A self-proclaimed middle-aged woman who overcame many barriers to earn a college degree in human services has won the William Randolph Hearst/Cal State University Trustee’s Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Cal State Fullerton graduate Tuy Thi Nguyen will be honored Tuesdaywith a $3,000 cash award and recognition at this month’s CSU Board of Trustees meeting in Long Beach.

With the scholarship money, she will pursue her dream of earning a master of science degree in gerontology at CSF.

A wife and mother of two, Nguyen and her husband left Vietnam 10 years ago. Currently, they are college students working multiple part-time jobs. Since her arrival in the United States, Nguyen has learned English and completed a bachelor’s degree, earning a 3.60 GPA while playing an active role in the community and on the campus.

She worked more than 300 hours with the university’s Volunteer and Service Center’s Community Connection program, providing outreach assistance to a variety of community groups.

She wrote and submitted the Project Read proposal to promote storytelling, tutoring and positive reinforcement to homeless children in Anaheim, and has participated in a number of food drives, volunteered at senior centers and worked with abused children.

"I want to make a difference in my community," Nguyen said. "I have a passion to work with the elderly. I want them to feel secure and increase public awareness of their concerns."

She works 20 hours a week as a caseworker at the Feedback Foundation, a not-for-profit organization designed to help the elderly. She also puts in 10 hours a week at the University Learning Center, and five hours a week at the University’s Volunteer and Service Center as a community connections coordinator.

With a master’s in gerontology, she hopes to help elderly members of the Asian community.