Recent alumna Christina Nguyen is making a name for herself not only with promotions at work, but through her passion for serving the community.

WRITTEN BY TAYLOR LADD

Christina Nguyen ’23 was a busy Bear during her days on campus.

With three years of post-grad life under her belt, she hasn’t slowed down.

Nguyen graduated with a bachelor’s degree in advertising and promotion and was heavily involved on campus.

“A lot of my involvement really helped me understand what kind of leader I wanted to be,” Nguyen said.

She was forced to develop leadership skills at a young age. Her mother passed away when Nguyen was only a sophomore in high school, and she shifted her attention to helping with her younger brother and being a role model. She also has an older brother.

That meant missing out on some typical high school activities.

But that experience helped her form a passion for advocacy, which she weaves into her job and volunteer work.

Internship leads to job, job leads to success on a fast track

Nguyen is a project manager for Signal Theory, a brand development, marketing and design firm with offices in Kansas City and Wichita. She started with the company shortly after graduating and has quickly climbed the ranks.

Last year, Nguyen received a promotion that put her in a managerial role. She oversees a full team on her own and also manages budgets and clients that range from national brands to local organizations.

“I’m leading people to be creative and successful,” Nguyen said. “I’m very fortunate that Signal Theory gave me a lot of opportunities to fast-track my success.”

Outside of work, she serves on the board of directors for KC Ad Club, a development group for professionals. She’s been with the organization since 2023. Earlier this year, she was awarded Ad Club Member of the Year and was inaugurated into the first Kansas City Cohort of Young Advertising Professionals.

“I just wanted to give my time back to the ad industry. I never expected anything from it,” Nguyen said. “I was very honored and humbled to be recognized for what I offered the club and community.”

She’s no stranger to taking on a lot. On campus, she was a resident assistant, vice president of the Student Government Association, a member of the Student Affairs Advisory Board, on the Asian American Pacific Islander Committee and a member of the 2022 Homecoming court.

She was awarded Cabinet Member of the Year for SGA and Outstanding First Year Residence Hall Advisor of the Year.

Nguyen was also honored as an Inclusive Excellence Scholar.

An important piece of her Mo State journey was seeking out internships. Because of those, she had connections in the Kansas City advertising community.

“When the time came around for me to graduate, it just so happened that they were hiring at Signal Theory. One of my connections from an internship was now working there. I asked them for more information about the company and if they thought I would be a good fit. They responded with, ‘Yes, absolutely!’ ”

Nguyen’s connection helped her get an interview. She landed the job.

Nguyen said her Mo State experiences also helped her when things feel intimidating and unfamiliar. Nguyen views those as a chance to improve.

“I never felt wrong for wanting to fail, and I never felt wrong for wanting to be proactive,” Nguyen said. “As long as you want to learn, that’ll take you a lot further. It means you’re teachable.”

Creating a record-smashing campaign for K.C. nonprofit

Just six months after starting at Signal Theory, Nguyen took over the annual United Way Week campaign, a company tradition. It allows employees to give back to the Kansas City community.

It includes events like a chili cookoff, a flip cup tournament and a silent auction during a week of fundraising. Signal Theory employees can pledge donations, entering them in a chance to win raffles for prizes like extra paid time off or gift cards.

“I was nervous because it’s one of those events where everyone gets really into it,” Nguyen said. “It ended up being an incredible experience because it gave me a lot of opportunities to meet with leadership at the agency and find a deeper understanding and passion for serving the community.”

She shifted her focus to emphasize the “why” behind everything. It’s easy to host an event and say it’s good for the community, but she wanted the team to understand why it matters. Why should they care? What impact were they making?

She created participation options that resulted in increased engagement and revenue growth. They hosted an event titled Real Life, Real Choices in which participants make the same difficult decisions real families face daily (like choosing between paying the electricity bill or buying groceries).

Under her leadership, more money was raised than in any previous year.

Beyond the United Way campaign, Nguyen also leads Signal Theory’s employee resources group Babes Helpin’ Babes. The group helps empower marginalized employees with open discussions and events.

“That’s stuff I love to do, as someone who really practices social advocacy and wants to lead with a very strong but empathetic heart,” Nguyen said. “To me, that doesn’t really feel like work.”

Her most important lesson: Balance; leave room for “fun and silly”

Nguyen has advice on how to juggle a lot. She leaves herself one free day each week just to recharge — whether she meets up with friends, goes to a cycling class, catches up on a favorite show or tries a new recipe.

Another characteristic true to her past: she is always up for trying something new.

Even her free days are about to get a little more exciting.

“I’m going to join a roller derby soon, so I need to practice for that. It’s very fun and silly, but it’s just a little side quest for me. It truly is the year of embracing the side quest.”