Philip Moore • Lovett College • Asian Studies

I’ve become much more confident in my personal abilities, even while studying among some of the brightest students in the nation. I’ve learned that being smart doesn’t outweigh having experience and that having good grades does not always mean having a deeper understanding of life. With my own hands, I’ve poster-plated walls in run-down dorm rooms that I eventually grew to call home, and I’ve traveled the globe to put those same posters up on the walls of a Catskill Mountain summer-camp cabin and a small guest room on a crowded street in Vietnam.

In high school, I believed that I had to be an engineer because that’s what I was good at. I had no idea what I was capable of until I arrived at Rice. I’ve changed majors not once or twice, but four times, and ended up with an Asian studies major that fulfills a deep groove in my spirit, while securing myself a fruitful future through the pursuit of graduate studies and the acquisition of a PhD. I’ve learned that it’s OK to be afraid of the future and that not knowing what you want to do does not imply weakness or immaturity. I paid my way through college—and found a strategy to manage bills and grades. It took me a while to find my way, but I did. I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the freshmen who have no idea what they want to do in life, because they are staying the course, while those who believe they know it all really don’t know anything. I’ve fallen flat on my face academically and learned that worrying about it only wastes time. I came into college a 19-year-old know-it-all who had no clue, and I’m now a 22-year-old know-nothing who sees his future with clarity.

I’ve decided to stay enrolled at Rice for one more academic year, but I’ve also decided to go abroad again for another term. I will be returning to Vietnam in the spring to my friends and newfound family, then coming back to Rice to finish up, and finally going to Japan to teach. What the future holds on paper is so simple for me to plan out: graduate school, obtain a doctorate, and travel the world while teaching. But that’s the easy part. I have no idea what challenges I will face in the next phase of growing up, but I never want to stop growing.

I am so thankful for everything Rice has done for me and glad that I’ve given to Rice in return. Rice has been so much more to me than a name or a degree. I could care less if I were going to Harvard, Yale, or Stanford. Either way, the process is exactly the same anywhere you go in life—it’s how you manage the content that ends up making the difference. For me, Rice no longer is a place that Momma, Daddy, Sis, and Nani all have ties to. It’s my home, my own unique experience. I’ve written my own story within the walls of this university and created my own history.