Danny Ha Stepped Out of His Comfort Zone to Excel at Georgetown
May 14, 2025
To prepare for his mandatory Georgetown application interview, Danny Ha (C’25) split his computer screen in half. On one side, he used Zoom. On the other, he pulled up Google Translate. Ha estimates he understood only about half of what the interviewer said due to his limited knowledge of conversational English. Whenever something didn’t make sense, Ha would quickly type into Google Translate.
“Sometimes, I needed to do all the translation process myself in my head,” he said.
Growing up in the suburbs of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, Ha did not learn conversational English until grade 10 of high school. He taught himself English on Duolingo, the language-learning app, for a few months before transitioning to more advanced online courses.
Fast forward four years, and Ha is set to graduate from Georgetown with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. He has excelled on the Hilltop, applying his science and research skills at the intersection of chemistry and physics to build instruments capable of analyzing chemical compounds. This summer, he will head to Stanford University to pursue a Ph.D. in physical chemistry.
Ha takes pride in how far he’s come and credits his time at Georgetown for helping him gain confidence – both in and out of the classroom.
“I really stepped outside of my comfort zone,” Ha said. “Now, I can confidently communicate in English and take courses in English, even very advanced courses that require me to read a hundred pages every week. I’m very proud of that.”
Finding His Path
Ha is the first in his family to attend a university in the United States.
His father went to a military school in Vietnam and his mother received a vocational degree. Ha’s older sibling, who is 12 years his senior, studied in Vietnam and China.
In high school, Ha got involved in scientific research and discovered a passion he wanted to pursue at the next level. His teachers, sensing his potential, suggested he explore educational opportunities in other countries, including the U.S.
“In Vietnam, there was not much research funding, and the infrastructure is just not as strong,” Ha said.
But his family couldn’t afford to send him to a university overseas without significant financial aid or a full scholarship. Ha got to work. In addition to teaching himself English, he familiarized himself with the college application process. He used different application platforms and ended up applying to 40 different schools. Ha said he received acceptance letters from about 10 of them – five of which offered him generous scholarships.
Danny Ha (C’25), third from right, at the Stahl Summer Scholars award dinner in May 2024. (Rafael Suanes)
Ha chose Georgetown for several reasons.
He wanted to study in a city and DC felt like a place where he could meet people of diverse backgrounds. He was also drawn to the university’s core curriculum that allows students to explore a range of disciplines.
I wanted to study chemistry. But at the same time, I was like, these philosophy courses sound so interesting to me. Like Problem of God, what is that? I came from Vietnam, the only thing I knew was Buddhism. I didn’t know a thing about Christianity. I wanted to study that because it sounds very interesting to me, and here I got the chance to study all sorts of things.
Danny Ha (C’25)
As a first-generation college student from another country, Ha knew that he would need extra support. Reading about the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) reassured him that Georgetown would provide him with what he needed.
Missy Foy, the executive director of GSP, marvels at Ha’s courage and persistence.
“When Danny and I first spoke, he didn’t yet have an Uber or Venmo account and also had to quarantine for two weeks in a hotel in DC,” Foy said. “Danny was navigating everything – setting up a bank account, getting a SIM card, accessing financial aid – largely on his own. I couldn’t advise him on taxes or visas. He’s incredibly resourceful and always found a way.”
A Learning Curve
Still, life in college presented challenges for Ha.
During his first semester at Georgetown, Ha received a C on a biology exam. Back home in Vietnam, he was one of the top students at a high school focused on natural sciences. But at college in the U.S., he struggled to finish tests.
“It was a free response, timed exam,” Ha said. “I was just like, oh my gosh, I need to translate the questions into Vietnamese first and then think about the science in Vietnamese before translating it back to English.”
Outside of class, Ha didn’t talk much. His freshman year roommate came from Wales and Ha couldn’t understand his accent.
But Ha found support from the Georgetown community. His biology professor gave him extra time to translate exam questions and his friends made him feel welcomed and encouraged him to contact his advising dean for help.
With their guidance, Ha began to flourish.
For his senior thesis, Ha developed new instrumentation and methods to detect and quantify chemical compounds at low concentration levels.
His research into chemical instrumentation – building new instruments for analytical and chemical purposes – has impressed his professors. In 2023, the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry published a study that Ha co-authored about the detection of fluorinated compounds through a novel ionization technique. The journal highlighted the paper as one of its notable articles of the year.
For his senior thesis, Ha developed new instrumentation and methods to detect and quantify chemical compounds. His projects integrate concepts from chemistry, physics and engineering to advance chemical measurements at very low concentration levels with applications in biomedical and environmental analyses, explained Kaveh Jorabchi, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry.
“At the most fundamental level, he has an insatiable curiosity about the world and the tenacity to succeed in the face of challenges,” Jorabchi said. “In the nearly four years that Danny has been in my group, he has tackled multiple projects and has been able to produce conclusive results and significant progress in all of them.”
Leading the Way
At some point, Ha wants to become a professor. He envisions running his own lab and advancing his own research. He plans to continue building new instruments.
“My interest is still developing, because I feel like I don’t want to confine myself to a specific research direction,” Ha said.
Last summer, Ha interned at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, a federally funded research and development center in California. The internship was supported by the Stahl Summers Scholars Program, which enabled him to pursue a summer experiential learning opportunity.
At Georgetown, he worked as a teaching assistant for four different introductory courses: computer science, chemistry, physics and biology. He also served on the student board for the Georgetown Scholars Program as a programming director, overseeing community building events that brought first-generation, low-income students together. During his sophomore year, Ha attended a global seminar in Jerusalem, where he got to see the tomb of Jesus.
Ha said his time at Georgetown has taught him to be more understanding, patient, sensitive and vulnerable. Ha wants to help others be in a position to succeed.
“He’s resilient, obviously very smart, has a great sense of humor and is a genuinely kind person,” Foy said. “There is no limit to his potential in the world.”
