2022-23 President's Scholars

Khanh Doan

Oscar Perlaza President’s Scholar

Major: Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering emphasis

College of Engineering

University Programs: Kellogg Honors College; Institute of Transportation Engineers; College of Engineering Student Ambassador; Vietnamese Students Association; Engineers Without Borders 

Khanh Doan considers her passion for knowledge acquisition as helping the community and paying tribute to the values instilled by her parents. “Growing up, I was lucky enough to be taught by both my father and mother who never cease to be immense sources of inspiration. They made learning feel as spontaneous, voluntary and delightful as picking up a favorite hobby, or drinking enough water every day.” Arriving in the U.S. from Vietnam at age 16, Khanh intended to study transportation engineering, but was drawn to the rigor and challenges of structural engineering. Professor Mikhail Gershfeld’s Structural Engineering Design Lab helped Khanh “grow into a different person who is practical, professional and reliable.” She found a community of like-minded learning enthusiasts by participating in student competitions for Concrete Canoe, Timber Strong Design and Transportation Design. Khanh plans to pursue a degree in architecture after working as a structural engineer and lives by an educational philosophy that there is “beauty behind enduring and overcoming the impossible.”