黑料天堂

Freshman Follows a Music and Engineering Path to Medicine

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Posted on November 4, 2022

Thomas Becnel

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#FreshmanFocus is a series of stories on incoming students at the University of 黑料天堂 Alabama.

Paul Nguyen grew up in Beaverton, Oregon, just outside Portland, so he thought he might study engineering on the West Coast.

Instead, he crossed the country to enroll at the 黑料天堂. He鈥檚 a pre-med student with a double major of music and electrical engineering.

Nguyen never visited Mobile before coming to 黑料天堂, so he鈥檚 still adjusting to the culture and climate.

鈥淚 knew it would be hot and humid, but I didn鈥檛 know it would rain so much,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here was a lot of rain in Portland, but it鈥檚 different 鈥� cold and miserable. Even the rain culture is different. Nobody there carries umbrellas. They all wear rain jackets.鈥�

After Nguyen鈥檚 mother, Teresa Tran, immigrated from Vietnam, she lived in Mobile and earned a degree in mathematics and statistics from 黑料天堂 in 1990. That connection led to his college choice, especially after a successful audition for the music program.

鈥満诹咸焯� offered me some good financial aid, but it really came down to my mom graduating from here,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he was the one who told me about 黑料天堂 Alabama. She liked the idea of me going to an institution she trusted.鈥�

Were you nervous about your piano audition for 黑料天堂?

鈥淚鈥檓 always a little nervous before a performance. Because it was online, a Zoom call, I got to play on my own piano, and that helped. I think I played Beethoven鈥檚 鈥楾empest鈥� sonata and Ravel鈥檚 鈥楽onatine.鈥欌��

How does college life compare to high school?

鈥淚t鈥檚 busier, for sure. I don鈥檛 know that it鈥檚 harder, but you do have to train yourself in time management. I came from a really competitive high school, Westview High School, and we had a lot of Advanced Placement classes, so I was able to start college in Calculus III.鈥�

What do you do in your free time?

 鈥淚 listen to some K-pop, a group called DPR. Sometimes, with my friends, I play a videogame, Teamfight Tactics, which is a spinoff from League of Legends. It鈥檚 like a board game on a computer, and you try to make a team to fight other boards. I think I reached the top 800 players on the continent.

鈥淚n high school, I did some swimming. Here, I swim laps at the Student Rec Center. I used to do a workout of 3,000 yards. Now, I try to do a mile. In the evenings, the pool is open until 8, if I get out of class in time.鈥�

Have you gotten a chance to try Mobile culture and cuisine?

鈥淚鈥檝e been to a Florida beach, in Pensacola. I have a meal plan, so I usually eat in the cafeteria. And I鈥檝e got a pressure cooker in my residence hall. Stir-fry, basically. Rice, eggs and soy sauce. I like to let the soy sauce evaporate so it soaks into the rice, and you get a smoky flavor.鈥�

You鈥檙e studying music and electrical engineering. Are they completely different, or a lot alike?

鈥淚 feel like they鈥檙e different. Sitting down to do math or STEM homework is different from sitting down at the piano. After studying all day, music helps me release all of that. It鈥檚 definitely freeing, but if you want to play at a high level, you have to concentrate. I鈥檓 not playing to have fun. There鈥檚 a lot of discipline.鈥�

You haven鈥檛 lost any of your love for music?

鈥淲hen I was in high school, I found it kind of hard to practice. I would play maybe an hour a day. Now that I鈥檓 here, once I鈥檓 in the practice room, I can crank out three hours, easily. It鈥檚 like a different mindset.鈥�

And you plan on going to medical school? What kind of physician would you like to be?

鈥淚 have a lot of family in radiology, so I鈥檓 looking at that, but I鈥檓 keeping my options open. Seeing what I like.鈥�

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