College of Education and Human Development

Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development

Thi Nguyen

  • Pronouns: she, her, hers

  • Doctoral Student, CIDE

Areas of interest

Critical Internationalization
International Student Mobility 
Education for Global Citizenship
Education for Sustainability and Environmental Justice
Identities, Agency, and Transnationalism

Degrees

M.A., International Education Management, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, 2020
B.A., dual majors in International Relations and Communications, University of California – San Diego, 2019

Biography

I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. I was born and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam but call Sunnyvale, California my home.

As an emerging scholar, I study the prevailing colonial legacies of higher education internationalization. Driven by my schooling experiences as a first-generation immigrant and woman of color, I have committed my academic career to uncovering narratives of deficit, critiquing the epistemological dominance of Whiteness, and dismantling systems of oppression embedded in U.S. higher learning. My dissertation will focus on collecting and uplifting asset- and agency-based narratives among different subsets of Vietnamese international students in the U.S.

Another area of research that I'm actively involved in pertains to the intersection between international student mobility and climate change. I believe that discourses of campus internationalization tend to over-focus on the human-centric benefits (i.e., intercultural competencies, global networks, revenue generation), while neglecting implications of mobility privileges and how increased cross-border mobilities affect the broader ecosystems, including the livelihoods of historically marginalized communities. Through my programming work with the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, I strive everyday to become a more proactive agent in the ongoing interdisciplinary movement toward climate literacy and environmental justice, be it through managing sustainability-focused experiential learning opportunities or coaching undergraduate student leaders. 

Before coming to Minneapolis, Minnesota for my Ph.D. program, I resided all over California for 10 years. I have previously served as an international student programs coordinator, a citizen diplomacy professional, and a graduate admissions counselor.

Publications

DeJaeghere, J., Dao, V., & Nguyen, T. (2024). Education systems change: Cultural beliefs and practices that support and inhibit deep learning in Vietnam. Journal of Educational Change. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-024-09505-0

Nguyen, T. (2023). “Decentralization with direction”: Fragmented and transversal approaches to internationalizing higher education administration. In E. Ahn (Ed.), Wisconsin in the World: Internationalization at UW-Madison (pp. 425-445). Information Age Publishing. https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Wisconsin-in-the-World

Campbell, A. C. & Nguyen, T. (2023). Climate action and aspirations for international education professionals. In K. McBride & P. T. Nikula (Eds.), Sustainable Education Abroad: Striving for Change (pp. 121–136). Forum on Education Abroad. https://www.forumea.org/sustainable-education-abroad.html

Campbell, A. C., Nguyen, T., & Stewart, M. (2022). Promoting international student mobility for sustainability?: Navigating conflicting realities and emotions of international educators. Journal of Studies in International Education, 27(4), 621-637. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153221121386

Nguyen, T. (2020, August 28). What I have learned from suppressing my bilingualism. We Linguistically. https://welinguistically.com/suppressing-my-bilingualism/

 

Publications in progress:

Nguyen, T. (in progress). Transnational identities and trajectories: Exploring the ‘American stories’ of Vietnamese international undergraduate students in the U.S.

Nguyen, T. (in progress). Study abroad for climate justice: a discourse analysis of sustainability engagement in international higher education.

 

Presentations

Nguyen, T. (2023, November 16). Study abroad for climate justice: a discourse analysis of sustainability engagement of international higher education. Association of Study in Higher Education 48th Conference, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.

King, K., Stockman, A., Nguyen, T., Fiegen, A. & Aziz, J. (2023, October 28). Equity and access to Minnesota Bilingual Seals. Minnesota Council on the Teaching of Languages and Cultures Fall Conference 2023, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.

Nguyen, T. & Freeman, C. (2023, September 14). Youth Excel report: Identifying trends, innovations, and locally-appropriate opportunities for supporting youth mental health in East and Southern Africa. Youth Excel Summit, Accra, Ghana.

Campbell, A. C., Nguyen, T. & Stewart, M. (2021, November 26). Going Global vs. Going Green: International educators’ perceptions and concerns. Climate Action Network for International Educators’ COP26 Climate Action Week, Virtual. 

Campbell, A. C. & Nguyen, T. (2021, April 25-May 2). Lack of information, not lack of will: International student mobility amid global warming. Comparative and International Education Society 65th Conference, Virtual. 

Campbell, A. C. & Nguyen, T. (2020, May 12). Climate anxiety and international student mobility: a literature review. Climate Action Network for International Educators’ 1st Climate Action Summit, Virtual. 

Punteney, K., Nguyen, T., Magyar, B. & Murata, K. (2019, November 20). Internationalization from the perspective of partners. NAFSA Regional 12 Conference, Pasadena, CA, U.S.