Christine Nguyen, a junior here at Wilcox, is always smiling. Ask any one of her friends, teachers, or classmates who see her around school, and they will tell you the same thing. She strives to create a friendly environment at school and to show respect and kindness toward everyone she meets. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Nguyen is the president of ARK, the Acts of Random Kindness club. She is the second president of the newly formed club following Jacinda Tran, who brought the club to our campus. Not only does Nguyen love the club, she embodies its key values—friendliness, positivity, and selflessness.

Nguyen feels like ARK gives her a purpose at school, and motivates her to push herself out of her comfort zone. I asked her to describe a pivotal moment in her life, and she joyfully responded with a memory of her first ARK meeting as president. She reflected on the experience, “I’ve never led a meeting where I was club president, so it was new.. I had a lot going on my mind, like how many people were going to show up, will my PowerPoint/presentation be pleasing enough, and just what am I going to say. But as soon as people started to show up, I started to get excited. There was actually a huge turnout for our first general meeting and I was very satisfied with everyone that came. I was able to handle all the talking and the presentation of the club, but the most important part of that day I would say was to see all the people there excited and smiling, because they are a part of a greater community coming together to uplift the spirit of our campus.”

Even though she was very nervous, she was empowered with the response she received, giving her confidence for the year ahead. “At the end of the meeting I said ‘Thank you. And I would just like to say that you look amazing today’ and everyone just clapped and responded with such spirit saying ‘you too’ or ‘no you look amazing’ and it was just a great way for me to realize that this was going to be a great year for ARK and that I was going to do just fine with my team of officers and members.”

On top of that, the junior loves the Wilcox the community, and is especially proud of her class. “It’s nice to see how different people from different friend groups know each other and can interact with each other, like during Fantastics and Homecoming.” She even dabbled in council freshmen year as publicist. She has a lot of pride in being a charger, and absolutely loves the competitive spirit and the drive to win. Said Nguyen, “I love the events Wilcox plans out like BBO, where we can all join in despite not being from the same clique or the same grade.” She always participates in spirit days and class contests, as she makes it a priority to support the class of 2017. Nguyen is also involved in other school clubs such as Interact, VSA, and Red Cross. Her determination to succeed is evident in her academic life as well, and although she does not have a favorite subject, she enjoys math class. [KA1] When she isn’t studying or planning the next ARK meeting, her hobbies include watching YouTube videos, writing, listening to music, and spending time with her friends.

Nguyen has a profound effect on everyone she meets. Wilcox freshman Jackie Ng admires Nguyen for her positivity and selflessness, commenting, “Whenever I am around Christine it is always laughs and smiles. I remember that she made me feel better about myself after being really sad.  I can’t think of a better person to be the ARK President. Christine always thinks about making other people happy and encourages ARK members to be that way too.”

Nguyen shared a lot of her personal experiences with me, all of which shaped her into her spirited self today. Although she may be small in stature, Christine Nguyen’s passion and positivity fall nothing short of spectacular. This student is not too sure of her future career, but as others can tell, she will have a promising one ahead.