story by Laurie McLaughlin / image by Jeanine Hill
Tam T. Nguyen, M.D., has been to Vietnam at least 20 times since 1990, and three times already this year. Most of his trips have been for business and to see family, but recent sojourns have included events sponsored by Cal State Fullerton’s Vietnamese American MBA Association for alumni, with members living in both Vietnam and the United States.
“Cal State Fullerton has the most Vietnamese students in the CSU system,” says Nguyen, who earned his MBA at CSUF in 2005 and founded VAMBA with fellow MBA alumni. “We received our charter last November from the alumni association, and we are the first international chapter for the university. To the best of our knowledge, we may also be the first U.S. university alumni organization with members in Vietnam.”
Nguyen was a baby when his family fled Vietnam to the U.S. in 1975. He grew up in Walnut, Calif., and his parents were one of the pioneers in the beauty college industry with the largest such school in Garden Grove’s Little Saigon. When his parents retired, Nguyen and his sister, Linh Nguyen’98 (B.S. business administration-management), took over the business in 1999, and last year their Advance Beauty College was ranked among the top in the nation for its manicuring program.
Because of his active support of the university and his business leadership role in Little Saigon, Nguyen has also been featured on Saigon TV as part of CSUF’s promotional campaign representing successful business alumni. “The university has strong ties to the Vietnamese community, and there are more than 2,000 Vietnamese-American students at the school,” he says.
Following VAMBA’s official charter, Nguyen accompanied a delegation, which included President Milton A. Gordon, to Vietnam where they visited universities and met the VAMBA members who live there. “The aim of the group is to create a network and opportunity,” says Nguyen, who is vice president of membership and marketing for the CSUF alumni board and a member of the Vietnamese-American Task Force established by the Cal State University chancellor. “The members of the chapter in Vietnam are all running very successful businesses, which is exciting for all of us — especially for Cal State Fullerton.” 
