LSU alumna Calli Nguyen grew up watching “Wizards of Waverly Place'' connected Disney Channel. Now, she’s learning however to enactment from David Deluise, who played the fun-loving father, Jerry Russo, connected the show.
Along with acting, Nguyen is simply a first-generation full-time aesculapian student. She graduated from LSU successful May 2022 and went connected to a one-year biomedical and wellness equity programme astatine Baylor College of Medicine successful Houston, wherever she’s studying to go a pediatric cardiologist.
While studying for her finals during her past semester astatine LSU, Nguyen learned astir ABG Studios, an acting programme wherever students tin larn from erstwhile Disney and Nickelodeon stars. The program, founded by erstwhile Disney histrion Deluise, is based successful Los Angeles and holds virtual classes with immoderate in-person workshops.
Despite having nary ceremonial acting experience, Nguyen decided to use and was accepted into the program.
“I started doing acting much and turns retired I loved it, due to the fact that I’m virtually surviving puerility Calli’s dream…I ne'er truly thought that I would person a passionateness for acting due to the fact that my full beingness has conscionable been healthcare, medicine, science, taking attraction of different people, but I felt similar acting was thing I could truly bash for myself much and enactment myself first,” she said.
Two of her household members died wrong a abbreviated clip framework during her last semester astatine LSU, which Nguyen described arsenic a hard fewer months. She was near struggling with her intelligence wellness but recovered that acting helped her get done the pain.
“I was going done specified a depression, a batch of worldly with my intelligence health…still trying to postgraduate and decorativeness up my classes, and acting was truly benignant of that flight from it all, similar ‘oh, possibly I tin person different passion,’” Nguyen said.
After lone a fewer months of training, Nguyen participated successful an AGB Studios showcase, wherever dozens of endowment agencies watched her self-tapes. Nguyen received 8 callbacks – the astir of anyone successful her program. Shortly after, she signed with AEFH Talent Agency, which she described arsenic “one of the apical endowment agencies successful California.”
Along with attending aesculapian classes astatine Baylor, she participates successful virtual classes with assorted actors. So far, she said she’s learned from Deluise; Jennifer Stone, who played Harper Finkle connected “Wizards of Waverly Place”; Anneliese van der Pol, who played Chelsea Grayson connected “That’s So Raven” and Amber Frank, who played Taylor Hathaway connected the “Haunted Hathaways.”
Nguyen besides maintains a pursuing connected TikTok, wherever she posts vlog-style videos astir her beingness and survey routine. Her relationship has astir 648,000 likes, with 1 of her astir caller videos receiving 1.7 cardinal views.
Nguyen said her clip astatine LSU has prepared her for the quality to negociate a engaged docket and persevere.
“I’m capable to equilibrium each this and truly propulsion done due to the fact that of…my mindset...I was inactive capable to fundamentally propulsion through, decorativeness up my classes, postgraduate with each As, and I wouldn’t person been capable to person that mindset had LSU not helped maine summation those resources and fundamentally pushed me,” she said.
Calli Nguyen poses with her survey notes astatine Baylor College of Medicine.
While it tin beryllium hard managing some acting, contented instauration and medicine, Nguyen said her passionateness keeps her motivated.
“I’m a steadfast believer that your passions volition determination you and they volition thrust you to immoderate you privation to bash successful life, and that has truly been my information – is my passions – and truthful for me…it’s truly each astir the balance,” she said.
While Nguyen is unfastened to a vocation successful either acting oregon medicine, she knows that some would beryllium full-time jobs. If it came down to it, Nguyen said she would take a large relation implicit schoolhouse due to the fact that portion medicine and healthcare would ever beryllium there, she believes acting is simply a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“I’m conscionable going wherever my passionateness takes me…Whichever 1 gives maine the astir opportunities and whichever 1 opens much doors for me, that’s the way I’m going to take,” Nguyen said.
Deluise believes dedication and hard enactment was the crushed Nguyen was capable to person truthful galore callbacks astatine their showcase.
“Calli took this earnestly – that's precise important. She invested successful her trade and it paid off,” Deluise said successful an email interview.
Deluise said helium sees “lots of success” successful Nguyen’s aboriginal with some medicine and acting.
“It's bully to travel each of your dreams. We are each precise arrogant of her,” helium said.
Michelle Tran met Nguyen astatine Baylor College of Medicine, wherever they’re some successful the aforesaid program. Over the past fewer months, Tran has seen firsthand however Nguyen balances her engaged schedule.
“She's 1 of the astir hardworking radical I've ever met, honestly. She's been done a batch and she has been truthful gracious capable to stock that to me, and I tin spot done her hard enactment is going to wage off,” she said.
Tran said she and Nguyen enslaved implicit being contented creators and often speech to each different astir the accent that comes with being a pupil portion managing a societal media following.
“It's been bully having idiosyncratic to speech astir things with, particularly due to the fact that not a batch of radical that we cognize are successful the aforesaid presumption arsenic we are…We conscionable had a trial contiguous and our radical fundamentally stayed up until similar 2:30 this morning, and it's truly bully having radical that are arsenic motivated and determined to bash the same,” Tran said.
Nguyen’s mom, Phi Oamh Nguyen, said her girl has ever wanted to prosecute medicine. When she started to explicit an involvement successful acting this year, Phi Oamh Nguyen afloat supported her girl and wanted her to person different passion, truthful she doesn’t absorption connected schoolhouse each the time.
“I enactment [Calli Nguyen] 100%. I cognize that she inactive studies…She's the archetypal 1 successful the household [to spell to college], truthful we cognize however determined she is,” Phi Oamh Nguyen said.
Phi Oamh Nguyen said she's ne'er disquieted astir her girl pursuing acting portion being a full-time aesculapian pupil and that nary substance what, she knows she'll beryllium successful.
“[Calli Nguyen's] a precise determined girl, precise focused, truthful immoderate she sets retired to do, she plans it precise good and she conscionable goes for it,” Phi Oamh Nguyen said.
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