Sunday, February 5, 2023
  • Advertise
  • Submit Story Idea
  • Submit Event
  • Calendar
Arlington Today Magazine
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Arlington News
    • People
    • Community
    • Commentary
    • Business and Education
    • Featured
    • Wellness
    • Scene
    • Design and Interiors
    • Uncategorized
  • Digital Editions
  • Join the Newsletter
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Arlington News
    • People
    • Community
    • Commentary
    • Business and Education
    • Featured
    • Wellness
    • Scene
    • Design and Interiors
    • Uncategorized
  • Digital Editions
  • Join the Newsletter
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Arlington Today Magazine

Freedom personified

ArlingtonToday Magazine by ArlingtonToday Magazine
February 3, 2018
in Arlington News, Commentary, People
0 0
0
Freedom personified
0
SHARES
122
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Ebby Halliday April 2020

Andy Nguyen regularly tackles government and social issues like health care, transportation, education, justice, public safety and economic development.
“Those are the challenges that I have to keep up with as a county commissioner,” he says, adding that his goal for 2018 is to come up with solutions to face the multiple challenges that Tarrant County anticipates. “Traffic is already bad,” he says. “Imagine adding another million people.”
Nguyen, 51, points out that Tarrant County’s indigent and senior populations are growing, as well. Sitting in his Tarrant county sub-courthouse office on Abram Street, he says his priorities include improving mobility, developing a comprehensive strategy for JPS Health Network to deal with healthcare challenges over the long run, and effectively managing county finances to deal with future challenges without raising taxes.
That may sound daunting, but Nguyen is no stranger to struggle. He came to the United States as a 14-year-old with his father and four of his siblings after escaping Vietnam. It was Aug. 26, 1981, after the Vietnam War, and communists had taken over South Vietnam.
“They implemented communism and socialism,” Nguyen recalls. “Part of the policy was to nationalize private property ownership. So they seized my parents’ home and all the property my family owned at the time.”
The new rule essentially arrested all those deemed a threat to the new state, Nguyen says, which had included his father, a bank president.
“To the communists, educated people were a threat,” he says. “So they arrested my father and sent him to hard labor camp. Because of persecution, we had to escape from our homeland. That’s the reason we escaped from Vietnam via the boat, a fishing boat.”
Two of Nguyen’s brothers had escaped earlier in 1979. “They were on the Pacific Ocean for 30 days with scarce food and water,” he says.
The two were rescued, taken to refugee camp in Thailand then eventually sent to Kentucky. When Nguyen, his father and four siblings escaped in 1981, they went to a refugee camp in Malaysia, before being sponsored by his first two brothers, gaining political asylum and coming to the United States.
“It was very difficult because everything here was totally strange to us,” he says. “We had to learn a new language, a new culture. The way of life is very different here. We had to basically finish high school while learning English.”
Nguyen says the one subject he and his siblings excelled in was mathematics, which helped him measure something significant: the span between the last time he had seen his mother and youngest brother (1981) and the moment they would reunite in 1992. “They came via airplane,” Nguyen says, smiling broadly.
Nguyen graduated from the University of Kentucky, where he had enrolled in the ROTC program. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and sent to Lawton, Okla. Because his family had moved to Fort Worth, he traveled back and forth between the two cities.
“The natural course for me was to move to Texas,” he says.
Nguyen, who has served as Tarrant County Commissioner for seven years, says he plans to seek reelection for a third term. He and his wife, Julie Vu, live in Arlington. They have three children and have owned a small business for 17 years.
Nguyen says he enjoys drinking coffee with Julie Vu, eating French vanilla ice cream and watching movies with his children during his spare time. He also loves to talk church and politics with his siblings and to read a good John Maxwell book.
“The key ingredient for my success is the desire to lead and the desire to serve,” he says. “It comes from who I am as a person, maybe. I have an authentic desire to serve, and to lead, and to solve complex problems. I enjoy doing those things.”

Related posts

February 3, 2023

February 3, 2023

Related Posts

  • Homeless Prevention Funds Available for Arlington Residents

    Beginning January 10, 2018, Arlington residents who are homeless or in imminent danger of becoming…

  • Dental Health

  • 2017 Holiday Traffic Map

    Arlington Police Department Announces 2017 Holiday Traffic Map The Arlington Police Department encourages drivers to…

Tags: county commissionerTarrant County CommissionerWe Know Arlington
Stephanie A. Foster

Follow Us

  • But first   coffee    The Arlington Dunkin    located at 5801 Office Park Dr  today announced it will help keep the community running with a happy hour celebration offer throughout the remainder of August  Every day beginning now through Monday  August 31  guests can power through the rest of the month and receive a FREE  Medium Hot or Iced Coffee with any purchase from 2-6 PM   On behalf of local Arlington Dunkin    franchisee  Hiren Patel  Dunkin    is proud to keep Arlington running throughout the month of August
  • Nothing soothes the soul like a trip to the Majestic Smoky Mountains  Read all about the Greene family   s    COVID-cation    and travel safety in the link in our bio
  • Read the latest message from UTA   s interim president  Teik C  Lim  by clicking the link in our bio
  • The City of Arlington announces Unity Council  Read all about this positive way for the city in the link in our bio
  • Here   s to the All Stars  Click the link in our bio to find the complete list of Arlington Today   s 2020 All Star businesses in over 160 categories
  • Put DFW Restaurant week on YOUR calendar  Support your favorite Arlington and local DFW restaurants this August 31-September 6 during restaurant week    For more info and participating restaurants  click the link in our bio
  • This Arlington radio station is making movie magic   Read all about Crystal Vasquez and her upcoming documentary about local radio station     The Ticket     by clicking the link in our bio
  • With the school year starting soon  it   s important to know what   s going on  Read all about AISD and MISD   s back to school plans in the link in our bio
  • August is for the All Stars        Click the link in our bio to read our latest edition of Arlington Today and check out your local All  Star businesses
  • 12 Mighty Orphans: There’s a fascinating ‘story behind the story’ regarding this fine film

    12 Mighty Orphans: There’s a fascinating ‘story behind the story’ regarding this fine film

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • March Scene

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Visionary Who Didn’t Give Up

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Boot-scootin’ Boogie

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • In case of emergency: Mansfield Fire Department introduces the ‘Vial of Life’ initiative to keep residents on the ready

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Arlington Today Magazine

Arlington Texas Area News and Events Magazine

Follow us on social media:

Recent News

  • (no title)
  • (no title)
  • (no title)

Category

  • Arlington News
  • Business and Education
  • Commentary
  • Community
  • Design and Interiors
  • Featured
  • People
  • Scene
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized
  • Wellness

Recent News

February 3, 2023

February 3, 2023
  • Advertise
  • Submit Story Idea
  • Submit Event
  • Calendar

© 2022 Arlington Today - Designed by Advent Trinity Marketing Agency Web Design

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Arlington News
    • Community
    • People
    • Commentary
    • Business and Education
    • Featured
    • Wellness
    • Scene
    • Design and Interiors
  • Digital Editions
  • Join the Newsletter
  • Contact Us

© 2022 Arlington Today - Designed by Advent Trinity Marketing Agency Web Design

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add Arlington Today Magazine to your Homescreen!

Add