Tien Dac Nguyen

Tien Nguyen is an engineer for the United States Navy based in Port Hueneme in Oxnard, California. He was born in Vietnam and served in the South Vietnamese Navy alongside Americans in the Vietnam War. Mr. Nguyen was a college student when the war began and he was forced to leave school to join either the army or the navy, and he chose the latter. Tien served on a fiberglass patrol river boat with an American supervisor patrolling the Mekong River. The experience brought him many engagements with the Viet Cong and was deeply scarring for him. His service on the Mekong River caused him post-traumatic stress for around ten years after the war. After the war, Tien Nguyen spent over a year emigrating to the United States, with stops in Singapore, a refugee camp in the Philippines, Guam, and finally Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California. He then took several jobs earning almost no money while trying to learn English and finish college. Mr. Nguyen finished his college at Cal State Long Beach and took an engineering job with the United States Navy, a job that he still holds. Mr. Nguyen married in the United States and had a son who is a student at USC and a standout on the USC Tennis Team. Mr. Nguyen considers himself an embodiment of the American Dream. Billy Cavanaugh is a junior majoring in Business-Cinematic Arts from Dallas, Texas.; Peter Williams is a junior majoring in Communication with a minor in Business Law from La Canada, California.; Peter Lucassen is a junior international student from Amsterdam studying International Relations. Peter is a stand-out player on USC's back-to-back National Champion tennis team. Ery Pitojo is a senior studying Business Finance.; Ery is from Jakarta, Indonesia.