×

Nguyen creates new life in area

Kim Nguyen, proprietor of Nail Lounge & Spa, brings a colorful and dynamic past to her business. (Photo by Candice Black)

VIENNA — Humble beginnings in Vietnam shaped a successful career for Kimberly Nguyen.

Through her adversities and challenges, Nguyen, the proprietor of the Nail Lounge & Spa in Vienna, created a new life for herself and her family.

After being born and raised in Vietnam, Nguyen’s family realized that it wasn’t a proper place to grow up at that time. The war resulted in a “lot of rebuilding and a lot of hopelessness in terms of a future for future generations (with) nothing to look forward to,” Nguyen said.

When she was 12 years old, her grandmother helped her find a way to leave the country. Her grandmother was in contact with a fisherman who was helping refugees leave the country in exchange for money or supplies.

Nguyen, along with her aunt, had no idea they were going to be going to a new country.

“My grandmother told me and my aunt that we were babysitting. I had no idea where we were going,” she said.

Leaving was a major risk because it was illegal to leave the country.

The man helped them leave with a few other families. The group was led to a canoe which then took them to a fishing boat that would take them on their journey. They were on the way to China. “On the way to Hong Kong there were a lot of events,” Nguyen said.

Among other issues, the boat broke down and the group ran out of food, water and supplies. There was no hope of them getting to their destination safely until a group of Chinese fishermen found them at sea. “I am so (thankful) that they saw us and found us somehow,” Nguyen said. They were hauled to an island called Hainam. The fishermen gave them supplies, fixed their boat and helped them finish their journey to Hong Kong.

“When we got to the Hong Kong harbor, it looked like a city of lights and when I looked at that I thought I was in Heaven. At that time, it was the first time I knew that I would be OK,” she said. According to Nguyen, 50% of the people who escaped Vietnam never made it to another country and she felt lucky that she was among the number that made it.

After arriving in Hong Kong, Nguyen and her aunt stayed in a refugee camp for two years. While they were there, they were offered classes to learn English, among other subjects. Nguyen had a couple of uncles that lived in America who were contacted so that one of them could sponsor their journey to go to America and live with him in New Jersey.

“Luckily for us, we had relatives,” she said. She then went on to Columbus to live with her other uncle.

In an effort to learn English, “that summer, every day I walked to the library and I took out children’s books,” she said. She would take the books home and compare the words to an English/Vietnamese Dictionary.

Between the books and television captions, Nguyen was able to learn the language. That fall, Nguyen started her sophomore year of high school, which proved to be a challenge.

“In Vietnam, up to the age of 12 or 13, I basically went to school but didn’t learn anything,” she said. Despite that, she was able to finish high school in three years.

Nguyen went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering along with a Master’s in Chemical Engineering and Business Administration. From there, she decided to join the Air Force to follow a dream of becoming a gynecologist.

It was through the Air Force that she would have had the opportunity to attend medical school. She was also inspired by her father who served in the Vietnam Air Force.

Medical school didn’t work out but there were bigger things coming. Nguyen decided to leave the Air Force after five years to sponsor her family to leave Vietnam and come live with her in the States. To her, being with her family was more important than going back to school.

After working as a chemical engineer for 10 years, “I felt restricted,” she said. She felt that she could do more but she didn’t have the opportunity. She then decided to go back and get her Master’s in Business Administration, which led to her opening the Nail Lounge & Spa in May 2018.

Through her degrees and experiences in the Air Force, Nguyen incorporates those values in her business which creates a unique business model for the salon, she said. She strives to “establish a culture of focus on the customer. It’s not just transactional; we need to build a relationship,” she said.

Nguyen encourages her technicians to speak English in order to make it a more comfortable environment for the customer. Nguyen wants the community to know that “we are here for them and we are customer focused. The team is ready to serve them,” she said.

Nail Lounge & Spa is located at 804 Grand Central Ave., Vienna, and operates from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Walk-ins are welcome and appointments can be made on the Facebook page.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today