For 16-year-old junior Max Nguyen, music isn’t just a passion. It’s his voice, his dream, and his way of sharing his story with the world.
Max was born with cerebral palsy and has experienced challenges with mobility and movement in his hands. But his talent and spirit go far beyond any limitations he faces. “Music helps me physically as a wonderful hand therapy exercise, mentally as stress relief, and socially as an excellent way to connect with other people,” Nguyen said.
Nguyenx developed a love for music at an early age, thanks to his father, who introduced him to music as a form of therapy for his hands. Since then, Nguyen has loved performing and sharing his talent with the world.
Having cerebral palsy comes with its challenges, due to limitations of muscle, posture, and even enunciation. Max sees these as simply hurdles, not permanent roadblocks. He dedicates his time to practicing every day, looking for ways he’s able to show his career to the world. “I tried learning guitar twice in middle school but gave up shortly after thinking that it was out of my limits due to my condition,” Nguyen said.
What makes Nguyen’s singing journey even more remarkable is not just his amazing voice, but his courage to share his story. He writes his own songs, covers songs, and speaks on his experiences living with cerebral palsy. His lyrics always have a deep meaning. “My main melodic influence is Ed Sheeran and lyric inspiration is Olivia Rodrigo – thus my lyrics are very story-driven. Of course, like any other art form, there are a lot of instances of fiction and exaggeration in my lyrics on top of my experience in order to make the song more compelling. I view this as telling the emotional truth instead of the factual truth, similar to how Tim O’Brien wrote ‘How to tell a true war story,” Nyguyen said.
Nguyen’s journey hasn’t gone unnoticed as he’s an assistant to a capella teacher Keith Schwartz. ” I am interning for Mr. Schwartz as a guitar teacher assistant, hoping I could help students experience the life-changing magic that all the teachers above had given to me,” Nguyen said.
He works hard as he is in the middle of developing a beginner-friendly guitar curriculum for the school. “A big part of Max’s internship in guitar class has been him coming up with changes to the existing curriculum we have. He has been an important part of changing the lessons and the structure to make the class feel more like a connected community and allow students to learn specific guitar concepts that interest them the most,” Schwartz said.
Nguyen’s journey has earned him opportunities, as he speaks and performs for events. Nguyen was featured on “Fox News 7” and “Moco Show,” where he was able to introduce his singing career to the world. He recalls those days as a life-changing moment for him and his career. “It felt so cool. Above all, it is a wonderful opportunity to share my story with the world,”Nguyen said.
Another life-changing moment for Nguyen was after singer-songwriter Noah Kahan reposted Max’s “Stick Season” cover from the Junior National Hospital. This unlocked a new light for Nguyen and helped him reach a new audience.
His music and his mentality show that when passion meets courage, you can do anything if you put your mind to it. “I think Max is definitely an inspiration. One thing that inspires me and other students is that he always builds community with everyone he meets. He has no fear of talking to someone he doesn’t know and finding common interests with them. He is incredibly independent but knows the importance of asking friends for help when he needs it. Max is a great example of the idea that there is more that connects us than divides us as members of this Wootton community,” Schwartz said.
Nguyen continues to share his story and spread awareness to others who have cerebral palsy. He hopes his music can share positivity with others and inspire others to pursue their dreams, just as he did. “Although music will always be part of my life and identity, I planned to major in mechatronic/biomedical engineering. I envision myself as an engineer by day and musician by night, releasing music to the world and wishing that one becomes a hit. Now that being a guitar teacher assistant has brought me full circle and helped me pay forward the hard work and dedication that teachers had for me, my next step would be to pay forward all the blood and tears of many doctors and engineers behind assistive technologies that made my life what it is. Being able to build technology that makes life with disabilities just a bit easier would be a dream come true and full circle moment for me,” Nguyen said.
