ESP Biography



JAMES THIEU, Engineer with a penchant for History



Major: Electrical Engineering

College/Employer: Stanford

Year of Graduation: 2020

Picture of James Thieu

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I'm from Little Saigon (Westminster, CA, to be precise) - growing up in a Vietnamese-American community in the center of sunny Orange County means that 1) I am always down to go far afield to try new cuisines 2) I have no understanding of the concept of seasons 3) I am well-acquainted with both obscure Vietnamese dishes and (probably) that new food fad that your Facebook friend just shared. Please ask me what a birdy/birdie is!

I love to tell stories, whether it be through directing the Stanford Vietnamese Student Association's Culture Night, Instagram posts, or 15-minute stories for SVSA meeting check-ins. My most recent stories will be about my experiences in India and Japan this summer, but range from historical trivia about army formations of the Diadochi to eating barbecue in Nashville. If you would ever like to hear some and/or share yours, just let me know!

In my free time, I like photographing both aesthetically pleasing and meaningful things, beatboxing along to the latest a cappella cover playing through my headphones, and absorbing ever-more trivia.



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

H7315: Intro to Buddhism: A Fresh Take in Splash Spring 2019 (May. 04 - 05, 2019)
When people say that something is zen, they mean that it's tranquil, but did you know there's much more to Zen than that? In this class, we'll be doing a brief run-through of Buddhism using, in Zen fashion, visual aids (read: memes) to facilitate greater understanding.


A6556: Intro to Vocal Percussion in Splash Spring 2018 (May. 05 - 06, 2018)
With the rise of a cappella groups like Pentatonix, there has been a newfound interest in vocal percussion. Here, we will go over the basics on vocal percussion in a hands-on workshop.