Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May 1 - 31st, 2021
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month runs from May 1st to May 31st. In honor of this month, SWE would like to recognize Paulina Nguyen!
If you or someone you know have a story to tell and would like to be featured on the SWE Member Spotlight page, please send an email to kristinalynnmai [at] gmail.com! We look forward to hearing from you.
If you or someone you know have a story to tell and would like to be featured on the SWE Member Spotlight page, please send an email to kristinalynnmai [at] gmail.com! We look forward to hearing from you.
Paulina Nguyen
Paulina Nguyen is an R&D Engineer in Coronary & Renal Denervation at Medtronic in Santa Rosa, CA. She is currently working on a next-generation ablation catheter used in the Renal Denervation therapy for treating hypertension. She graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering in June of 2020 and began her career at Medtronic in July of last year. Her parents are both immigrants from Vietnam who came to America after the Vietnam war. She and her sister were born and raised in the Bay Area in what she considers a very diverse community.
1. What does Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month mean to you and your family?
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month is a time for Asian history and culture to be highlighted and celebrated. Growing up, I didn't have a very strong appreciation for my Vietnamese heritage and at times wanted to hide from it. As I've gotten older and experienced more, I've come to really embrace the Vietnam culture and am excited to share it with my close friends. While AAPI Heritage month is a great opportunity to highlight Asian cultures and history, I also enjoy including my friends and boyfriend in celebrating Vietnamese holidays and enjoying some of my family's home-cooked Vietnamese food outside of just the month of May.
2. What does Diversity & Inclusion mean to you?
Diversity & Inclusion means embracing our differences and sharing with each other what makes each of us unique. It's important to acknowledge that those around us may have a very different background and upbringing from ourselves and understand these differences in order to help bring us closer together. The more that we are open and wanting to learn about each other's differences, the more each of us will feel welcome and included.
3. What challenges have you faced in the workforce?
Fortunately, I haven't faced too many challenges since beginning my first full-time role last year. One thing that I have run into is learning how to communicate effectively with others in my company working in other geographies. Having lived in the U.S. all my life, it hasn't been often that I've interacted this frequently with others from fairly different cultures from my own. From this, I've learned that it is just as important for others to learn about my culture as it is for me to learn about theirs.
4. Share an "aha!" moment when you discovered a strength.
During my first year at Cal Poly, I was very involved with our Team Tech group within SWE. I joined the team with the simple goal of wanting to be involved in a project outside of my classes, but came to find that I would get so much more than that. At the first general meeting, I stepped up to be the lead for a subgroup, knowing that I had very little engineering expertise but hoping that I could still keep our group organized and motivated. Over time, I discovered that I had the ability to create a positive and motivating team environment without needing to have all the answers right away.
5. What is the best advice you've ever received?
The best advice I've ever received is that every experience is a learning opportunity. This advice has gotten me through some tough times and pushes me to look at adverse events as opportunities to learn and grow. While this can sometimes be a hard thing to keep in mind during trying times, it's important to reflect on both good and bad experiences that we go through and identify what we can learn from them.
6. How has SWE helped you in your career?
SWE has helped me in my career by creating an environment where I can feel supported as a female engineer and by also creating numerous opportunities for me to network, participate in STEM outreach events, and grow as a leader. Especially during my time in college, I was able to participate in and then lead a Team Tech project, take on more responsibility through leadership positions each year, and also participate in a number of outreach events. Now that I've started my career, SWE GGS has provided me an opportunity to be a leader in the local community and has been a great way to meet other female engineers in the area. I've also participated in numerous outreach events through SWEnet at Medtronic and will have the opportunity to take on a leadership position on the board during FY22.
7. Are there any other thoughts you would like to share?
Believe in yourself and lean on your support system when you need it!
1. What does Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month mean to you and your family?
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month is a time for Asian history and culture to be highlighted and celebrated. Growing up, I didn't have a very strong appreciation for my Vietnamese heritage and at times wanted to hide from it. As I've gotten older and experienced more, I've come to really embrace the Vietnam culture and am excited to share it with my close friends. While AAPI Heritage month is a great opportunity to highlight Asian cultures and history, I also enjoy including my friends and boyfriend in celebrating Vietnamese holidays and enjoying some of my family's home-cooked Vietnamese food outside of just the month of May.
2. What does Diversity & Inclusion mean to you?
Diversity & Inclusion means embracing our differences and sharing with each other what makes each of us unique. It's important to acknowledge that those around us may have a very different background and upbringing from ourselves and understand these differences in order to help bring us closer together. The more that we are open and wanting to learn about each other's differences, the more each of us will feel welcome and included.
3. What challenges have you faced in the workforce?
Fortunately, I haven't faced too many challenges since beginning my first full-time role last year. One thing that I have run into is learning how to communicate effectively with others in my company working in other geographies. Having lived in the U.S. all my life, it hasn't been often that I've interacted this frequently with others from fairly different cultures from my own. From this, I've learned that it is just as important for others to learn about my culture as it is for me to learn about theirs.
4. Share an "aha!" moment when you discovered a strength.
During my first year at Cal Poly, I was very involved with our Team Tech group within SWE. I joined the team with the simple goal of wanting to be involved in a project outside of my classes, but came to find that I would get so much more than that. At the first general meeting, I stepped up to be the lead for a subgroup, knowing that I had very little engineering expertise but hoping that I could still keep our group organized and motivated. Over time, I discovered that I had the ability to create a positive and motivating team environment without needing to have all the answers right away.
5. What is the best advice you've ever received?
The best advice I've ever received is that every experience is a learning opportunity. This advice has gotten me through some tough times and pushes me to look at adverse events as opportunities to learn and grow. While this can sometimes be a hard thing to keep in mind during trying times, it's important to reflect on both good and bad experiences that we go through and identify what we can learn from them.
6. How has SWE helped you in your career?
SWE has helped me in my career by creating an environment where I can feel supported as a female engineer and by also creating numerous opportunities for me to network, participate in STEM outreach events, and grow as a leader. Especially during my time in college, I was able to participate in and then lead a Team Tech project, take on more responsibility through leadership positions each year, and also participate in a number of outreach events. Now that I've started my career, SWE GGS has provided me an opportunity to be a leader in the local community and has been a great way to meet other female engineers in the area. I've also participated in numerous outreach events through SWEnet at Medtronic and will have the opportunity to take on a leadership position on the board during FY22.
7. Are there any other thoughts you would like to share?
Believe in yourself and lean on your support system when you need it!
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