Late to rise: Pre-nursing student describes her life

Angela Nguyen said she gets up late most mornings before class at Wichita State and ends her day by playing with her two dogs.

In between could be a variety of activities.

“I get up pretty late for a typical college student, seven or eight depending on if I have class,” she said.

Nguyen, 19, is a pre-medical student who grew up in Wichita. She is a sophomore studying biology. On Friday, she participated in the “Build-a-Bowl” fundraising project at Henrion Hall. The money from the sale of the pottery is donated to the Kansas Food Bank.

“I just want to contribute,” Nguyen said. “It’s all volunteering.”

She also volunteers with her sorority Sigma Psi Zeta, a multicultural organization focused on domestic violence against women.

“It’s small, 28 members, with some not active,” she said. “It’s still growing. You can connect with everybody.”

Other organizations she is involved with are the Wichita-based organization ICT S.O.S., which is focused on human trafficking and the Asian Student Conference.

She does find time to study, about once a week she works out at the YMCA and warms up by running about one mile, and on other days she plays Pokémon GO in downtown Wichita.

“I like studying in the RSC,” Nguyen said. “I like the environment of it. It’s not super quiet. If I’m focused on a test, I’ll study in a study room in the library.”

She said she likes Pokémon GO because it draws people together.

“It’s like a whole new community, something you have in common with everybody else,” she said.

Nguyen lives at home with her parents. After a long day, it’s her Staffordshire terrier dogs Bandit and Steel who keep her happy.

“They are very well behaved and like to play with other dogs,” she said. “They are very adventurous.”