Advice from alumni: Aeris Nguyen
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Aeris Nguyen graduated from EF Academy Torbay in 2015 and is now pursuing a degree in film at Brooklyn College in New York – when she graduates, she will be in the same alumni network as James Franco! Read on to learn more about why Aeris chose to major in film, what she misses most about the UK and what advice she has for current EF Academy students:
How did you hear about EF Academy and why did you choose to attend?
I was 12 when I first encountered EF; my mum told me that I would go on trip with my cousin to New York for summer school. I was freaking out, I couldn’t believe that I would be going to New York City. The furthest I had been before was Singapore, when I was 8! When I went, the school was still located in Tarrytown and I really liked it. I had a lot of fun and met a lot of very kind and accepting people, especially staff members like the Head of School Brian Mahoney and English teacher Jenna Marcus (I’ve had a lot of great English teachers, but she’s definitely the best one – she helped me so much with writing and speaking). I left with very good memories and a distinct appreciation for EF Tarrytown so I wasn’t sure if I could go back when the school moved to Thornwood. My experience there triggered a need to study abroad. I visited in 2013 but couldn’t continue with 10th grade there because I went to Australia the year before, where I attended 9th grade (or year 9, as the Aussies would say it). In the end, I received a small scholarship to attend EF Academy Torbay which was great because I really wanted to travel the world and this was the perfect opportunity.
What university did you go to afterwards? What do you study and why?
Now I am in Brooklyn and I study at Brooklyn College, which has a lot of school pride. I chose this school because I wanted to be in the city. I received the acceptance letter really late so I made my decision very quickly. It’s a good school and one that I hadn’t heard about before I started the application process. Apparently the film department is really great and the professors are amazing. James Franco was even a student here!
I’m a film major for one simple reason: I love movies! I am good at reading people and figuring out characters. I like the idea of putting my mark on the world, and this is just one fun way of doing it. I’ve had a lot of influence from my dad and uncle – my uncle has a production company so I had the chance to see how commercials are made; my dad surrounds himself with technology, and so it surrounded me as well. My mind rotated a lot when it came to what I wanted to do in the future – from journalist, to writer, to actor, to script writer. Then one sunny day in 2013, I started to make little clips and it just… felt right.
What is your dream for the future?
My dream is to work and travel, or find work that requires me to travel. I have always loved meeting new people and trying new food. I also want to help people and create things that matter. I’d love to be a film director and make just enough money to take care of my family.
What tips do you have for students who also want to study film?
Have fun doing it! I can’t emphasize that enough! A lot of people stress out about making films or about what camera to use. Filmmaking is about how you approach things. For example, when I needed light, I used desk lamps and natural light and hoped for the best; I had piles of books instead of tripods. Don’t worry about the technical things and keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be serious. Just wing it!
What’s your favorite memory from EF Academy?
I have a lot of good memories from EF Academy! The Yearbook and Impact Magazine are what I remember the most though, especially the feeling of rushing through the final moments of finishing the projects!
What do you miss the most?
English breakfast! I can’t get really nice English breakfast here in the U.S. and it’s always too expensive for what it is. I also miss being around my friends all the time even though we didn’t always live together. It was a small school so it really felt like a family. I liked the fact that we all knew and hung out with each other. Everyone was so friendly and loving, despite all the drama that we went through.
What final tips would you give to current students?
A lot of people complain without realizing how great it is to be a high school student at EF Academy, not only because you have amazing teachers and get to travel. Current students should appreciate the moment and the time that they have at EF Academy. I made amazing memories and met amazing people. The time that I was there gave me so much. It’s not an experience that you can just find anywhere, it’s rare to be surrounded by so many international people. Now I have friends all over the world and I can visit them any time I want. That’s how I like it.
Short questions:
Name: Aeris Khanh Thuy Nguyen
Age: 19
Nationality: Vietnamese
How many languages do you speak? Vietnamese, English, a little bit of French
EF Academy campus: EF Academy Torbay
Graduation years: 2015
Program: IB (math studies, language & literature, psychology, French ab initio, biology, environmental and society studies)
Residence or host family: Host family
Favorite subject: French ab initio, also enjoyed language lit (struggled a bit but had a brilliant teacher) and psychology
Favorite teacher: I can’t choose because they were all very wonderful!
Wendy Daniels: She taught biology and I was struggling with it and she was an amazing person. I can’t stress how she patient she was with me. I was probably the worst student that she could get – I don’t like to fail and I told her that I didn’t want to take the course, which was very disappointing for her. She kept trying to make biology easier for me and I refused to understand it until I snapped out of it and started to work hard. I managed to pass biology and earned my diploma.
Favorite club / society: Photography Club, Impact Magazine and the Yearbook, which is what I worked on the hardest outside of school. It was fun and amazing thanks to all the people who were involved. I remember seeing the magazine from the year before and it just wasn’t that inspiring. So, Phoebe, Adrian and I decided to set a new standard and Adrian Harrington, the staff member who oversaw the magazine, was so proud. In my second year, we wanted to revamp the yearbook. It wasn’t even something that someone worked on, it was just a template. I was at EF Academy New York once and I saw that their yearbook was better and so we got together and started working on the one for Torbay. We worked on the yearbook and the magazine at the same time and it took us two months to pull it all together. It was marvelous work and included 300 pictures and quotes!