Born and raised in the garden paradise of Lahaina, Hawaii, Mike Nguyen is giving a year of service to the Precious Blood Volunteer Program. Jointly assigned to Cristo Rey Kansas City and the Bishop Sullivan Center, Nguyen believes that he is the person in the equation that will benefit. During this year, he will live in community at Jerusalem Farm.

“I want to volunteer to serve and learn from communities different than my own,” said Nguyen. “I hope to go to medical school and believe that it is very important to understand the people we serve. This experience is fundamental to compassionate service,” he said.

Nguyen graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2020 with degrees in neuroscience and Japanese and brings a special awareness of the challenges of distance learning. In his final semester, his university abruptly switched to online learning and many of his senior year concluding activities were cancelled or scaled back.

At Cristo Rey, Nguyen is coaching students working in Edmentum’s Exact Path, a personalized online learning program that drives student remediation and achievement. On in-person instructional days, Nguyen conferences with each student to discuss progress in the software’s English and math lessons. Additionally, he’s teaching an elective course in Neuroscience.

With his sight set on medical school, Nguyen observed, "This year I am excited to work as a teacher and mentor so I can prepare myself to be a better doctor, empowering patients to be informed advocates for their own health.”

For more information about the Precious Blood Volunteer Program, please contact Tim Deveney.

Wondering what Olioli E Ma ane’i means? "Glad to be here," of course!