About Me

Profile

About: My name is Mac Xuan Nghiem and I was born in Miami, FL on March 12th, 1993 into a wonderful family with loving parents and two caring sisters. After my birth, my parents moved to Houston, TX, where I grew up learning to love Texas. I am the youngest of my family and I’ve had some of the best role models anyone can ask for. My father was a Lieutenant Colonel in the South Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. He is the definition of what a man should be. He is very courageous and strong, but calm and kind. My mother has been another support my whole life, nurturing and guiding me at all times. I like to think that I take after my parents. From my dad, I get my dedication and will; while I get my caring and helping nature from my mom. My two sisters have been the greatest. Of course like other siblings we get into fights now and then, but we truly look out for each other. My sisters offer me endless advice on school, girls, and life in general. Because of my family I am where I am today, studying at the prestigious University of Texas and pursing my goals.

I’m a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Since I was little, I’ve always enjoyed creating and building things. Math and science have always been the two subjects that challenge and interest me. Although technology is great, I love nature and all the things that come with it. I can literally stare at stars for hours. I think it’s important to stare up every now and then and realize we’re all smaller pieces to a huge puzzle. Life is too short to be wasted and worried away.

“Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.”

Why I Ride

Uncle Liem
My uncle was a charming and cheerful man. He was so knowledgeable and talented in almost every subject. He loved to play the piano and sing. Uncle Liem would occasionally send my dad CDs of his singing and playing and I would listen to them all the time. When I turned 7, he gave me a keyboard because he wanted to teach me how to play the piano. I was a terrible pianist, but getting piano lessons from my uncle was fun. I thought that my uncle would be able to teach me all the time and that I would be an amazing pianist like him one day. A few months after those lessons, my uncle was diagnosed with cancer. At the time, I didn’t understand why my uncle sounded so weak over the phone or why my dad was so worried. It was my first encounter with cancer and I didn’t know what to do. That’s all different now. Now I know that I have a fight to pick with cancer and I can do that with Texas 4000. I ride to continue Uncle Liem’s fight with cancer. I ride so that another child somewhere out there can still have piano lessons with his uncle.

Aunt Tuyet
My aunt lived in Saigon, Vietnam when I was growing up. We were separated by an ocean, but we always kept contact by phone. My aunt had a voice that always sounded cheery and it was almost as if her voice itself was smiling. When I was ten, my family took a month long vacation to Vietnam and it was then that I truly bonded with her. My aunt would take me riding on her scooter down to the market every morning and she would tell me stories of the adventures she used to have with my mom. She would often joke about finding a wife for me when I was older and that she would teach me how to ride her scooter if I just grew a few more inches. I realized that summer that I was very much like my aunt. She would always joke around and stay happy even in the toughest situations. Every day she had a new joke or a funny story that happened when she was out and about to tell me. She was a beacon of happiness. When I was sixteen, I heard the news from my mom after coming home from band practice. My aunt, one of the sweetest people on Earth, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. My mom and I started to call more often and what hurt the most was that every call my aunt’s voice seemed to get dimmer and dimmer. My aunt started her chemo and I thought she would be cured. She was showing progress and it was the only thing I could hold on to. In her last phone call to me, she told me things would be alright and she was starting to feel strong again, maybe strong enough to carry me. I woke up one morning to my mom crying in the kitchen. My aunt had stopped her chemo and decided to give up her fight. Some people think that cancer can be cured with a few chemo treatments and checkups and I was one of those people. It’s a hard battle and not everyone wins. I ride for my Aunt Tuyet. I ride to spread hope to people so that they don’t have to give up fighting. I ride to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I ride for my Aunt Tuyet and my Uncle Liem. They were two of the most life-loving people I have ever known. I didn’t get to spend as much time with them as I hoped for, but I’m thankful for the time I did have with them. They’re the reason I am a member of Texas 4000 and their memory is what fuels me to fight.

I ride to spread hope and strength to cancer patients and families so that they don’t give up fighting.

I ride so that no one has to lose loved ones to cancer.

I ride for a cancer free future.