“Despite uncertainties, find your own hypotheses and keep experimenting to discover what suits you best.”
These inspiring words came from Nguyen Thi Thuy An, a Class of 2025 student at Fulbright University Vietnam, during her Top 3 speech at the “Ứng viên Tài năng” (Talented Candidate) 2024 competition.
Ứng viên Tài năng, an annual competition simulating corporate recruitment processes, challenges third and fourth-year university students. Thuy An competed in the Finance track against more than 3,500 candidates from 50 universities nationwide. For her, entering the competition was a new hypothesis to test—and her confidence, expertise, and passionate spirit earned her the first runner-up award.
At first, Thuy An felt uncertain when she noticed most contestants had experience in individual competitions, while her background was primarily in team competitions. She also had limited exposure to the FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) industry.
Yet by applying her knowledge and drawing on support from her community, Thuy An achieved the highest score in the professional assessment round. “Two years of experiencing diverse disciplines at Fulbright has equipped me with agile problem-solving skills and the ability to evaluate businesses through multiple dimensions—from Economics to Social Studies and Psychology,” Thuy An shares.
Thuy An speaks warmly of her Fulbright friends who helped solve problems, listened, and offered feedback. They provided invaluable moral support throughout the competition.
During her three years at Fulbright, Thuy An has built impressive practical experience.
She serves on the Board of Directors of “Tra Da Mentor” social enterprise, which helps students develop personally and professionally.
Starting in her first year, she joined Fulbright’s Venture Fellowship Program and interned at Otrafy—a platform that helps businesses automate the collection and transfer of certification data in the food industry.
Thuy An strengthened her research skills as the youngest intern chosen by the Taiwanese government for the Taiwan Experience Education Program in summer 2022. With a full scholarship, she then pursued research in New Zealand in early 2023.
She also distinguished herself by securing the sole internship position at Mastercard during the recent Summer Internship.
Let’s join Fulbright in celebrating Thuy An’s impressive journey to becoming first runner-up. May her passionate spirit continue to fuel her success in the years ahead!
