Michael Nguyen
Inclusive Insights
Pismo Beach, CA USA
"Success is most certainly being comfortable with who you are, embracing it, and being vulnerable."
Career Roadmap
Michael's work combines: Business, Entrepreneurship, and Working with Others
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
Some High School
Bachelor's Degree
Psychology
Pitzer College
Graduate Degree
Counseling
Loyola Marymount University
Doctorate
Educational Psychology
Emory University
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Chief Inclusion and Innovation Officer:
Bachelor's Degree: Psychology
Graduate Degree: Counseling
Doctorate: Educational Psychology
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
My family came to the United States as refugees from Vietnam—I’m the first of my siblings to be born in the U.S.
2.
Due to different hurdles in my education and home life, I didn’t do well in school and ended up dropping out of high school.
3.
When I decided to go to community college, it was a completely different experience—I was excited to choose my own classes and have more freedom in my own education.
4.
After a great experience with a professor in one of my psychology classes, I was inspired to major in psychology when I transferred to a university.
5.
I worked as a research assistant with The Imoyase Group to increase multicultural competency in healthcare across the state of California—the project sparked my interest in community and culture.
6.
A senior researcher inspired me to go to graduate school—I earned a master’s degree in counseling from Loyola Marymount University and a doctorate in educational psychology from Emory University.
7.
Along the way, I took on other projects and expanded my skills, experience, and passion for cross-cultural psychology.
8.
I currently work as the chief inclusion and innovation officer at Inclusive Insights and I also teach cross-cultural psychology in applied settings at the University of Southern California.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
Graduate school is only for really rich and really smart people.
How I responded:
When I was thinking about going to grad school, I had a lot of doubt. I always thought that grad school was for rich, smart people. I also struggled through school when I was younger, so it didn't seem like an option for me. Fortunately, I had great mentors who encouraged and inspired me. Those mentors were key for me. I decided to go for it and earn my master's degree. I even went on to earn a doctorate as well!
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was abused by my father when I was a child. When my parents divorced, he wasn't allowed to have custody because of that abuse. My mother worked full-time and couldn't get full custody either. So I ended up in foster care.
There were hurdles within my home life and educational experience that made school hard for me. I ended up dropping out of high school. When I decided to go to college it was a much better experience because I had freedom to design my own education.