As graduation season fast approaches the La Sierra campus, I had a word with Ailinh Nguyen, the current standing editor-in-chief of the Honorgram to get insight into her experiences at La Sierra University, in the Honors Program, and as an individual. She looks back on her experience at La Sierra and finds a bittersweet parting to her challenging yet meaningful undergraduate years.
During her four years at La Sierra, Nguyen holistically involved herself in leadership, service, and research. She was president of the Chemistry Club and secretary for the Honors Council during her sophomore year. As the COVID-19 pandemic characterized her second year, she wanted to create a community in the online environment. Being a part of both groups helped her achieve her goal, and she looks back fondly at the online activities they hosted, such as guest speaker presentations for Chemistry Club and Among Us game nights for Honors. Nguyen also participated in Pre-Medical Society.
Besides her position as the Honors Council secretary, Nguyen took on the role of the Honorgram Editor-in-Chief her junior year. Her journey with the Honorgram started on her first day at La Sierra University in the UHNR 101 Beginning to Seek class. Dr. Howe, the professor for that class at the time, asked for three freshmen to write for the Freshman Corner throughout the school year. As an enthusiastic writer, Nguyen volunteered and found great enjoyment in the process of writing her winter quarter Freshman Corner article. She then became familiar with the previous editor-in-chief, Kay Kim, as Kim had been her research mentor. The idea of managing the Honorgram appealed to her especially because she had been the journalism editor-in-chief during her middle school years and had always enjoyed writing and editing.
After some conversation with Kim, Nguyen expressed her interest in managing the Honorgram to Dr. Howe, who was also the Honors Program director at the time. “He wrote it on a Post-it note and said ‘We’ll revisit this later.’ I never thought he would because, well, he wrote it on a Post-it note,” recounted Nguyen. Dr. Howe, however, did remember to reach out to her for an interview for the job in December of her sophomore year. From there, she shadowed Kim for two quarters before taking over the position. She believes that the Honorgram is important because it highlights the unique experiences of students in the Honors Program and shows them as a community that is more than just academic. To her, it is an outlet to showcase both creativity and what students learn in the Honors Program. Through the Honorgram, Nguyen believes that the Honors Program can inspire not only the Honors students but also the La Sierra campus and community at large.
Nguyen cherishes her experiences as the Honorgram editor-in-chief for allowing her to do what she loves. Her favorite parts of managing the Honorgram were the creative elements: brainstorming ideas for articles, creating questions and prompts, and redesigning the actual website page. She also found the work therapeutic at times, especially sending out emails, editing, and working on WordPress. Nguyen has sent over a thousand emails during her time at La Sierra, and the love for sending out emails is something that we got to bond over.
Working for the Honorgram also challenged her and taught her about herself. As the editor-in-chief, Nguyen had to familiarize herself with WordPress. While for the most part, she enjoyed the process of publishing through WordPress, as mentioned before, WordPress would often act unpredictably. She recalls that one time, random spam articles populated the Honorgram, which proved to be a confusing experience. As far as I can tell, Nguyen is a WordPress local. For the winter 2023 issue, WordPress would not preserve the front page format of the archived fall 2022 issue. I was absolutely star-struck by her amazing, juicy brain as I watched Nguyen work around the problem in real-time. Other challenges for Nguyen included managing deadlines and finding writers. While she always kept in mind that the writers were busy with their own lives, late submissions made it difficult for her to keep the schedule.
If she had more time with the Honorgram, Nguyen wishes she could have expanded the website. One of the things she would have liked to implement was a PDF version of the Honorgram to distribute in Honors classes. In effect, the articles could be collected in a binder over a year, serving as a physical archive to interact with in person and preserve the work in case WordPress ever crashed. An exciting idea that she also mentioned was a video feature for the website. This way, Honors students could add vlogs to the website and video interviews could be featured. Nguyen shared many other creative directions for the Honorgram that I hope, as her mentee, I can implement.
Nguyen extended her appreciation to the many foundational opportunities and people around her that have supported her undergraduate experience. Firstly, she wanted to thank the Honors community for being a supportive and inspiring environment. In the Honors program, she discovered her own resilience, expanded her worldview, and learned to ask questions and be curious while forming tight relationships within her cohort. She also expressed gratitude for Dr. Howe who mentored and supported her throughout her pre-med journey, believing in her at every turn. On a similar note, she wanted to thank Dr. Joseph who she met at a Pre-Med Society meeting her freshman year. Her introduction to Dr. Joseph quickly turned into a two-hour discussion and further, a research journey. Nguyen’s research in his lab allowed her to not only present for colloquiums and international symposiums but also have a head start on her Honors Scholarship Project.
Within the current Honors Program, Nguyen gave special thanks to the Honors Office. She was grateful for her new quiet, peaceful, home-sweet home office experience on Monday afternoons. She valued Professor Sutter and Esther Olmedo for making the office come alive and supporting her. Professor Sutter brought fresh ideas and fun, random yet meaningful conversations to Nguyen’s time in the office. Finally, she wanted to spotlight her parents as her biggest cheerleaders.
In her gratitude for the opportunities she has had, Nguyen spent countless hours volunteering for the communities around her. During COVID-19, she participated in church food drives. With her church, she also went on a mission trip to Blythe, served as the Youth Group Vice President of Religious Affairs, and sings and delivers sermons. Another part of her mission to give back is her commitment to medicine. Nguyen has had a long-standing interest in science and medicine. Shadowing and volunteering furthered this interest and specifically fostered her passion for patient care. “As someone who’s been a patient in many different settings – whether that be under the knife or just going in for a routine check-up, I want to make a difference for future patients, especially for those from underserved communities.” Classes such as BIOL 470 Human Diseases at La Sierra also cemented her intrigue in science and medicine.
Beyond her humanitarian efforts, Nguyen enjoys expressing herself through multiple outlets. Her hobbies include shopping, makeup, piano, working out, listening to music, and traveling. She draws inspiration from TikTok and has recently gotten into “clean, natural makeup brands” especially, such as Glossier and Rare Beauty. Self-care is something that Nguyen likes to do to unwind, and beyond skin care, she also likes going to the gym and participating in 10K walk/runs.
Looking back at the challenging pandemic, rigorous classes, eye-opening experiences, and holistic education, Nguyen characterizes her four years at La Sierra as a meaningful stepping stone in her life. To those following, she advised, “Never give up and believe in yourself. You have good days and bad days, and it’s okay to fail. Failures are opportunities to grow and learn.” She also encourages students to surround themselves with people who will love and support them during both their best and worst days. Finally, she believes that “hard work pays off.”
At the bittersweet nexus between her college years and professional school, Nguyen looks back with fondness but also looks forward with excitement. She will be attending Loma Linda University School of Medicine as a member of the MD Class of 2027 in August 2023 and particularly anticipates her white coat ceremony, which she “has dreamed of since my days in the womb. Just kidding, kinda.” Congratulations to Ailinh Nguyen and a huge thank you on behalf of the Honors office for all your hard work!
— Katie Jang (English Literature, Class of 2025)
Note from me: CONGRATULATIONS Ailinh!!!! Although I have only known you since the tail end of the last school year, I am genuinely so proud of you and all that you have accomplished in your time at La Sierra. From my first introduction to you, I’ve been in awe of your work ethic, commitment to service, and sincerity. Working with you has been the greatest pleasure I could ever imagine. In my uncertainties at the start of my experience with the Honorgram, you were such a reassuring and welcoming mentor that I quickly became excited to work for the Honorgram and developed a personal fondness for the job. I am so grateful that your influence and guidance have led me to approach the Honorgram with confidence and passion for the entire process of the quarterly publication. You are one of the sweetest, most hardworking, and fun souls I have ever met and I could not imagine a more perfect mentor. Thank you so much for your patience with me! I wish you the most amazing future, which I know you will achieve regardless.
Ailinh’s Mix
On her stage:
- Harry Styles
- Olivia Rodrigo
- Taylor Swift
- Sabrina Carpenter
On repeat:
“You’re On Your Own, Kid” by Taylor Swift
“From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this
…
And I saw something they can’t take away
‘Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
…
Take the moment and taste it
You’ve got no reason to be afraid
You’re on your own, kid”
*as a theatre kid at heart, she also loves broadway musicals shhhhh*