Taekwondo: Lessons for Life

At a small storefront taekwondo studio in Chandler, Ariz., students of all ages stream through the door, looking to improve their coordination, burn off energy or get in shape. But Master Johnny Nguyen, the primary instructor at NB Taekwondo, knows they'll leave with more than that. 

"It's changed me," said Jorge Castillo, who was introduced to the sport when his 6-year-old daughter began training at the studio. "Boy, I had a horrible temper, and it just changed the type of person I am... the way that I treat people." The instructors at the studio say that they teach students to live their lives by the principles of black belt: modesty, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. 

"I want to be a role model to all of our kids," Johnny Nguyen said. "I want to inspire them and show them that it takes hard work, it takes sacrifice, it takes discipline to achieve goals."

A version of this story was published in Cronkite News in 2019.

SHOW is a student-run initiative that provides free health care and clinic services to the downtown Phoenix homeless population. About 250 people turned out for the group’s fourth annual health fair Oct. 21, 2017, where volunteers provided health assessments, screenings, foot baths and other resources at the Lodestar Day Resource Center on the Phoenix Human Services Campus.

For more information, visit Phoenix clinic care.

As Phoenix’s unsheltered homeless population continues to grow, a new collaborative street medicine program hopes to connect those in need to existing health care services.

Street Medicine Phoenix’s goal is to link the underserved population to care while avoiding making assumptions about what the community’s needs are. That’s why co-founders Jeffery Hanna and Justin Zeien, who both have master’s degrees in public health from the University of Arizona, launched the program with a needs assessment.

For more information, visit Health on the streets.