When social studies teacher Daniel Jones was in a dilemma with his car keys, senior Trevin Nguyen was quick to solve the problem. Ever since then, Jones has known Nguyen to be reliable and responsible. 

“He possessed that kind of warmth and endearing nature that made me very free and comfortable to say, ‘Hey, can you help me out here?’” Jones said. 

With an already self-sufficient personality, Nguyen had been balancing school, home and work life well. However, once COVID-19 struck and virtual learning took a full course, all of that changed.

“You have to see the good in what’s available,” Nguyen said.

With Google Meets being the only time he can see his teachers and his classmates’ faces, Nguyen has grown to dislike it. He says that he prefers face-to-face interaction, especially from his teachers. 

Nguyen also struggles with making time for himself. With assignments piling up, keeping up with his job at Chick-fil-A and holding a leadership position for the robotics team, he has trouble finding a place to be still and grounded. 

However, he still has time to help others and created many fond memories with a few teachers. Science teacher Mark Snodgrass has known Nguyen for four years.

He knows he is responsible and very helpful, taking care of the robotics team’s business plans and volunteering.

“He’s just a really good worker,” Snodgrass said. “And has shown responsibility in multiple ways like that.” 

To stay on track, Nguyen records his homework on an agenda and tries to stay positive despite missing the opportunities he had originally planned for his senior year.

His motivation for staying on track is keeping in mind that there’s always light at the end of the dark tunnel.

 “That bright light burns a sense of motivation and optimism inside of me to help me graduate,” Nguyen said.

After the school day, he balances doing his homework with his household chores. Since he cannot work the morning shift for his job, he takes shifts later in the afternoon. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday he attends robotics practice.

He hopes to stay ahead of his work next semester because around the second quarter his assignments and their overdue dates started to become out of hand.

Nguyen knows that even if one misses a week of work, it is challenging to catch up. He says that time constraints make it more difficult.

However, his friend of five years, senior Jackson Meier, knows Nguyen is a responsible person, and believes he will be able to get his work done as he has so far.

“From how long I’ve known him, Trevin has always been able to get his tasks done along with helping others,” Meier said. 

Nguyen feels as if virtual learning has taken the bit of his childhood left.

Regardless, he knows he has to focus on his academics more than ever. He plans to stay focused and driven by the next semester. 

“I like to see the light in things of what could come out of it,” Nguyen said.