Phuc Nguyen, affectionately known as Rùa (roughly translated to Tutle), is a unique student at Fulbright University Vietnam. Returning to university after several gap years involved in education-focused projects, he is “older” than his peers, both in talking and his contemplations about learning. For Rùa, Fulbright allows him to reimagine the roles of a learner and educator in education.
A passion for learning endures many challenges
Since childhood, Rùa was a curious learner with a free-spirited approach to education and a passion for discovery. For him, learning is a journey of questioning and finding answers for himself rather than passively absorbing information from teachers. During his studies, Rùa enjoys mastering his learning process, exploring, and critical thinking to solve problems.
While studying Geography, his favorite subject, Rùa loved asking questions when observing Alat, such as why the weather in different terrains varies, what makes different regions have different strengths in crops and livestock, etc. Rùa would hypothesize and then use maps, charts, and data to prove those hypotheses. If his results were incorrect, he would seek alternative approaches. This repetitive process made him feel like he was conducting scientific research, stimulating his curiosity and discovery.
However, in the later years of middle and high school, Rùa felt that learning was no longer a process of seeking knowledge but rather a race for scores through exams. His educational experience became about cramming information from lectures and textbooks without understanding the root of the problems. Evaluation milestones depended more on memorization than on thinking and exploration. Gradually, Rùa lost his enthusiasm and connection with the meaning of learning.
When finishing high school, Rùa realized he could not continue to be lost in studying. Rùa decided to take a gap year to ponder about learning.
Phuc Nguyen participates in a language exchange session with children and mothers at the Institute.
A gap year experience paved the way for Rùa to Fulbright University Vietnam
A year after graduating high school, Rùa was invited to intern at the Institution for Language Experience, Experiment and Exchange in Japan. Here, Rùa delved deeper into how language acquisition processes work. Previously, he believed that learning a language required formal education and memorizing various structures and vocabulary.
However, the time spent opened up a new perspective for Rùa: learning language depends greatly on interaction with the environment. Learning does not stop at memorizing and practicing in textbooks but also involves engaging with people and events in that language. Then, upon returning to Vietnam, Rùa created several courses and projects focusing on language, critical thinking skills, and reading skills, etc.
Phuc Nguyen (center) participates in a tea ceremony with a Japanese family in November 2017.
Although the gap year experiences gave Rùa the freedom to explore, he encountered limitations in accessing resources, communities, and information. Rùa’s self-directed learning was quite secluded, lacking external connections to validate what he explored.
Therefore, Rùa decided to find a new “destination” to further explore education and seek connectivity.
Phuc Nguyen attends a farewell gathering with colleagues at the Institute before departing to return to Vietnam.
Settling at Fulbright for a Liberal Arts education and the philosophy of serving the community
After a long period of gap years, Rùa struggled to find a suitable learning environment as he was no longer in the position of a high school student. At Fulbright, Rùa found “an environment that provides him the conditions and resources to both learn as a student and teach as an educator,” Rùa shared.
With liberal arts spirit, Fulbright enabled Rùa to learn in many different courses, view issues from multiple perspectives, and connect with peers from diverse learning backgrounds. Fulbright gives Rùa a sense of being valued and listened to in their learning experiences. Rùa got the freedom to pursue his own academic path while also standing alongside a closely-knit community.
Phuc Nguyen (center) takes a photo with his friends on the Convocation day for Class of 2026 at Fulbright campus.
Specifically, in the last semester, Rùa made an interesting decision. Even though pursuing Psychology, he registered for a General Chemistry course. Chemistry is not Rùa’s strong suit— he rarely reached high scores in Chemistry during high school. However, he made this seemingly bold decision to test his own learning methods. As a result, Rùa discovered many properties of chemical substances, how they interact with each other, and more importantly, the unexpected connections between Chemistry and Psychology.
Additionally, besides being a student, Rùa also has a role as an educator when becoming a Teaching Assistant for courses at Fulbright. He has been a Teaching Assistant for many semesters for the Introductory Psychology course. As a student who had taken this course, Rùa along with the professor to redesign learning methods to help other students to approach the course more effectively. He also acted as a bridge for communicating with students, supporting and addressing their difficulties. The opportunity to be a Teaching Assistant gave Rùa a more comprehensive perspective from both the student and professor sides.
Seeking Knowledge’s Value: A Journey as Both Student and Educator
