This Wonder Woman’s pursuit of education led to her engineering dream job
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EDITOR’S NOTE: In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, EastIdahoNews.com is partnering with Monarch Healthcare to profile interesting and unique ladies living and working in our neighborhoods and communities. We present to you East Idaho Wonder Women.
IDAHO FALLS – Dr. Ruby Nguyen started her career at Idaho National Lab in June 2015 as a post-doctoral researcher. This March she was hired full time as senior systems engineer. But she didn’t get to where she is now overnight. In fact, at one point, she didn’t think she’d ever go beyond a bachelor’s degree.
“When I was working as an engineer, after college, at that time I was thinking oh, ‘I’m done with education.’ The engineering program is too long,” Nguyen says.
Early in her career, Nguyen was content with her position in life and felt her bachelor’s degree was all she would ever need.
“I was born and raised in Vietnam, I did my undergrad there in environmental engineering,” Nguyen says.
But thankfully, she didn’t stop there, in large part because of her father who pushed her to become more.
“He always wanted me to further my education and have a chance to broaden my perspective and get exposed to different environments,” Nguyen says.
He pushed her to pursue a master’s degree while she was still in Vietnam and helped find her an avenue to pursue it.
“When he found the Vietnam Education Foundation fellowship, he pushed me to apply, so I tried and I won so that was good.”
In 2007 she decided to continue her education in the United States.
“I got the fellowship to go to Washington State University,” Nguyen says.
Not only did she did Nguyen receive her doctorate at the university, she also became engaged to the love of her life.
“I met him in grad school. He worked for the Fish and Game in Lewiston and I went to school Pullman,” Nguyen says.
But, the couple couldn’t wed right away, Nguyen had to go back to Vietnam and work in her country for two years as a condition of the fellowship.
“That’s good for him to visit Vietnam though, because he would never have had a chance to visit Vietnam if that didn’t happen,” Nguyen says.
Eventually, the couple did get married and settled down in Idaho.
“In 2014 I got married and I followed my husband,” Nguyen says. “My husband’s really supportive. It’s hard for both people to work because you have to accommodate each others schedule, but he’s super supportive,” Nguyen says.
“She enjoys her job, she enjoys her work, it’s an important part of her life. I do what I can so that she can have a successful career and be a successful mother. We’re in it together we both have full-time jobs,” Ruby’s husband Matt Pieron says.
Even though education has been a priority for the couple, their family is always at the forefront.
“Our family is important to both of us and I just don’t help her, she helps me,” Pieron says.
Nguyen says each year around Mother’s Day she can’t help but think of her daughter.
“My daughter is adorable what else can I say. She was born on Mother’s Day of 2016. It was the best Mother’s Day gift for me,” Nguyen says.
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