Miss AATX 2001 Joy Nguyen

In 2001 Joy Thao P. Nguyen was crowned Miss Asian American Texas. She was also awarded with the Asian Activist Award, Best in Gown and Best in Talent. Her talent, “A Tribute to the Female Heros of Asia,” honored her Vietnamese heritage with a lyrical dance that ended in a kung fu sword form. Joy also had the honor of being the first official representative of Texas in the Miss Asian America Pageant in San Francisco. She made Texas proud when she was named to the Royal Court as 2nd Princess. A leader in and out of the academic world, Joy received her Bachelors in International Business, emphasis in Marketing, with minors in Computer Science and Japanese from Texas Christian University on the TCU Deans Scholarship. She also has her Masters in Information Technology, E-Business concentration, from the University of Texas at Dallas. At Texas Christian University, some of the organizations she served on were: Student Representative on the Vice-Chancellors Committee, President of the United Asian Community, and Orientation Student Advisor. She won the Sophomore of the Year Leadership Award, the prestigious TCU Malcolm and Ann Louden Leadership Award, named Who’s Who Among American College Students and was on the National Dean’s List.

Community service is something very near and dear to Joy’s heart because she truly believes that everyone has a responsibility to use their abilities to help others. One of the most important causes Joy served on was the Lena Pope Home Executive Committee for the Sweetheart Dessert Fantasy, an annual event that raises money for the foster home. Another cause she supports is Asian American awareness, whether it is addressing how to succeed as a minority in the workplace, cultural adjustment for immigrants, Asian unity, or simply bringing attention to the different Asian cultures. She has spoken to high schools, universities, and even corporate America on the importance of these various topics. Joy not only speaks, but also takes actions on these issues. Just a sample of her lifetime commitment: volunteering to teach children cultural dances/martial arts, serving as a big sister to little girls that have recently immigrated to the United States, working with the both the Tarrant and Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce to raise funds for the community, serving as emcees to numerous Asian events such as the Dallas Asian Festival, one of the largest of its kind, attracting over 15,000 visitors every year.

Professionally, Joy has not held back. After graduating she started as a Technical Marketing Analyst but quickly moved on to the staffing industry, where as one of the youngest Recruiter/Account Manager in the country, she broke office records and was a top producing professional. Moving on to business strategy, she traveled the world as the Business Manager for Asia Pacific for Ultrak, a Honeywell company, and when she was promoted to handle all foreign offices as the International Business Liaison she reported directly to the COO and CEO. To Joy, all of her work experience are only stepping-stones to her ultimate goal, which is to run a successful business enterprise of her own.

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