School: Fox School of Business
Degree: BS, management information systems, 2020
Hometown: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
As a student at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted in Vietnam, Nhi Nguyen, FOX ’20, dreamed of studying international business and going abroad for college. When she obtained a full scholarship to attend Temple’s Fox School of Business as an Honors student, she knew she was setting out on the right journey.
Photography by Ryan S. Brandenberg
Nguyen reprogrammed her professional goals when she was introduced to coding as a sophomore by Jeremy Shafer, associate professor in the Management Information Systems (MIS) Department.
“His class was a surprise because at first I didn’t even know that as a woman I could code and be in a STEM or a technology-type field,” she said. “He challenged me to correct that view.”
It clicked when Shafer told her she could combine business and technology. To make that happen, she took on several campus jobs. Among them was a position as a data analyst for the Office of Education Abroad and Overseas Campuses—one she accepted after completing a summer semester at Temple University Japan—and a stint as a student web developer for the Fox School of Business website.
Further reinforcing her ambitions to combine business and technology were two off-campus, real-world internships: one in software project management at Tapp Network in Delaware and another in ICT tech transfer at NovaUCD in Dublin.
“Each one of these experiences—and the people I worked for and with—provided different lessons outside the classroom that inform my work today,” she said.
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when she—like everyone else—found herself dependent on the internet for everything from shopping to meeting to learning, Nguyen came to fully appreciate the importance of digital accessibility, which aims to make technology inclusive and user-friendly for everyone, regardless of their unique needs and capabilities.
“It became crystal clear how vital and important digital accessibility was in ensuring that everyone could navigate and benefit from the digital world,” she said. “It was from this firsthand experience that I decided to host a workshop on digital accessibility 101 for Temple students to raise more awareness about this topic.”
That was the moment she realized that accessibility was the intersection at which her passions for technology and business converged and she could make it her career.
“Each one of these experiences—and the people I worked for and with—provided different lessons outside the classroom that inform my work today.”
–Nhi Nguyen
Software engineer
In her current role as a software engineer for Walmart Inc., Nguyen focuses on digital accessibility testing within their websites and mobile apps. She also leads team members, hosts meetings and conducts accessibility training to raise awareness.
“What I do on a day-to-day basis is use different assistive technologies to conduct testing to make sure that websites and native apps are accessible for people with disabilities,” she said.
For Nguyen, making technology more friendly and inclusive is more of a calling than a job: “If I can help someone access what they need online and make their digital experience better, that’s the best part of my day,” she said.
She also returns to Temple at least twice a year, including as a guest speaker at MIS courses and as a career mentor for Fox School students. She’s also collaborated on teaching materials on digital accessibility in the MIS course Web Service Programming.
“I share my knowledge and discuss how we can make digital accessibility a natural part of classroom materials and offer guidance to students who want to dive into this field,” she said.
Thinking outside of the box, our alum are transforming their industries and our world and demonstrating the power of women in STEM.
Learn more about the management information systems program at Temple’s Fox School of Business.
