Naples grad inspired by family, his late mentor

Editor's note: This is one in a series of Naples Daily News stories on Graduates of Distinction, who are selected by staff at the high school. 

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Tien Nguyen’s mom got cancer when the kid was just 9 years old. By that point his family had already emigrated from Vietnam, where his parents struggled to pay the rent and find good schools for their son.

They came to the U.S. to be healthier and happier. Then came mom’s uterine cancer, less than two years after they arrived in Naples. Nguyen was still learning English at Sea Gate Elementary.

“It was a moment of make it or break it for me,” Nguyen said, now 19 and a soon-to-be-graduate of Naples High School. “I didn’t know English. I didn’t know what cancer was at the time.

“In order to help my mom battle her own battles, I had to focus on school.”

More:2017 Graduates of Distinction

Nguyen focused on school. He took ESL classes until he learned English. He earned a spot in his school’s gifted program. When he was in the fourth grade, he won a school-wide public speaking contest. Then he won it for the whole county.

His plan worked — mom got better.

But cancer came again last year. This time, it sickened Nguyen’s best friend, Dr. Robert Morantz, a Naples surgeon who served on the board of the Neighborhood Health Clinic.

From the time that Nguyen was in eighth grade until his junior year, Morantz served as Nguyen’s mentor in the Champions for Learning program through the Education Foundation of Collier County.

They met on weekends and talked about Nguyen’s grades. They talked about everything else, too. Morantz taught Nguyen how to build a résumé, how to apply for colleges and encouraged him to volunteer at local charities in his free time.

The cancer killed Morantz on March 9, 2016.

“I try to emulate everything he did,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen has a 5.12 grade-point average. He has volunteered more than 200 hours for local groups, he said. Last summer he completed the Youth Leadership Collier Program. And in March he was the recipient of a $40,000 scholarship from the statewide Take Stock in Children program.

The scholarship will pay Nguyen’s tuition at the University of Florida, he said.

“It’s inspiring to know that you work so hard — coming from my background — I really focused on school and education,” he said. “My education paid off, and I can achieve my goals without worrying about loans.”

Nguyen plans on studying biology in college. He said he wants to be an oncologist — a cancer doctor.