Meet Hailey Nguyen

We recently connected with Hailey Nguyen and have shared our conversation below.

Hailey, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My work ethic comes from my ability to exercise self-discipline. Growing up as the youngest in a four-person Asian American household, I was immersed in both Vietnamese and American cultures. This blend handed me the pressure of meeting the traditional educational expectations associated with Asian cultures, alongside the diverse and evolving ideals of American society. I felt this strong need to excel in everything I did and live up to the standards I set for myself. I also think a big part of it was my admiration for independence; I liked to do things on my own and I liked to be self-reliant.
In school, I became the person who micromanaged every group project, needing excessive control and autonomy over each detail. My perfectionism drove me to be organized, manage my time effectively, and continuously improve. My drive for excellence fueled my work ethic as I constantly sought to meet my own benchmarks and define success on my own terms. However, I’ve also learned that it’s equally important to balance perfectionism with pragmatism. I experienced significant burnout during my junior year of high school, which led to the demise of terribly unhealthy habits. While striving for excellence is great and all, it’s important to recognize when something is “good enough” to avoid the pitfalls of overworking or becoming paralyzed by the pursuit of perfection.
My motivation comes from both intrinsic and extrinsic sources. Intrinsic motivation drives me to engage in activities that bring me joy or fulfillment, such as writing, reading, watching medical documentaries, or golfing with my dad. These activities energize me to take on less enjoyable tasks, like schoolwork, which are motivated by extrinsic rewards—such as academic success or career advancement. Despite my extrinsic motivation primarily seeking recognition or self-validation, I have slowly learned to fall in love with and even crave hard work, which requires a ton of self-discipline and self-control. Balancing instant and delayed gratification, and understanding that success often requires sacrificing immediate rewards for long-term goals, has been essential.
Maintaining this balance hasn’t always been easy. I fell into cycles of procrastination, delaying work until the end of the day and wasting valuable time on unproductive activities. I convinced myself I was more productive at night, as I could work “comfortably” in bed. This habit made me feel like I was in a slump, and as my workload piled up, I realized I needed a stronger work ethic to keep up.
I began to see discipline as a form of self-love, essential for pursuing things that are good for me, even when they are challenging. Discipline and work ethic reflect how much you want to improve and achieve your goals. I started challenging myself to finish everything I began and began planning ahead. Once I adopted a physical planner and spreadsheets, I felt more productive. Although it might seem like pseudo-productivity, having a visual timeline of tasks gave me direction and helped me get more done. Learning from the ups and downs has been part of the process.
The pressure to constantly achieve also led to feelings of inadequacy and I eventually fell prey to imposter syndrome. At a competitive school like Brooklyn Tech, I often felt I wasn’t doing enough, even after regaining my momentum and work ethic. Being in an environment with 6,000 intelligent and high-achieving students can affect your self-perception of how smart you think you are. Anything I did well in, someone else could do 10x better and it makes it hard to internalize your accomplishments. I found myself endlessly scrolling through LinkedIn profiles of peers with Olympian-level accolades and passion projects, which made me feel incompetent and fixated on my perceived lack of success. I began to glorify overworking as a badge of honor, influenced by the collective mindset that success means constantly hustling. This is also why ambition is disguised as a lifestyle instead of as a means to an end or a focused effort to accomplish something meaningful.
Ultimately, maintaining a strong work ethic is a journey, not a destination. I am confident in my capabilities and I consistently remind myself of each milestone, also keeping in mind that support is vital (even when you want to be independent). I now manage a nonprofit and have taken on numerous roles with the true desire to be there and explore it no matter how hard. Because if you do what you love, you won’t get burnt out by it but rather fired up (no matter how intense it gets). Your work ethic will speak for itself. In the end, perfection isn’t the goal—growth, confidence, and learning are.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am the founder of BeyondtheWaters, a youth-led initiative and emerging nonprofit organization run by NYC high schoolers. Driven by my passion for research, advocacy, leadership, and humanitarian aid, BTW was created in February 2024, and we have made significant progress since then. We are dedicated to providing aid and solidarity to individuals facing adversity in South and Southeast Asian communities. This includes raising awareness and fundraising to support innocent victims during ongoing crises. We also run a blog that covers current events, highlighting vulnerable populations affected by these issues, with the goal of providing accessible information often overlooked by mainstream media.
The inspiration for starting BeyondtheWaters stemmed from the lack of acknowledgment and emphasis on global issues. A personal experience during my visit to Vietnam pushed me to take action. Children as young as four worked on the streets to support their families, and I visited an orphanage where I spoke with kids whose parents were too financially unstable to care for them. Situations like these are often ignored or unknown to the rest of the world. Research revealed that similar crises affect many other populations globally. Witnessing these issues firsthand, and being related to the suffering victims, was a significant motivator. We recognize that it’s not just poverty, but also political turmoil, lack of resources, and persecution, that disrupt the lives of innocent people worldwide. I gathered a group of high school peers who shared this empathy and passion for addressing these issues. We knew our generation needed to take action, so we collectively built this organization with the goal of making a tangible impact.
We also found that many people in the U.S. are not fully aware of these concerns. My executive board shares this empathy and passion, not only because of our own backgrounds but also because we believe our generation needs this push. Having a personal connection to this mission makes the steep learning curve more rewarding.
Starting a grassroots organization with no prior experience, little direction, and ambitious goals has been challenging, but building our brand and gaining support from large organizations like BRAC and PaaniProject has turned small successes into significant achievements. So far, we have operated in Myanmar and Pakistan and are working on initiatives in Vietnam. We have raised around $5,000 (and counting) through bake sales and online fundraisers, aiding Myanmar refugees in Cox’s Bazar with essential needs such as food, water, and hygienic products, as well as building schools and learning centers. We have also funded the construction of water wells and hand pumps in impoverished communities in Pakistan, serving over 250 individuals. This month, we are raising money and awareness for an orphanage in Vietnam, aiming to meet their basic needs. As children of immigrants from suffering motherlands, this youth collective strives to shed light on under-discussed crises through compassion, solidarity, and proactive engagement.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back but also looking forward, I carry with me several pieces of advice.

1. Be a socialite. As I mature, I continue to find beauty in making connections. I think being somewhat outgoing and very open-minded goes a long way. Being social not only builds your support system but also expands your professional network. I’ve met incredibly talented people through platforms like LinkedIn and by simply talking to strangers. Socializing not only builds your support system but also expands your professional network. It’s a way to learn new things, challenge your perspectives, embody different roles, and grow. We are products of our socialization.
2. As the world constantly evolves, stay curious and actively seek opportunities for both personal learning and professional development. Practice humility and grit. Learn for a lifetime. Ask questions. Seek support.
3. Be ambitious and a go-getter. You don’t get rewarded for sitting around waiting for things to happen. The earlier you start, the sooner you reach your goal. Successful people are often those who take steps ahead.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

With it being the summer before my senior year of high school, I am currently in the college application process. I have a billion spreadsheets, checklists, essays, supplements to write, grades to report, and one chance to sum up my whole life in an application to stand out to admissions officers. It gets stressful fast. To deal with it, I listen to music, journal, talk to friends, and recently, I’ve been getting into podcasts.
Essentially, do the things you genuinely enjoy doing and use that fulfillment to get the less-satisfactory things done!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://beyondthewaters.com
• Instagram: @beyondthewaters or @n.haileyy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haileynguyen23/