Victoria Nguyen blends motivation and innovation

By Drew Thompson

Victoria Nguyen knows how to hustle – whether to stay ahead of the curve or bend it in her direction.

Graduate high school at 16? Yes. Turn adversity into advantage at Virginia Commonwealth University? Yes. Secure numerous internships, including a surprising gig with global cosmetics giant L’Oréal? Yes. And now pay it forward for other VCU students? You know the answer.

Nguyen’s wherewithal caught the attention of Garret Westlake, Ph.D., vice provost in VCU’s Office of Innovation and Strategic Design. The office develops strategic partnerships with corporations, nonprofits and community organizations to drive academic innovation and student success, and Nguyen – now a senior in the School of Business – is helping the team expand programs and student engagement: She is serving as a strategic design fellow in the office this year.

“She is a complete hustler and is just out here trying to learn as much as she can from as many different people,” said Westlake, who also called her “fluent in all things innovation and an incredible ambassador” for VCU.

Mind you, VCU wasn’t originally in Nguyen’s thinking. But as she said, “what started as a plan B became exactly where I was supposed to be.”

The Northern Virginia native had taken a gap year after her accelerated high school journey, but in that time, her academic counselor was no longer available to share recommendation letters for college. VCU didn’t have such a requirement, and her arrival opened even wider doors: She said the culture of hands-on learning in the School of Business resonated deeply and took education far beyond a textbook.

“That environment pushed me to take ownership of my education and career path in ways I don’t think I would have elsewhere,” said Nguyen, who is majoring in marketing with a concentration in analytics and minoring in sales.

That dedication took her to New York City this past summer – for an internship that typically is filled by family members of company executives. A contact Nguyen at L’Oréal saw her potential and encouraged her to apply, and Nguyen made the most of her success.

Among the opportunities: recommending how L’Oréal could increase educational channels in underrepresented Asian and Hispanic communities. Nguyen appreciated how her mentor, Assistant Vice President Dessirae Sands, gave her meaningful work to benefit the cosmetics leader.

“I learned how to balance strategic thinking with execution, and I got to work on something I genuinely cared about: making the beauty industry more inclusive,” Nguyen said. “That summer showed me what’s possible when you have a great mentor who believes in you and a company that’s willing to trust you with real impact.”

At VCU, Westlake learned of Nguyen through LinkedIn. As part of her work with the Office of Innovation and Strategic Design, she is pursuing a potential site visit to L’Oréal’s U.S. headquarters in New York that would expose more VCU students to opportunities there.

“I am so excited to play a part in providing peer guidance and represent VCU’s innovation community,” Nguyen said in a LinkedIn post announcing her role in the office, which will include supporting creative design “jams” and connecting students to corporate partners. “It means so much to me to be able to give back to the school that has played such a significant role in my professional growth.”

Her efforts to support fellow students extend elsewhere on campus. As president of the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity and as part of the Student Management Investment Portfolio team, she has access to groups through which the innovation office can expand its reach on campus.

Nguyen said she’s happy to hustle on behalf of her peers – and grateful for VCU’s supportive environment.

“VCU gave me the space to lead, fail, learn and try again,” Nguyen said. “But more than that, it gave me a community and mentors who’ve been cheering me on every step of the way.”