“It’s important to understand how people live in other parts of the world. Understanding their culture, where they come from, and how they’ve conquered challenges. That curiosity creates a leader.”
Lindsey Nguyen, a proud Global Glimpse alum, is the first recipient of our Keep the Spirit of Travel Alive initiative in partnership with United Airlines. As the Regional Lead Medical Assistant at Carbon Health, Lindsey is constantly reminded about the importance of leadership in the healthcare industry, and especially in today’s climate as she marries her clinical skills with strong leadership to schedule, train, and guide a team of medical assistants across three urgent care clinics in the South Bay.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in the demand for the services Lindsey and her team provide on the frontline. This has meant increased risk and exposure as they face a shortage of personal protective equipment. Her team treats COVID patients daily, performs testing in nursing homes, and provides testing in their mobile clinics across the Bay Area.
“I feel scared every day, of course. I’m afraid that I may be an asymptomatic carrier and pass it to my aging parents. I’ve gone three weeks without being in my family’s vicinity before. It’s challenging, but we are all doing our part.”
Lindsey participating in dance lessons with students that she met in Leon, Nicaragua during her Global Glimpse trip
She credits her perseverance and the seeds of her leadership to her Global Glimpse experience in 2009. Her trip to Leon, Nicaragua helped Lindsey begin to understand how she could make an impact.
Lindsey shared, “I felt like I understood the people that I met even though we came from completely different backgrounds. I wanted to find ways that I could support them, and for the first time in my life, I felt like the leader in me was brought out.”
She returned home empowered to find opportunities to step up as a leader in her community. She served as student body president at Andrew P. Hill High School and later inspired her younger brother, Bryan, to travel with Global Glimpse. After graduating from high school, Lindsey received her undergraduate degree in Public Health at UC San Diego and traveled back to Latin America twice with Global Medical Brigades to provide critical support in underserved areas. She is deeply committed to connecting with the Latinx community where she grew up and is working to become fluent in Spanish so that she can better advocate for and support this population.
Lindsey leading a training for medical assistants
in her role at Carbon Health
While reflecting on her Global Glimpse experience, Lindsey was saddened to learn that students would not have the opportunity to travel this summer. She encourages Glimpsers to navigate these challenging times by taking every opportunity to be in the moment and serve those around them, a lesson that she’s learned both through her travels and through her experiences giving back to her own community in the U.S.
“Travel taught me to lead through serving. Working with diverse populations has allowed me to become a culturally sensitive and resourceful individual. Now more than ever, I know we all feel a huge sense of social responsibility and I’m very grateful to be able to utilize my skill set to guide my team on the frontlines.”
Lindsey was overjoyed to find out that she was the recipient of two roundtrip United Airlines tickets through a donation to Global Glimpse that her younger brother Bryan made.
We will have nine more pairs of United Airlines tickets to give out and we’ve extended our initiative for another week! Make a donation of $50 or more by May 10 to nominate a frontline worker like Lindsey and help keep their spirit of travel alive!