P a g e a n t N e w s B u r e a u

Big ambitions

Photos courtesy
of Nancy Nguyen

When Nancy Nguyen was born, her parents were caught between one life and another.

They had climbed into a rickety boat and sailed away from Vietnam, where their ties to the former government had made them outcasts. They were happy to be alive, and looking forward to a future in America. But when their baby girl arrived, they were marking time in a crowded refugee camp in the Philippines.

The baby was named for Nancy Reagan, the first lady of the United States at the time. It was a gesture of hope, and the hope was fulfilled.

The family eventually reached U.S. shores, and through hard work, they built a prosperous life in North Carolina. Nancy grew up. Now she's in college, aiming for a career in the medical field.

You would think that after all she has been through, Ms. Nguyen would never have any doubts about what she can achieve. But she's still nervous about getting seriously into pageants. She's intimidated by taller girls.

Nancy Nguyen is 4 feet 10 inches tall.

She's beautiful, she's chic, she's sexy. She has been a model and a high school homecoming queen, and she has won Photogenic and Congeniality awards in teen pageants. But for an 18-year-old American, she's short. And that makes her uneasy.

Ms. Nguyen is not interested in petite pageants, at least not now. She wants to compete against women of all sizes. She wants to be Miss America, or perhaps Miss USA. She wants a really BIG title.

She asked us our opinion. We told her to go for it.

P a g e a n t N e w s B u r e a u