Meet Ivee Nguyen an featured model and a nursing student who is currently working in the ER braving a new Covid world. Get to know her a little bit better in an interview with Taste the dram.
Ivee, please tell us who you are?
IN: I’m Ivee Nguyen, first pronounced “Ivy.” I am a 22 year old, Vietnamese-American, based in mid-west Indiana. I am an influencer/and model and a lover of fashion. I am a nursing student and work at an Emergency Room. I am a big foodie and I also love working out and going to the gym to ease the mind.
How did you develop an interest in fashion, modeling, and traveling respectively?
IN: I have always had interest and wanted to be a model since I was young. I even did research on it as a kid because I wanted to grow up and become a model. When I was younger, I always felt like everybody else around me were so pretty and I wasn’t. From middle school to high school, I was not very confident in myself or my looks. When I was a freshman in college, that’s when I started to take more pictures of myself and photographers started to reach out to me to work. I slightly did model from here and there but kept focused on school, so I didn’t do it as much. Now, I am just as invested in modeling as I am in school. I’m busy doing both all the time, but it is well worth it to me.
Modeling and showing off my expression in fashion all started on Instagram. I have a passion for fashion, traveling and modeling, I enjoy doing both at the same time.
Whenever I travel, I also like to work and create while doing it. I had a trip to Los Angeles where I did brand work and photoshoots and decided to just tour and adventure around and I ended up even having a photoshoot while doing that at the same time. I’m working even when I’m not. I love traveling to other places because it gives me an opportunity to meet other people and exploring cultural and environmental differences gives me new insight. Meeting new people with different insight who are creatives in the industry helps motivate and push me into working harder. I enjoy creating content and meeting new people while doing it.
For brands that want to reach out and work with you, what do you wish they knew about you and your ethics?
IN: A big thing about me is that I have strong work ethic. I love having a busy orderly routine. When I want something, I keep trying and going until the task is finished even if there are obstacles to it. I am not the type to give up at all. I am a full-time nursing student and I am able to balance my job as a model/influencer both at the same time. I can manage to focus and do both jobs and couldn’t imagine myself being any other way. I am also all about body positivity, I say I am pretty little, and I used to be insecure about that. I feel more confident in myself more than ever, and I want to make other people feel the same way.
Where do you get your sense of style from?
IN: When it comes to style, I get influenced in many different ways. I like to wear what makes me comfortable and what makes me feel good about myself. I am heavily into fashion and I think the clothing that people wear does represent themselves and fashion is a form of expression. I love dressing up but even when I’m dressed down, I try to make it fashion.
Who are your favorite musicians to jam out to when no one’s looking? Favorite genre of music to get down to?
IN: I listen to mostly R&B and hip hop/rap. My all-time favorite artist is The Weeknd. My other top artists are Chris Brown, Jeremih, Tory Lanez, Tink, Jhené Aiko, and Saweetie. I enjoy listening to music and do it daily. I am always on the lookout for new music and new artists.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
IN: I have always wanted to go to Vietnam, Thailand, and Bali. I’ve always wanted to visit my homeland and learn about the culture and explore my roots. To me, traveling can be incredibly eye-opening.
Being part of an industry whose only emphasis is on the outside characteristics of a person, how have you stayed grounded?
IN: I used to care about what other people thought about me when I was younger. As I grew up, I stopped caring and kind of just did whatever made me happy, which is fashion, modeling, and creating content. I found myself having boost of confidence as I learned to love myself more.
They say you are what you want, what are you?
IN: I am a bowl of phở. Phở consists of rice-noodles with broth, it’s a type of soup from Vietnam. My mom makes the best phở and basically that is what I am.
If your best friends could tell us something embarrassing about you, what would it be?
IN: I am a very emotional person and they would probably tell you I cry during sad scenes of movies. They would also tell you about the obnoxious amount of money that I spend on Starbucks a year due to getting it daily, but currently I am working on breaking that addiction.
General words of wisdom you live by..
IN: I believe that spreading positivity and love is important, the energy you put out is the energy you’ll get back. There’s a lot of negativity in the world, but by you being a good person you are one more person that’s bringing good to the world. Stay true to yourself always! 🙂 Oh and also check on the ones you love and your neighbors.
