Senior Ethan Nguyen stands out as senior of the month with his hard work and dedication. Photo by Tara Choe.
By Jessica Nguyen, Staff Writer
Ethan Nguyen is a name that you’ll remember in several years as a successful millionaire. However, in the time being, he has already made a name for himself at Fountain Valley High School as December Senior of the Month.
As the former 2017-2018 Chief Financial Officer and current Chief Executive Officer of Virtual Enterprise (VE), Nguyen has a number of accomplishments, including winning silver for Financial Statements at the Pasadena Regional Tradeshow and placing eighth in the state for Business Plan.
“Through VE, I’ve met so many people and learned so much on how to be a leader. I see being a leader as more of a facilitator: not the number one player, but the guy who brings everyone together and pushes everyone up,” said Nguyen. “I try to help everyone around me before I help myself.”
Nguyen is also the treasurer of Future Business Leaders of America where he works to lead monthly presentations in finance, accounting and entrepreneurship. Just recently, he won 1st place in Sports and Entertainment Management at the Southern Section Conference, the first from Fountain Valley to win in 10 years.
In addition to his business life on campus, Nguyen is also one of the co-founders for his company Definity Marketing. In fact, over the summer, Nguyen started his own social media marketing agency with partners to advertise small businesses.
“I’ll call maybe a hundred businesses a day and from that, each no after no after no, you don’t want to do it anymore. It’s so painful, but from that I’ve discovered my drive and my perseverance,” said Nguyen.
Outside of the business realm, Nguyen is involved in several clubs including Teen Entrepreneur Academy, Stock Portfolio Management, Mental Illness Awareness and Support, Boys’ League and Key Club. During his time, Nguyen won first in an international business plan competition, managed a stock portfolio using Technical Analysis and raised money and food for the Pediatric Trauma Program and homeless centers.
I’ve learned a lot of skills from all my clubs: to work hard and not work for myself but work for others and my community,” said Nguyen. “I saw the impact that I could make: just spending a couple hours and you see the results.”
Aside from clubs, Nguyen is also involved in sports as a member of the boys varsity golf team and in choir as a member of the Baron Choir and Les Chanteurs.
“Growing up, I always had a lisp. I was always afraid of speaking in front of others because I was so self-conscious about my speaking, so I thought if I joined choir, I would gain more confidence in myself because you are standing there, and it is a chance to be vulnerable in front of hundreds of people,” said Nguyen, “Choir pushed me to do something that I was uncomfortable with.”
Although Nguyen has a busy schedule, he never lets his motivation to suceed waiver.
“Success isn’t just for me; it is for my family. But it also comes back to how I want to achieve things, and I want to be the best. If I’m not good at something, then I figure out a way to improve and keep pushing myself until I finally get there,” said Nguyen. “[My dad] came here as an immigrant, but my family depended on him to do well, so I have taken that from him and saw how hard he works; it pushes me to work harder everyday.”
Getting to where he is now has never been easy, however. Nguyen constantly strives to go out of his comfort zone to push and improve himself.
“Going through high school, I was shy and never really expected much, but I stepped outside my comfort zone. From that, I’ve discovered a lot of things about myself,” said Nguyen. “Now, I’ve been through all these things, and that enables me to push myself. I have the confidence to try new things without the fear of consequences.”
While he does have free time, Nguyen listens to podcasts including “We Study Billionaires” and “Gary Vaynerchuk.”
In the future, Nguyen’s ultimate goal is to be a millionaire before 30 and push himself to his fullest potential. Although that may be a long way from now, you can expect that Nguyen will continue to make his mark wherever he goes.
