Johnny Nguyen has experience with transferring – from Vietnam to America, from Àn to Johnny, from York Tech to Winthrop University.

Making the shift from one country, one name, one college to another hasn’t always been easy. But Johnny’s a glass-half-full kind of guy. And he’s excited about where he’s going next!

When we first reached out to you via email, we got a response from An Nguyen. Why do you go by Johnny?

My name in Vietnamese is Àn. But when you transfer it to English, it loses the accent mark. Then it becomes An, which is a problem because that’s my brother’s name. He’s 18, only a few years younger than me, and whenever we receive mail from different schools, we have to ask each other, “Which is yours? Which is mine?” It creates confusion on a daily basis. So that’s why I go by Johnny.

Makes sense! How long have you lived in America?

A little bit of history… My aunt escaped Vietnam during the time of the Communist political environment and concentration camps. She became a refugee and then moved to the United States to start building a career here. She let me and my family know a lot of great things about this country. And the most important thing is that this country is the land of opportunity. She brought my dad over, and then my dad brought my whole family over. So that’s why I’m here.

I came over when I was about 11 or 12. My parents worked hard to bring me here so that I could pursue an education – unlike them. Back then, they were farmers. They didn’t have the opportunity or money for education at all. I’m actually the first generation in my family to finish middle school, high school, and now college.

That’s not a story we hear every day. Would you say that their hard work and sacrifice is what drives you to be successful?

In Vietnamese culture, as the son of my parents, it is expected that I have gratitude and payback. My parents brought me here from Vietnam, and my only job here is study as much as possible. The way I can repay my parents is to be successful in studying and pursue a career that can help my family. That’s what really drives me to be successful.

And to do that, you will soon graduate with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Why that field of study?

Back when I first came to the United States, I could not speak the language. English was not for me, so I could not understand any subject. The only language that was understandable was math because it’s an international language.

When I went to college, I knew I wanted to do something with numbers, and that carried me forward to doing either finance or accounting. However, accounting is more fact-based while finance is more like a forecast – like predicting the future – which I’m not totally into. That’s why I chose accounting.

And yet you didn’t start your college journey at a four-year university.

No! I had a really wonderful teacher in high school, Coach Deyton, and he told me the most realistic thing ever. He said, “If you go to college, the end is what matters. It doesn’t matter if you start at a technical college or a four-year university as long as you end up doing what you want to do.”

So I listened to his advice and decided to go to York Tech first. There, I met so many different people, including my girlfriend, Libby. I also met Ms. Tressa Harris. She’s in the HR department now, but she used to be in Career Services, and she gave me a lot of information about pathways and helped me write my first resume and cover letter. One of my favorite memories about her is that, back when I was still figuring out what I was doing, I would schedule a Career Services appointment to get her advice literally three days a week. She saw me all the time, and she always had a beautiful smile that welcomed me in. She was a really wonderful person for me, and I am so appreciative of her.

Was there anyone else who was particularly helpful as you prepared to transfer to Winthrop?

Craig Gero, the transfer representative from Winthrop. I know a lot of people have a concern that the credits they get at a technical college will not transfer well to a four-year university. But the York Tech and Winthrop representatives helped design a pathway for me that guaranteed that 100% of the credits I took would transfer. If you talk with the right people at both colleges, you should not encounter anything unexpected.

Craig told me everything I needed to know. He had his own table at York Tech, and I always stopped by to say “Hi!” At first, I wasn’t intentionally seeking him out, but the more we talked, the more information I got from him. And that’s what helped me make good decisions for myself. I mean, research on the Internet is great. But you’re not going to get an experience that’s personalized to your needs. And sometimes random information can come up in a conversation – something you didn’t even know to ask – that ends up being a big help to you.

Were you prepared for Winthrop?

Mostly! The size of the campus is different from York Tech’s, so I had a little trouble navigating at first. And because I was taking more classes for my major, I mismanaged my homework time at first. But I picked it back up the next semester, so no problem there!

Also, I was kind of clueless back when I was at York Tech. I didn’t really know how to get involved. But by the time I got to Winthrop, I wanted to be involved in the great community with my peers. So I began to participate in more student organizations.

I know a little bit about taxes, so I’m involved with a program through the IRS where I help families and disabled people and veterans who don’t have financial literacy to get their taxes filed. I lot of people need help with that.

And this past year, I created an AAPI community. (That stands for Asian American and Pacific Islander.) It didn’t see where it existed yet at my school, and I thought we as a campus could benefit from it to increase cultural awareness and also help people like who I was back then – when I was clueless about college and career – know what to do. It’s open to everybody who is interested in coming. They could even be from a high school or York Tech.

You graduate in about a month. What’s next for you?

I want to pursue tax accounting. I did my internship last summer and got a full-time job offer for when I graduate. I’m happy about that – that I am secure. However, my dream path, if I’m looking far out into the future, is that I want to pursue an MBA and eventually move into a senior role at a company.

Sounds like Johnny continues to take his teacher’s advice: “The end is what matters!”