2019-2020 Avatar: Ngoc Nguyen

Hi! My name is Ngoc Nguyen—and no worries, I’ve got you covered: it’s pronounced “knock win.” I was born in Vietnam, but I immigrated to Bowling Green in 2008.

It has been very surreal for me to write this blog post for many reasons.

First, I remember myself as a freshman in high school, stumbling upon this blog for the first time as I tried to learn absolutely everything about Gatton. Sure, the academic rigor and the “infinite possibilities” interested me, but reading about the culture, adventure, and tightness of the Gatton community in the blog posts hooked me. I know I was very curious about this aspect of the Gatton Academy, so I hope our future posts will continue to enlighten this facet of Gatton for many curious prospective students like my past self.

Second, while reflecting back on the past school year to talk about myself, I couldn’t decide if the school year had felt like 3 minutes or 3 years. In 3 minutes, it seemed like I had moved in, experienced GRO Week, finished fall semester, and experienced CPS in the spring semester. In 3 years, it seemed like that was how long I had known the most amazing people I have ever met here.

Anyway, I guess I should really start describing more of myself now—sorry, I know this blog is all over the place.

My current passion is chemistry, and I have been pursuing polymer chemistry research with Dr. Lawrence Hill over the past summer with a Research Internship Grant. Initially, I thought I wasn’t smart enough to do this; I could barely keep up with my high school chemistry lab. But, with research, I got to move at my own comfortable pace guided personally by my mentor.

Other extracurricular activities I enjoy pursuing are swimming (fun fact: I took 2 swimming courses at Gatton that taught me how to swim), volunteering at the library, and interning with a local representative. I am also a member of the Science Bowl team and Science Dance.

I cannot wait for another 3 minutes or 3 years at Gatton—depending on how you look at it.

Ngoc