Following news that the Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs director would resign in March, allegations have surfaced detailing potential abuses of power.
The allegations, put forward by two ambassadors for APIA in the Multicultural and Diversity Affairs office, detail instances of Krystie Nguyen asking students to do her dishes, fold her clothes or watch her dog.
UF student ambassadors reached out to university officials to express concern over Nguyen’s leadership four days before she resigned.
Jeshow Yang and Jennifer Zhang, the APIA ambassadors, said Nguyen’s behavior overstepped boundaries, caused them emotional distress and forced them to fall behind in classes.
“Krystie’s actions have caused severe academic and emotional toll on several ambassadors, and many of us are really uncomfortable with the hostile and unsafe work environment that is now in the APIA Affairs room,” Zhang said.
The two and other students decided to speak with UF vice president for student affairs, David Parrott, and assistant vice president for student affairs, Mary Kay Carodine, about how Nguyen made them uncomfortable in the office.
Nguyen announced her resignation Feb. 20, according to Alligator archives.
Yang, a 21-year-old UF political science and economics junior, said Nguyen has previously asked students to do her dishes or fold her laundry.
He said he was often forced to work between 15 and 20 hours a week, even though ambassadors are only required to work eight.
“I’ve been pulling all-nighters left and right,” Yang said.
Zhang, a 21-year-old UF biology junior, said Nguyen once asked her to watch her dog.
She decided to speak to officials after Nguyen told her she should take time off from her position and not attend a conference. She said she felt it was retaliation for going against Nguyen in the past.
“Whatever personal thing that she had against me was affecting my ability to go to learning opportunities and my ability to work,” Zhang said.
Carodine confirmed in an email that she met with APIA ambassadors.
“They were thoughtful and expressed their concerns regarding the current situation,” she said.
After the Alligator reported that Nyugen was resigning for personal reasons, both Zhang and Yang said they felt the whole story wasn’t being told.
Nguyen wrote in an email that the first time she heard about a student concerned about being overworked was earlier this month. In response, she tried to help by going over each person’s position.
“It was not healthy for me to believe that our office ran like a well-oil(ed) machine, because at the end of the day, we are not machines,” she said. “We all have our limitations.”
Both Yang and Zhang said they felt Nguyen shouldn’t have another job with students again because of how she treated them.
“It was really emotionally taxing for all of us, and it affected us in multiple different ways,” Yang said.
Contact Romy Ellenbogen at rellenbogen@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @romyellenbogen
Krystie Nguyen
