Having grown up in one of the busiest districts in Hanoi, Vietnam, Huy Nguyen `25 came to study in Grinnell, wanting to move away from the noise of the big city. At Grinnell, Nguyen intended to major in philosophy once he arrived.
“I wanted to be able to discover things on my own and to be challenged by my surroundings,” Nguyen said.
Despite specializing in math in high school, winning multiple accolades from math competitions during high school, Nguyen was initially reluctant to major in mathematics until he discovered the innovative methods the College is teaching the subject.
“Different professors have different styles, but essentially, they want students to be curious and wander around the world of math,” Nguyen said. “Learning math is not really about the theorems that you know. In the end, it’s about how you think creatively about the surroundings.”
Nyugen now majors in both philosophy and mathematics. By combining the multi-perspective thinking of his philosophy major with the problem-solving skills of his mathematics major, Nguyen aspires to become a skilled critical thinker, tackling the world’s unsolved problems and ethical dilemmas.
“I want to work in an environment where I can be challenged by the problems being brought up,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen had the opportunity to apply these skills during an internship at a Vietnamese international trade bank, where he worked in a brand-new data analytics department.
However, his externship at the New Hampshire Supreme Court during his sophomore year, where he shadowed a Grinnell alumnus who worked as a U.S. State Attorney and also majored in philosophy, was the moment where he truly discovered how the two subjects interact.
“The more I engage with law materials, how they build their cases, listening to advocacy and oral arguments, the more I think, ‘Oh, maybe math has a really good standing in helping me understand the logic of the arguments,’” Nguyen said. “I never expected math and philosophy to collide in this way into this whole new discipline of general knowledge.”
Nguyen originally planned to attend law school after graduation, driven by his long-standing interest in analyzing arguments surrounding moral dilemmas. He joined the mock trial club to explore this interest more deeply. Despite his decision to pursue a different path, his fascination with the ethics of punishment remains strong: Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish remains a favorite of his, and reading continues to be one of his favorite pastimes.
Nguyen is also an experienced pianist. For the Senior Recital, he played “The Waltz of the Flowers” by Tchaikovsky, Brahms’ “Intermezzo No.1” and Chopin’s “Ballade No. 1.”
Nguyen has a notable list of accomplishments, including winning The Wilson Center’s annual Pioneer Weekend competition two years in a row — with his team creating a framework for a medical vending machine in 2023 and developing an all-in-one platform for coordinating transportation and accommodations for commencement guests in 2024 — as well as winning the 2025 Iowa Collegiate Mathematics Competition Math Olympiad alongside Benjamin Orman `25 with a perfect score.
However, Nguyen considers his greatest achievement to be his involvement with the international student community. He served as vice president of the International Student Organization and treasurer of the Vietnamese Student Association. Above all, he is proud to have become an International Student Pre-Orientation mentor for the class of 2027.
After graduation, Nguyen will pursue a Master’s Degree in applied mathematics at the University of Illinois Urbana Urbana-Champaign.
“You never know what comes up next in life, so keep moving forward, keep pursuing what you think is right, but never forget to look back at yourself in the past,” Nguyen said.
