Trong-Doan Nguyen

I was born in a small and isolated hamlet in almost nowhere of Northen Vietnam, at where pursuing education wasn’t something that so easy. There is a sub-branch of the Red River that prevented us from the way to school. In the rainy season, it turns angry with an incredible stream. I spent my first two years of elementary school in a compound classroom in my village’s pallace of culture, where one teacher teaches 1st and 2nd classes in turn. After that two years, my parent borrowed a corner of my grandparents’ garden, which is located in a different village, to build a woodshop/living hut and so I can go to school easier.

My explore-the-world journey started when I moved to the capital of my province to study physics at Luong Van Tuy Specialized High School. Here, I was exposed to a bigger world, where the picture of rich/poor/human became much clearer over my eyeballs. I also had a chance to visit Nigeria (by winning a silver medal in the 5th Creative contest for youth and students of Vietnam).

What I experienced in this trip and what I witnessed every day in my daily life caused a lot of questions in me, for the whole 5 years of my undergrad and even until now. It contributed to the construction of my perspective and urged me to move forward and step out of the physical border that has been limiting most of the Vietnam citizens. I went to Taiwan, taking a Master’s degree with a full scholarship from MOST, and continue with a higher degree in the US (also fully funded).

And my journey still continues…