Five years ago, Jimmy Nguyen joined Avenue Scholars as a senior at Papillion-La Vista High School. Three years from now, he hopes to be working full-time as a physician assistant (PA) in orthopedics.
“That would be my dream job,” he said.
He also said none of this would be possible without Avenue Scholars.
Right now, Jimmy typically works 32 hours per week for two of Omaha’s largest healthcare providers: He’s a physical therapy assistant for CHI Health and does inpatient work at Nebraska Medicine. When he’s not working, he attends classes at Clarkson College where he is finishing his degree and preparing to apply to PA schools.
Jimmy also helps tutor Clarkson students in chemistry, anatomy, and math. Chemistry is his favorite, he said. But that wasn’t always the case.
Jimmy said he was unmotivated in high school prior to joining Avenue Scholars. Now, he enjoys the grind and the challenge of his classes and work.
This June, Jimmy taught the most recent cohort of Scholars about physical therapy as part of the summer’s Healthcare Boot Camp. It was a full-circle moment, he said, to be on the other side of the classroom.
“I have always wanted to teach and to give back to my community. This chance to work on my public speaking skills with students was really fun,” he said.
He also said he would never have attended college nor pursued healthcare if it weren’t for his Avenue Scholars coaches in high school: “They gave me hope, believed in me, helped me financially go to Metropolitan Community College, and how to generally navigate life as a first-generation college student.”
Jimmy shared appreciation for all who support Avenue Scholars.
“I didn’t have a strong support system before Avenue Scholars,” he said. “Without them, I wouldn’t have gone to college, or discovered my position, or known it was possible for me to work in healthcare. They opened a lot of doors for me and gave me confidence that I can be successful.”
