Early obstacles in life and in her career helped to pave a road with twists and turns along the way, but dedication to family and a true passion for her work have led Mary Lynn Nguyen to achieve her own unique version of the American dream.
A Vietnamese woman and thriving local business owner, the proud mother of three began her journey toward becoming a nail technician after moving to the states and finding residence in California.
Despite the language barrier, Nguyen, like many other immigrant manicurists, discovered a way to work and provide for herself and her family before becoming completely accustomed to the English language.
After gaining some knowledge and experience in the industry, Nguyen set out to earn her license and began building the framework for what would become her livelihood.
"I'm from Vietnam and I came to the United States," she said. "This job does not require a lot of English, and I like it. ... When I lived in California back then, they didn't have Vietnamese reading or writing. I had to go to Texas because they had that option there. I could read and write my own language, and I went over there to get the license."
"She ended up in California in a pretty tough neighborhood," Nguyen's friend and work colleague Phet added of her early circumstances. "That (was) the only way she could afford to raise her family was by getting into the nail business. ... Also, one thing when you come here (from another country), you kind of stay close to people that (make) you feel comfortable."
Nguyen agreed that the nail business has tied into the history of Vietnamese-American culture for generations, noting that the trade has played a major role for many Vietnamese-Americans who emigrated to America dating back to the Vietnam War.
About 45 years ago, a group of Vietnamese women fled South Vietnam in the midst of Communist leader Ho Chi Minh's takeover to find refuge in northern California, where the refugees eventually found solace in a relief camp near Sacramento called Hope Village.
In 1975, Hollywood starlet and humanitarian Tippi Hedren came to the aid of the Vietnamese refugees, discovering soon enough what vocation sparked the most interest among members of the group: artistically creating manicured nails.
In an effort to embrace, inspire and encourage these women who had faced so much conflict and loss in their native country, Hedren, best known by many Americans for her starring role in Alfred Hitchcock's film "The Birds," took it upon herself to enlist all 20 women in manicurist training with her personal beautician and in a local beauty school.
As the women adopted the new trade and along with it, a new lifestyle that eventually settled them throughout the region of southern California, this defining moment in history -- one that helped forge a new identity for the immigrant community -- greatly impacted the future of America's nail economy with a lasting connection between Vietnamese and American cultures.
A curriculum that accommodated the Vietnamese language was vital for Nguyen and her family's future well-being, and despite having to relocate after some minor issues, the time spent at school in Texas proved well worth the trouble.
"You have to have license to do nails (and) it does requires a lot," she explained. "Back then it was 250 (hours). Now they go up to 600 hours, but if they have the Vietnamese, you can take the test (and) you have that option so it's really good. ... Then I go back to California -- they don't accept my license. They say I have to go to school more over there because back then, California (required) 400 hours. And Texas only 250 hours. ... I can't work because my license can't change to California license."
After realizing that her certification would not be accepted in California, Nguyen was forced to make selfless decisions that eventually led her to finding work in another state.
"I went to school in Texas, I went back to California, and they didn't accept so I had to find a way to work to make money," she said. "My son has special needs so I had to go to Omaha, Neb. There was a nail spa there so I worked for her for about a year ... we got some money and support(ed) the family."
"She moved there by herself, lived there and worked for her family, not just to earn money, but to learn the business," Phet added. "She was able to save some and send the money back to now her ex-husband, so he could take care of the kids. That's how she started learning the business, from a lady who actually took her in and kinda helped guide her that way."
For personal reasons pertaining to what was truly best for her family at the time, Nguyen left Nebraska and took it upon herself to find work somewhere where her children would be happy.
It was then that she and her family would discover their new home in Hot Springs.
"It was too cold," admitted Nguyen. "It's not a good place for me to move the family there, and then one of my cousins in Houston, Texas, -- her friend had the shop in the (Hot Springs) Mall back then a long time ago in 1996. ... I came here, worked for them -- that's the first place I looked. I worked there and I worked (at) a couple of other places, then I decided I wanted to have my own."
Before officially owning and operating her first salon, Nguyen met some of her first and most beloved clients while working at other locations in town.
"People (have been) with me since 1996," she said. "And then I opened Mary's Nails in 1990-97, so most of my customers follow me from place to place. Sometimes you move and people don't know you (but) for most people, if they know you they'll follow you and it helps a lot."
Over the years and through different experiences Nguyen's clients have become more like family to her rather than just customers, and one woman in particular changed the nail expert's life forever when she searched for and finally found Nguyen's biological father.
"She never met her dad for 40-something years," added Phet. "Actually she met her dad for the first time last year when I drove her to Vegas."
"You cannot explain," Nguyen said. "You're happy, nervous, excited ... You know he's your blood, but you never (were) around so you don't know what to expect. Now we're close! We text a couple times, sometimes four to five times a week."
After establishing a successful business at Mary's Nails, Nguyen moved on to other locations, providing jobs and creating opportunities for others in the area to thrive in and enjoy what the nail business was bringing to Hot Springs.
"I don't know how to say it; I like to do nails and I guess I'm a little bit cuckoo for it or whatever," she said with a laugh. "I have a lot of customers like Kay Moore -- a lot of people who love me. She's the one who called to set it up and wanted to do this for me, because she's been with me for a while. .... You like what you do then you get close to people, and they like you and they love you; it's good."
Phet pointed out that working with people as a nail technician aided Nguyen greatly as she learned how to speak more of the English language.
"It's another way that she learns the language also. When she first started out, you know sometimes, you get all types of customers. People that curse and you don't know what it means, (but) you just smile about it ... You learn everyone's different (and) everyone's an individual, so you learn from each person. She just loves the customers."
As it all comes down to family and the friends she loves most, the full-time mom, business owner and caretaker revels in the life she leads.
Nguyen views her work as a blessing and something to be truly grateful for, namely the unique individuals she comes in contact with along the way.
"I think that helps make her who she is," admitted Phet. "The motivation of finding her dad (and) the motivation of supporting her family ... Sometimes you have the bad days. This is business that you do, you want to make your customer happy but you can't make everyone happy. At the end of the day you have family there that you try to support."
"You feel really good about it," Nguyen added. "They're close to you, they're family and you know they love you. That's amazing, you know? It's something you can't appreciate enough. I have a lot of people like that, and people help me different ways. ... I feel very lucky -- very lucky to have people who love you and stay around. It's like a family."