Ngoc Nguyen was born in Saigon just a few years before the end of the Vietnam War. As a child, she had to work to support her family and ultimately dropped out of school. 

After immigrating to the U.S. in her early twenties, she continued working. It would be more than two decades before Nguyen would be able to continue her education.

At 45, she enrolled in a GED program at the Opportunities Industrialization Center in Oklahoma City. At StoryCorps, Nguyen sat down with her teacher, Christopher Myers, to thank him for the role he played in helping her earn her degree despite her obstacles.

Top Photo: Christopher Myers and Ngoc Nguyen at their StoryCorps interview in Oklahoma City on February 9, 2018. By Chelsea Aguilera for StoryCorps.

Originally aired Friday, January 22, 2021, on NPR’s Morning Edition.