Youth Empowerment Day aims to help youth find their God-guided path
May 9, 2024
Local
TUKWILA – As a high school sophomore in 2017, Khang Nguyen remembers being interested in a career in politics, but everyone wanting him to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering or math.
“Doctor, engineer, you name it,” he said.
But after attending Youth Empowerment Day sponsored by his parish, Vietnamese Martyrs in Tukwila, “I came out inspired,” Nguyen said. “I was surrounded by other Catholics just like myself in similar situations,” he said, “wanting to know what their purpose was, what their vocation was.”
Faith was integrated into the conversation, Nguyen said. “It’s the gifts that God gives you, that God will be the one to really guide you on this path,” he said.
To find his path, Nguyen explored anthropology, nursing, acting and psychology through classes and internships, “and then I somehow ended in recruiting,” he said. Now the 23-year-old recruits software engineers for TikTok.
The experience of that day in 2017 was so significant that Nguyen jumped in to help plan a Youth Empowerment Day at his parish this year. Open to all youth in the archdiocese, the event is slated from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 25 at the Vietnamese Martyrs campus in Tukwila. Cost is $15 and includes lunch. (Register here.)
To inspire and encourage the participants, organizers have put together slate of faith-filled speakers from varied walks of life:
- Dr. Nhi Pham, a dentist in Mukilteo who has a sister clinic in Tanzania.
- Seattle Seahawk Abraham Lucas, who grew up at St. Thomas More Parish in Lynnwood (Read the Northwest Catholic article.)
- Dominican Father Corwin Low, a Seattle-area native who left life as a tech professional to become a priest. (Read more about him.)
- Hoan Do, a motivational speaker who was a “city finalist” on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior.
- Jim R. Coleman, an actor, producer and writer currently touring in the one-man show of Saint Luke Productions’ “Tolton: From Slave to Priest.” (He will give a performance the night before at Vietnamese Martyrs.)
“We’re very blessed to be able to bring in such big names,” said Eric Tran, a Vietnamese Martyrs parishioner who is helping plan the event. (Watch the promo video.)
After the keynote session with Hoan Do, there will be a panel presentation and then smaller breakout sessions where groups of youth can meet with the speakers they’re most interested in, Nguyen said.
By having the speakers share their experiences, it’s hoped the youth will feel empowered to “be ready for challenges, be ready for some hard times, but (know) there’s going to be some good times if you stay focused on what you do,” Tran said.
“We want our youth to feel power to do anything that they want to do, to become who they want to be … to do more than what they think they are capable of,” added Tran, who is the father of four boys (the oldest is 14).
At the conclusion of the 2017 event, which Tran helped organize, “I felt the kids … felt a sense of hope and a lot of inspiration from the speakers that they heard,” he said.
That’s why he wants parents and grandparents to “really encourage the youth in your family to come out and be inspired by our speakers.”
Youth Empowerment Day will help the participants understand “that they have great amount of potential,” Tran said, and they should be open to “whatever direction God will call them.”