World Unknown: Michael Nguyen

by Valerie Figueroa

"Thank you for tuning into my newsletter about my five-month solo trip through Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. My name is Michael Nguyen, I just graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas this past December ('24) with a BBA in finance. As a graduation present to myself, I have been prepping and saving up for a big solo trip to see various places that I have dreamed of as a kid." 

Michael Nguyen shared in the first of 12 newsletters, "The Minh Post," a series of emails he sent throughout his travels to keep his family, friends, and professional connections — including potential job recruiters — informed about his solo trip abroad.

By the time his last newsletter went out, Nguyen had changed. Like the late Anthony Bourdain once said, "Travel changes you."

Nguyen had dessert for dinner in Spain — even having the chance to learn how the desserts were made from the owner herself after being invited to the back to try "around 30 to 40" different pastries, sat for late night job interviews at a computer cafe in Taiwan, experienced an unfortunate hostel experience in southern Taiwan, and went on a desert excursion across rolling dunes of red sands in Jordan.

With the few belongings he had, a list of potential Texas State University alumni connections to meet in every city who might recommend a meal or simply trade stories, and a loose plan, he embarked on a journey that few have the opportunity to take.

"Once you start working, there's not going to be a lot of opportunities where you'll be able to travel and have this opportunity to go see the world," he says.

Nguyen did not initially plan to spend five months exploring the world. He hoped to graduate directly into the "New York hustle and bustle" life he'd envisioned as an undergraduate. However, when he didn't get any full-time offers during the last year of school, he decided to move forward with his solo trip.

Entering the World of Finance
"I grew up in a typical suburb," he says of Pflugerville, the city near Austin where he was raised. "I was planning on going to the Army."

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided to pursue finance because TikTok and Instagram glamorized the "retired by 25" lifestyle promoted by finance content creators.

"Texas State was actually a last-minute option for me," he says. "I'd never visited the campus, never looked at anything, didn't know anything about it except that my older brother went to Texas State. It was one of the best decisions."

He then spent his junior and senior years studying capital markets and the value of relationships.

"The opportunity for networking was a big thing I learned while at Texas State," he says.

On paper, Nguyen has built an impressive portfolio. He served as president of the Student Economic Association, treasurer of the Texas State Weightlifting Club, was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma, the international honor society for students in business programs, was a Dean's list member every semester, and studied abroad in Barcelona for a month.

In the Texas State Financial Management Association's Trading Competition, he competed against 27 classmates in a semester-long, real-time portfolio challenge. He started with $100,000 and finished with $333,000 over a period of nine months, achieving a 233% return on investment and earning first place in the competition.

Nguyen says the faculty members at Texas State's McCoy College of Business helped him shape his voice and develop his career path.

"Every single semester there was always a professor that I kept in touch with pretty well," he says of faculty members including former finance lecturer Dr. Massi De Santis, who owns his own financial advising company, Dr. Matthew Hood, associate professor of finance and economics, who became a mentor to him, and Dr. Holland Toles, professor of instruction of finance and economics, who teaches the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) course.

"I firmly believe the SMIF course is probably the best class I've taken at Texas State, just because it really pushes you outside of a classroom setting," he says of the experiential elements of the course. "He's been a really influential person and really challenges us mentally, which was at the time frustrating, but afterwards you look back and you see he was able to push you to your limits and help you understand what you did wrong and just go to a higher level."

Planning Ahead
The trip itself was a long time in the making.

He learned to stretch dollars and points through credit cards, student memberships, AAA discounts, and strategic timing for purchases like flights and hotel stays. He says the entire planning process took about five years, but the final itinerary came together within a week. He booked the biggest flights and left the rest to chance.

Building a list of alumni to connect with was next on the agenda. He searched LinkedIn for potential connections in the various countries he was visiting. His idea was simple: arrive in each city with at least one name and number, then go from there. The months-long excursion started in Hawaii in late December after graduation, then wrapped up in the Netherlands' capital, Amsterdam, in June.

Life Abroad
It was a whirlwind: hourslong, high elevation hikes across volcanic landscapes in Hawaii with new friends and scuba diving for the first time; hot springs, temples, shrines, a k-pop bar, snowboarding, a short rendezvous with his little brother in Tokyo, and meeting Melbourne's Best Young Chef, Chef Mino, in Japan; spas, saunas, hot baths, manga cafes, seafood markets, and korean bbq in Korea; a chaotic lantern festival, varying weather conditions, street food, late night interviews and bed bugs in Taiwan; skyscrapers, neon lights, night markets and the world's longest outdoor covered escalator system in Hong Kong; connecting with his heritage in Vietnam, a haircut from an aspiring barber shop owner, the Ha Giang Loop (a popular, 230-mile motorbike route in northern Vietnam), kind locals offering "happy water" or rice wine at every stop, more street food, plus a case of food poisoning that Nguyen described in his newsletter as a "mid-trip detox"; hawker centers with even more street food, affordable lodging, an unexpected friendship with a local volleyball enthusiast, and a lucky roulette bet in Singapore; "historic mosques, Byzantine relics, bustling bazaars," and unexpected high costs caused by inflation, baklava, kebabs, and Omar, a kind local and new friend he learned about online and decided to visit his scarf shop in Turkey; Roman temples, budget-friendly eats, a restored Roman ampitheater, and a surprising visit to Wadi Rum, a desert valley famous for its sandstone mountains, red sands, and ancient rock inscriptions (organized via a questionable TripAdvisor post) in Jordan that was "easily the best part of this entire journey. Maybe even the best experience of my life," he shared in his newsletter; a "vacation from the vacation," pastries, and friends in Spain; the "best damn piri piri chicken" in Portugal; then wrapping up in Amsterdam with serendipitous reunions with friends and more food adventures. Some destinations were chosen for their cultural offerings, others for family ties — he had never been to Vietnam, where his family is from — and others to meet up with friends or an alumnus.

"Some other places I really just wanted to experience the culture, see the cuisine, and just see what life is about," he reminisces.

The way of life across each place he visited varied widely. In Spain, he noticed "a very carefree and enjoyable environment where jobs are not their number one part of life." In China, he met people whose career paths seemed set, with "not a lot of moving around," unlike in America, where everyone has the opportunity to choose their career path. He finds the American hustle and bustle familiar and aligns more with his ambitions.

Reflecting on the journey, he found moments of solitude challenging but also offering opportunities for self-reflection in countries where he felt isolated, as he did not know the language or way of life and had no familiar connections.

"One of the biggest challenges I faced was getting used to being alone," he says, remembering his time in Japan. "You find yourself outside looking into everything."

To overcome this, he made an effort to connect with those around him despite the language barrier. Saying hello to the convenience store clerk, greeting locals in their language, and building on those small interactions.

"It left me a lot of soul searching and looking more into myself," he says, grateful for the experience that helped him "be more comfortable with who I am."

He also learned to simply ask questions. A cockpit tour on a flight home started because he introduced himself to the pilot. A fabric store in Turkey became the setting for an invitation to dinner with the owner's family. 

In Spain, he was invited to sample various pastries at his favorite pastry shop during his visit.

"I tried every single one of the pastries," he recalls. "But I did not eat anything else later that day."

The lowest point of the trip, as he tells it, was in Taiwan. Inclement weather led to a southbound train ride, a troublesome cold, and "like 28 bites" from bedbugs.

"I was super paranoid for like three days," he says. He slept on a plastic sheet, threw out a bag of clothing, and still managed to make time zones work for job interviews throughout his stay in Taiwan. Managing the late-night interviews was challenging, but he found a quiet spot at a computer cafe where he made the best of the situation. Then came the offer.

"Eventually, I was able to land an opportunity with a company called FactSet," he says, noting that the same platform is used on campus at McCoy College. "I'm currently a client solutions associate with FactSet and soon will be moving to their consulting role at FactSet in Austin."

The hybrid, client-facing role involves working with asset managers, reporting, and support. He wrapped up the trip in Amsterdam, spent three weeks at home with family, then flew to New York to begin training.

Keeping the Network Up to Date
His detailed newsletters outlined his adventures and provided a vicarious glimpse into the culture, cuisine, excursions, and connections he made along the way — filled with breathtaking photos of monuments, architecture, geography, friends, and food. He offered enticing photos of the meals he had, with a ranking of each: 1/5 bad, 2/5 expected more, 3/5 as expected, 4/5 better than expected, and 5/5 blew expectations.

He also says the newsletter kept him accountable while allowing him to bring others along for his journey.

"I can't not be doing anything," he says. "So this newsletter was one of the main things I told myself was a job."

The most consistent highlight was the digital rolodex of alumni he built across borders. "I was able to meet most alumni in every single country," he says. "It was great to hear that almost every single person had at least one professor or one person who really guided them."

He describes the meetings as casual, informative, and familiar. From his time with Hiroko Torisawa, who graduated from Texas State with a B.S. in computer science ('07) in Tokyo; Sei-Kwon, an applied mathematics graduate ('06), in Korea; accounting alumnus Brian Wong ('87) in Hong Kong; and numerous others, the stories they told and places they visited were rich in history and knowledge and made him feel more welcome and enhanced his overall experience.

"Hearing these people wanting to help me, wanting to put my name out there," he says, "it was really nice to feel that hospitality."

As Nguyen puts it, he offers three tips to those planning a solo trip abroad. "The things I picked up from this trip are to smile," he says warmly. In his newsletter, he outlines the "wave method," which he used to gauge a country's warmth by waving to strangers in hopes of making a connection, even through a simple nod or smile.

“Next one would be to not hesitate to ask questions,” whether it's a bus driver or a local offering their favorite spot to dine at. And finally, "being a yes person." If friends are inviting you out, go out, he says.

"You might get two hours of sleep that day," he jokes, "but you're gonna have that opportunity to experience that connection."

When asked if he'd do it again, he simply says, "I would not do it again," emphasizing that over five months, he spent an average of four days in each city across 15 countries. By the last month, the constant moving around had become exhausting.

"One hundred percent, I would recommend it for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he says.

If he decides to travel abroad again, he'd choose to do it for a shorter span of time and enjoy more extended periods of time in each city he visits — long enough to build on his connections and truly immerse himself in the experience and culture of each place he visits.

Back in the United States, Nguyen was eager to return to a more structured and familiar way of life.

"I was ready to be back in terms of having a restroom that was my own restroom," he says, laughing at how basic comforts were what he missed most: bare feet on his bathroom floor, his bed (safe from bedbugs), and a full calendar outlining upcoming projects and events.

"I love that American hustle mentality," he says.

Reflecting on all he experienced during those months abroad, he is grateful and already looking ahead.

"I was happy to come back home," he says, "but I'm also looking forward to the next adventure."

“Thank you for being a part of the newsletter,” he wrote in his final piece. “I am back in Austin now, and it's been crazy getting back situated.” ✯