Carolyn Nguyen

Bio

I am the oldest of five children of two Vietnamese immigrants, so naturally I took over the role of a third parent and English-translator at home. This really built the foundation of my skills of empathy and problem-solving. Outside of babysitting, school was the one place that exposed me to different individuals and opportunities. I became interested in engineering because my high school chemistry teacher used to be an engineer, and he was the funniest, snarkiest, most clever teacher I had. I obtained my mechanical engineering degree at Boston University where I became involved in volunteering, Vietnamese Student Association, and K-Pop dancing! At BU, I was able to study abroad in Germany and became a technical lead in Engineers without Borders to work on Sanitation projects in Zambia. Upon graduating, I worked in the aerospace field as a manufacturing engineer at Pratt & Whitney fixing jet engines. Most recently, I worked at Blue Origin as an Engine Assembly & Integration Engineer to build rocket engines for space. My hobbies include dancing, bouldering, art, reading, psychology, and connecting people. I am an animal lover and have a cat named Bean. My superpower is listening and making others feel heard.

What are you most looking forward to in the MDes program?

At MDes, I look forward to collaborating with my peers who come from all diverse backgrounds and make the coolest things. We are located at the center of innovation with many talented individuals, so I cannot wait to prototype the next design concept that will leave an impact on society. I hope to become a product designer, however, I am open to become inspired by the topics we learn from the program. My long-term goal is to provide equity for children and adults to become creative leaders using technology.