Favorite Quote

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run walk, if you can’t walk crawl, but by all means keep moving.”

– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

Nou went to California State University Sacramento (CSUS) for her undergraduate education and graduated from the CSUS traditional BSN program. In the middle of Nou’s nursing program, the Covid-19 pandemic was declared. However, Nou continued to serve as a student leader and participated in her school’s chapter for the California Nursing Students Association and American Association for Men In Nursing, to further promote the nursing career to future and current nursing students.

After graduating, Nou went to work for Kaiser Permanente as an unlicensed nurse extern providing patient care in the oncology unit at Kaiser Roseville and then transitioned into the Kaiser Vaccination clinic at Cal Expo. It was at this time that Nou founded the Hmong Nurses Association and began actively participating as a general member. Once Nou obtained her licensure, Nou moved into the public health arena by working as an RN Contact Tracer for COVID-19 in the Sacramento City Unified School District, providing safety education and isolation guidelines for staff, students, and families.

Nou wanted to challenge herself and get back into patient care so Nou applied for a nursing position at Sacramento Community Clinic. Currently, Nou is a Lead Care Manager for a team of community health workers who provide case navigation services for Medi-Cal patients in Sacramento County. Nou also is serving as the current HNA Sacramento Chapter President. One of the HNA Sacramento Chapter’s accomplishments was when Nou and her chapter collaborated with the Capitol City Black Nurse Association, the Philippine Nurse Association California Capital City, and the National Association of Hispanic Nurses to prepare and execute the annual Breaking Down Barriers to Nursing for pre-nursing individuals. Nou looks forward to bringing the Hmong nurses in Sacramento closer through more community engagement such as the HNA National Conference which will be hosted at Nou’s alma mater. Nou hopes to continue to work with other nursing organizations and honor the values HNA has established.

Some of Nou’s hobbies include arts and crafts, attending concerts, and listening to podcasts in her free time.