you were with in high school?

Graduating high school meant not seeing the same people I used to interact with daily. I still hold the stronger of those relationships, but the less impactful of bonds have slowly vanished. For me, it's harder to hold on to relationships with people I don't plan to see or make priority to visit whenever I return home. But as a result, I have a stronger tie to those who made the most difference in my high school life and we still call and catch up whenever possible.

Do you still live in San Jose? Why or why not?

As I currently attend school in Santa Cruz, I also reside there. However, San Jose remains to be my home to return to.

What was your primary academic/extracurricular focus in high school?

My primary focus in high school was STEM. I really enjoyed my physics, health, and environmental science courses! I've always had an inclination towards the sciences although I do have a love/hate for calculus still.

Are you in college? If so, which college and what major? Are you working? If so, where? If you're not in either of these, what are you doing now?

I attend UC Santa Cruz, working towards a Computer Science B.S. degree. I'm not presently working but plan to!