Student Speaker Tâm Chí Tru’o’ng ’26 Delivered a “Love Letter” to the Class of 2026

During his first year at the College, Tâm Chí Tru’o’ng ’26 felt lost. He was planning to follow the pre-med track and major in biochemistry, the start of his journey to becoming a surgeon. But he wasn’t connecting with his classes and had a looming sense of imposter syndrome. It took leaning on the community he’d cultivated and talking with his friends to help him recognize his real passion, for economics.

“My parents and I are immigrants, and growing up I learned a lot about finances. My dad taught me how to think about running a business and financial literacy, and that foundation sparked my interest,” he says. “It’s always been in the background. I just never noticed it until I had conversations with my friends and realized it was what I wanted to do.”

Now a graduate with a degree in economics, the necessity of building community and strong friendships was a major theme in Tru’o’ng’s College experience; he imparted that message to classmates as the student speaker at Class Day. He describes his speech as a “love letter” to the Class of 2026, sharing the importance of small, everyday acts of connection in building relationships that can be depended on in times of hardship.

“My parents left Vietnam and their community so that I could find mine. I carry that with me in everything I do,” Tru’o’ng says. Those communities on campus included the First- Generation and/or Low-Income (FLI) Network, the economics department and the Vietnamese Students Association. Tru’o’ng also was part of Black-Gen Capital, an independent, student-led initiative, and The Center, New York City’s LGBTQ+ community center in the West Village.

He says he was always looking for ways to give back to these groups, especially using the knowledge gained through his economics classes and his experience interning at Deloitte and the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations. He also was this year’s recipient of the Charles H. Bjorkwall Prize, which is given for “unselfish service to the College community.”

“I used my connections in both BlackGen and the FLI Network to bridge the two and bring financial literacy initiatives to FLI students,” Tru’o’ng says. “As a research and administrative assistant in the economics department and at the Business School, I combined qualitative and quantitative insights to study how institutions shape opportunity and inequality while continuing to build community on campus.”

The effort Tru’o’ng put into building networks was reflected in how his communities in turn showed up for him. He says one of his favorite memories was his most recent birthday, when friends he made on study abroad trips flew to New York City to celebrate with him. Those grand gestures meant a lot, he says, but so did the little moments, like consoling a friend after a heartbreak, sharing notes with a sick classmate or spending nights watching Sex and the City with his friends. They all added up to a solid foundation of relationships upon which to build a life.

“We’d sit there, trying to figure out who we wanted to be. Charlotte. Miranda. Carrie. Samantha,” Tru’o’ng said in his speech. “But at some point, I realized we don’t actually have to choose. Because our lives are not about having it all figured out; they’re about becoming. About changing and still choosing each other, again and again.”

Tru’o’ng adds that he learned how to “lead with love” during his time at Columbia, and is planning to carry that forward and encourage classmates to do the same.

“For the rest of my life, I will always find and build community wherever I go,” he says.