Kinesiology students have kept retiring lab supervisor forever young

Dam Nguyen wrapped up his job interview with a question. “What’s the best thing about working at McMaster?”

The hiring panel didn’t skip a beat. “The students will keep you forever young.”

And they did exactly that for all 21 years that Dam’s worked in the Department of Kinesiology as a lab supervisor. The students’ energy and enthusiasm have been contagious.

But now he’s worried what’ll happen when he’s no longer around students – he’s 60 years old and retiring at the end of the month. “I don’t want to wake up on July 1^st and find out that I suddenly got really old overnight,” says Dam with smile.

Dam’s career in information technology spans three countries over four decades. He was born and raised in Vietnam. Seven years into his career, he moved to Thailand to earn his masters degree. Once Dam and his wife Linh became parents, they started looking at other countries where they could raise their son Bill.

At that time, skilled immigrants in Thailand had two options under a fast-track relocation program – Australia or Canada. While the internet was in its early days – Google wouldn’t launch for another seven years – they managed to find enough information online to make a decision. With family in North America, Dam and Linh chose Canada and then picked Toronto over Vancouver.

They landed at Toronto Pearson Airport one week before the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. And then came the dot-com bust – “a nightmare for IT professionals” says Dam. He’d eventually find work at a small firm. Then a job came up at McMaster to supervise student computer labs in Kinesiology and Health, Aging and Society. Dam had worked in postsecondary institutions in Vietnam and Thailand so he applied and was hired. He too would stay forever young thanks to the students.

He joined McMaster when desktops and dial-up access had yet to be replaced by laptops and mobile devices. While he got hopelessly lost at first, Dam became one of the few people who could find any room in the Ivor Wynne Centre without retracing their steps and asking for directions.

Over time, Dam would play a key role in supporting student and faculty researchers in Kinesiology. Along with setting up computers in labs, he’d build data acquisition systems for research projects and design, customize and write programs to help faculty and grad students collect and test their data.

The most rewarding part of helping with research? “Having a chance to learn and contribute – even if it was a very small part – to one of the best Kinesiology programs in Canada and in the world.” In the 2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject, McMaster’s kinesiology program ranks 32^nd among the world’s top 100 universities – the highest ranking for Mac in the health and life sciences subject area.

Dam’s contributions will be missed, says Dean Maureen MacDonald. She joined the Kinesiology department as an assistant professor in July 2000 and worked with Dam over the years. “Dam has consistently provided excellent IT support and guidance to faculty, staff and students and always with a smile. Like many IT professionals, he’s reluctant to throw out any old equipment. We might need to keep Dam on speed dial to help us locate replacement parts after his retirement.”

Dam says he’ll miss the sense of community within Kinesiology and across the university. While it’s been years since he’s worked for Health, Aging and Society in the Faculty of Social Sciences, he still gets invited to their special events and celebrations.

Not only have his co-workers felt like family, McMaster has been a big part of his family’s life. His son’s first summer camp was at Mac – he’d later become a student in the Faculty of Engineering studying software engineering and management. He’s now working at Amazon. It’s a point of pride for Dam – “all three of us in our family have IT careers.”

Dam hasn’t firmed up any post-career plans beyond having a well-deserved rest. His wife will continue working from home – Dam promises to stay out of her way.

And while he has family in California, Dam says he won’t be spending his golden years in the Golden State. He’s grown to love living in a part of the world that has four seasons. Their first Christmas Day in Mississauga was the first time his son saw snow. “This is our home.”