Welcome to Brewer of the Week, a series where, in each issue, Chip Downes-Le Guin interviews a random student around campus. Each week, a student is selected for interview through randomly generated letters, a random number and Vassar College’s student directory. This week’s feature: Sarah Huynh ’29.
This week’s featured student, Sarah Huynh ’29, arrived for our interview wearing her lucky number 22, having just completed her biology exam, and talked with me about her love of fencing, the joy of dissecting brains and her growth at Vassar. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: Do you know what you want to study? What drew you to your major?
I’m looking at a double major in neuroscience and behavior and Chinese. For Chinese, my pre-major advisor—he’s in the Chinese Department, so he was definitely very eager for me to keep learning Chinese.But I think learning Chinese is really fun. I’m Chinese Vietnamese, but we don’t speak Mandarin at home, so I took it in high school and I wanted to continue it here…And then, for neuroscience, I really like biology and I like psychology, and neuroscience is the perfect combination.
Q: And was that something you liked in high school too?
Yeah, for sure. I took AP psych in high school, and I took Intro Neuro [NEUR 105: “Introduction to Neuroscience and Behavior”] last semester, and that made me really interested in neuro because one of the labs was dissecting brains, which is really cool…Actually, the summer before I came to Vassar, I did a summer program at this one med school in my hometown, and we got to work in the anatomy lab there. We were working with cadavers and all that stuff…It’s really interesting to see how our bodies work and all the mechanisms behind it.
Q: Do you think there is a class outside of your majors that you wish everyone had to take before they graduate?
Honestly, my EMT course, or some basic life support or first aid class. I just think it’s really good life skills to have for everyone. I wish it was more accessible… It’s very expensive… I think especially once we’re in the real world and we don’t have CRC with us, having those skills to take care of each other and take care of ourselves, that’s really important.
Q: Outside of academics, how do you enjoy spending your time?
We have such a beautiful campus, so I love to just take walks and stuff around campus. Even when it gets cold and even when it’s snowing. I knew that I wanted to be somewhere where I still had all four seasons, and so Vassar has it all. We have the most gorgeous fall weather and views.
Q: What’s a spot on campus that you would recommend?
I do always end up at Sunset Lake… In the fall, the colors are so vibrant. And then in the winter, it’s just fun to go sledding down that hill.
Q: You are also a fencer. If you were to pitch people to try fencing or watch one of your competitions, what would you say?
I mean, what’s cooler than sword fighting? Honestly, we’re just out there stabbing each other. It’s more graceful than that…sometimes… Last year, we were trying to teach people to fence using blow-up lightsabers… The energy is just so great at tournaments and competitions, and I love my team so much. That’s really what I’m looking for in a sport. Because I also played tennis in high school, but I always felt like the fencing community felt like family.
Q: What is a piece of media that has made an impact on you recently?
I grew up on One Direction. I think that’s something that stuck with me for many years… I feel like a lot of people are haters. I don’t understand the hate. They put out some good songs, and for a little girl, what a boy band, you know? But yeah, before coming to Vassar, I reached out to a lot of people on Instagram after reading about their interests and stuff on the IGOTIN page on Instagram [a page designed to help incoming freshmen connect with their community], and a lot of people liked One Direction.
Q: Having recently completed your first year at Vassar, what advice would you give to someone just starting theirs?
First of all, I’m a StuFel at Noyes. I really love my house team, so I’d say everyone here at Vassar just really wants to support you… Also, put yourself out there! I joined a lot of clubs, and that’s how I met a lot of my friends. Shameless plug: I’m on the executive board for SEASA [Southeast Asian Student Alliance], and that’s where I met a ton of friends of mine. learned how to plan events, and advertise for people… My last piece of advice is that everything works out, truly. I remember the beginning of my first year. I was so worried I wasn’t going to make any friends…but it really all works out. You find your people, you find your friends you find the professors that you love.