Be active, be involved, be impactful.
Few high school students do it as well as Kent-Meridian’s April Rose Nguyen, a generous, quiet, quick-thinking leader.
She is not your typical student.
“She’s a top 1-percenter,” Travis Foltz, her history teacher, said without hesitation. “She has the ability to lead without self-interests. She’s selfless, courageous.”
And a scholar.
For her relentless work in and out of the classroom, the 17-year-old senior was one of 35 students in the Puget Sound region recently chosen to receive a $200,000 Act Six scholarship.
An initiative of the Northwest Leadership Foundation, Act Six is Tacoma-Seattle’s only full-tuition, full-need urban leadership scholarship. A highly competitive program, it selects the region’s most promising urban leaders for scholarships to five partner colleges. About 450 students applied for the 35 scholarships in the class of 2015.
In Nguyen’s case, she will be one of four Act Six scholars bound this fall for Pacific Lutheran University, where she plans to study either business or political science – areas related to her passions for student government, team building and leadership.
Nguyen credits family, notably her parents – Robi Rose and Tyler – for showing her the way.
“It’s in our culture. I’m half-Filipino, half-Vietnamese,” Nguyen explained. “My mom is Filipino, a real caring person. She’s always helping others. She often reminds me, ‘If you can’t provide for somebody, you can at least share what you have.’ I’ve always admired that.”
At Kent-Meridian, Nguyen has made a commitment to care for others, extending a helping hand or delivering an encouraging word. It’s important, she said, to embrace diversity, especially at school.
She personally visits each staff member at the school – from custodians to vice principals – gets to know them by name, remembers their birthday and asks about their family.
That warm connection means regularly checking in with a wide variety of staff, teachers and fellow students.
“She makes them feel good, finds ways to make everyone in the school feel good,” Foltz said.
Nguyen is well rounded, personified by her work in and out of the classroom.
The school’s student body president carries a 3.75 GPA in the rigorous International Baccalaureate program.
As Foltz pointed out, Nguyen has a photographic memory, a capacity to recall a “huge chain of facts.”
She once wrote down on a board the names of each Supreme Court justice, the year they were appointed and the names of their assistant lawyers, Foltz said.
Nguyen also memorized Pi – the name given to the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter – to the 210th decimal point.
No small feat.
“People just think I’m weird for it, but I think it’s a really cool thing,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen has been an effective leader and steady volunteer.
Among her many efforts has been the contribution to the launch of the Loyal to the Royal task force, an anti-bullying campaign.
Outside the classroom, Nguyen has volunteered for Kent Parks and the Kent School District.
She once attended a City Council meeting, urging leaders to build a safe sidewalk on Southeast 256th Street for students and pedestrians.
Nguyen understands that leadership is about getting others working together. It’s about delegating and communicating to define and solve problems. It’s about service over status.
Her gentle approach has been infectious.
“Names are important,” Nguyen said of her work with K-M’s leadership team. “You really feel included more if you acknowledge someone by their name.
“I’ve noticed that more students are now talking to others – the janitors, the lunch ladies and security guards at school.
“They’ve come to that realization themselves, and it’s really touching.”
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