Hear Her Sports

Jenny Nguyen picked up a basketball right around the same time she put down her milk bottle. From an early age, people called her a tomboy. Instead of playing with dolls and wearing dresses, she climbed trees and rode bikes. But most of all, she loved to play basketball. That love shaped her whole identity and helped her to fit in all the way through high school. When she was 19 years old in her first year playing college ball at Clark College, Nguyen ruptured her ACL. She was devastated by the career-ending injury, but stumbled upon a newfound passion: cooking. She cooked all through college, first for her roommate, then for the whole floor and then for the entire dorm. She landed her first kitchen job at age 22 and fell in love with the craft all over again. After graduating from college, Nguyen enrolled at the Western Culinary Institute in downtown Portland. There she graduated from the expedited program while working full time at a couple of fine dining restaurants. When she was in the kitchen, Nguyen was