Q&A with Tuan (Harry) Nguyen

Where are you from and currently residing?
I was born and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam. I came to San Francisco for high school (at the beginning of 9th grade) and I'm still currently in SF. Conspicuously, I will be in West Lafayette for the next four years.

^{Harry's Self-Portrait}

Your artwork is fantastic! How did you get interested in art and design?
I have always been interested in art, ever since I was a little kid. I have always shown my passion for art through countless drawings and paintings, at home as well as at school. To put it simply, it was just my knack. I was really really into art. My mom owned her own company so she had a lot of papers laying around, and I utilized them. I would use whatever piece of paper I could find, from a calendar to discarded A4 papers, to draw on. Being able to find thick and unused papers always gave me a thrill, as if I found treasures because those mediums always made the art more formal for me. As for inspirations, I found them everywhere, from my mom also being artistic to shows and movies I saw on TV channels like Disney. At this point, I do miscellaneous types of VPA (visual and performing arts) but ART (painting and drawing) has been and always will be my foundation and origin.

Were there specific experiences in high school that help you with your art and design skills?
I had actually never taken an official art class at school until sophomore year of high school. That being said, very art-related clubs, classes and activities I have taken during my high school have proven to be very enlightening and enjoyable. Art I-II at my first high school taught me about the fundamentals of arts, which I never knew previously like the color wheel, complementary colors, cross-hatching, etc. An enrichment course I took sophomore year introduce me to CAD (computer aided design) and it greatly influenced my decision to major in engineering. You CAN combine art and STEM. From this course, my most prided work has to be the combination-lock box which parts are all 3D printed and assembled. AP art studio design 2d I took my senior year allowed me to put my skills into developing my portfolio.I learned a lot and met great people, from students to teachers. Although you can say my art skills are self-developed, art classes in high school has definitely helped me refined my skills and crafts.

You have us curious about all of your skills! Can you share a list of your skills, including software that you’ve used, that will showcase your diverse background?
I'm not sure if "skills" have to be art-related but I'll just list all I can think fo to the best of my ability. Just a fun fact, most of my skills are discovered and developed during high school - 

• Art (painting and drawing): I've experiment with lots of different apps throughout the years. I would highly recommend ProCreate ($9.99) and Autodesk Sketchbook (Free) for Ipad users. They are pretty similar but Procreate, imo, has a slightly better and user-friendlier interface. Also, Procreate supports more file types for exporting and that's my main app for creating digital arts. For non-digital, "traditional", art, my main medium lately is Acrylic on board/ luan/ canvas but I also like to create stuff with ink and watercolor. Also, for those who are interested in ink arts, I recommend checking out and participating in Inktober, an event occurs annually during October where everyday there's a different universal prompt for artists to explore and create.
• Art (design): as mentioned, I have worked with CAD and the app I used was Fusion 360. It was really cool being able to design stuff and actually printing out the creations you imagine in your head. Also, I have carved wood before, just for my leisure. I did the Pottermore quiz and figured out my wand. I went to Home Depot to get a piece of wood and some tools to hand-carved the wand. For finish, I used wood stain to mimic the Black Walnut appearance and then coated with a protective layer.
• Instrument: I have always been a visual kid but not really a performing one. I was extremely shy growing up and sometimes people wondered if I would ever be bolder at all. High school had been the best four years of my life because it was when I grew out of my shell and found new hobbies. I started playing guitar my freshman year after playing with the guitar at my old school's dorm's common room. I used Yousician to learn the fundamentals of guitar. At the time, I actually found a loophole within the app that allowed me to extend my free sessions everyday haha (it was later patched). Also, I started playing harmonica my sophomore year after seeing my guardian's child played with it.
• Choir: I joined choir my sophomore year but didn't really enjoy until I my junior year after I transferred from my old high school. Choir really changed me and allowed me to be bolder. It also gave me new friends and a family, so needless to say, high school choir has a special place in my heart.
• Video editing: I have edited videos for a while but had not been extremely committed until March when Quarantine started. I wanted to try something new so I decided to start Vlogging and posting on my Youtube channel . Over the last few months of making videos, I now know that this will be something I do in long-term. I use my editing skill to create, not only vlogs, but also art videos and song covers, thus the theme of my channel is referred to as the miscellaneous world of HarryHTF.
• I also love to swim and public speaking but I don't think those are as relevant so I won't go into too much detail. I started swimming junior year and was awarded as the Most inspirational swimmer 2018-2019. As for public speaking, I didn't do speech and debate but I presented for different occasion like Kairos (a retreat at Catholic high schools) as one of the student leaders and for graduation as the salutatorian (chosen based highly on sample speech).

"I see the journey of looking and filling applications for colleges as somewhat similar to finding a soulmate. It has to be mutual, both sides have to believe in one another. One of the reasons why I love Purdue is the fact that Purdue gives me a chance. Purdue has faith in me and my ability to make a difference in this world."

How did you decide on Purdue University?
While researching colleges, I did look up the rankings and Purdue was undoubtedly one of the best for [engineering]. Also, Purdue is the only school in my top choices that I actually got in. I see the journey of looking and filling applications for colleges as somewhat similar to finding a soulmate. It has to be mutual, both sides have to believe in one another. One of the reasons why I love Purdue is the fact that Purdue gives me a chance. Purdue has faith in me and my ability to make a difference in this world. If you told me a year ago, I did not imagine myself being at Purdue. When I figured out that Purdue was my one of my options, I did more research. Along the way I found two Youtube videos:  "Purdue Survival Guide" and "Purdue Honest commercial". To put it simple, those scared me. More and more research made me realize that Purdue wouldn't be easy, especially engineering, but they say success is never easy. I will face this challenge with the same determination and spirit that I had when choosing engineering as my major: I enjoy it and I want to learn. As long as I find amusement in learning and push myself through, I believe I will be ok.

Besides excellent academic, Purdue also gives me new opportunities and experiences I haven't had before. Talking about settings, I'm not used to Purdue's surroundings. I've always been a city boy and the thought of stepping out of the comfort zone might seem scary, but then if high school has taught me anything, it's "You don't no if you don't go". Changes can be scary but I'm excited. Also, I want to get out of California for now because I'm already comfortable in CA. I want to travel beyond that, to somewhere I haven't been to and learn new things. West Lafayette is completely opposite of San Francisco, but I can't wait to be there. I do look forward to being surrounded by snow and hope that maybe, just maybe, I'll get to see a tornado in person in Indiana.

Furthermore, for the past few months, I've contacted different people, staff and students, incoming and current, at Purdue and I feel extremely welcomed. Some people complain that there's nothing much to do in West Lafayette but I think I have everything I need on campus at Purdue: a welcoming community and all the resources. My next four years are packed for sure. 

Why engineering and who inspired you?
Needless to say, I've always been an art kid, so now I want to learn more about the functionality. If there's something greater than a beautiful creation, than it's a beautiful creation that works. My first introduction to engineering were through Legos and Transformers. I was small when my mom showed me the first Lego set on her computer: Lego Technic 8455. I did get many technic sets throughout the years but was never able to find the 8455, but it has always been in my heart. Furthermore, throughout my childhood playing with lego, I learned that anything could be built and the sky was the limit. My imagination was the only limit. I would call myself an imaginative and creative kid. I don't think that will ever change, and I think having an engineering degree would bring my visions to life. Same story for Transformers, I first watched it in 2009 and was completely fascinated with robot. In fact, I still have the transformers collections Ive been collecting throughout the years. The intricacy in engineering and the aesthetics of these toys never fail to impress me. They, along with Legos, remind me that engineering is everywhere, from creating the spaceship that brought Neil Armstrong to the moon to a tiny complex-designed toy that brings joy to the kid within me.

As for someone I look up to, I like Mark Rober, a former NASA employee now working on his Youtube channel where he does lots of cool and practical stuff with his engineering degree. He uses engineering to create things that not only helps society but also bring entertainment. For instance, He made an auto-bullseye dartboard, promoted water cleaning powder and created an anti-porch-pirate device. Mark Rober reminds me that there's always creativity within engineering.

What discipline of engineering are you hoping to pursue?
I'm hoping to major in Mechanical engineering and minoring in art and design studio.

As you think ahead to what type of career you hope to achieve - let’s say 20 years from now in 2040, what is one thing you want to be known or famous for? (Dream BIG!)
I have three goals. If any, or all, of it is, fulfilled then I would call it a success:

1. Create something that helps the world in one way or another
2. Either become a Product designer at companies like Hasbro or Lego or an engineer at Lego, Hasbro, Universal Studio, etc (Basically somewhere where I can stay in touch with my inner child).
3. Become big on Youtube. Life is never boring and there's always something new, so I don't think I will ever run out of content. Who knows? I may do something like Mark where I use my degree for making cool stuff and upload videos on Youtube. I currently have 124 subscribers so it's a humble start, but all great adventures starts with a humble beginning. Besides, making Youtube videos to be famous has never or ever will be my goal. I sincerely enjoy making Youtube contents and hopefully more and more people will find my videos entertaining or helpful, either way. That being said, as long as I'm consistent, I can definitely grow my channel.

What are you most excited about for Purdue?
Am I nervous or excited for Purdue? If you think about it they are really the same thing, it's your outlook that creates the difference. If you think positive and keep working, everything will be amazing. I like to be positive so my answer is everything. I'm excited for hard classes because they're gonna give me hard times, because I will learn a lot and because I will make memories I will never forget. I'm excited to meet new people from all around the world. I'm excited to be a Boilermaker.

You can follow along on Harry's Instagram @harryhtf and watch his Vlogging on his YouTube channel!