During his speech during 2026 commencement exercises, Duc (Ben) Nguyen, ’26, reflected on “openness to uncertainty. To change. To the kind of possibilities that lead us somewhere we never expected. If Richmond has given us anything, it is the ability to recognize those side doors and the courage to walk through them.”
Nguyen majored in business administration and mathematical economics, and he’s an accomplished piano player, too. This summer, he joined UR’s student development office as the 2026–27 Spider Fellow.
Here are some of his everyday preferences.
Fall semester1 | Spring semester
Coffee | Tea
Performance | Practice2
Group work3 | Independent work
Handwrite | Type
Morning person | Night owl4
Plan it5 | Wing it
Spider Red | Spider Blue6
Piano concerto7 | Stock pitch
Appointment | Drop-in
Analysis8 | Research
D-hall panini station | D-hall dessert bar9
1 I love winter clothes, and I think the tempo feels slower.
2 It’s great to see the progress from the beginning till the end.
3 At some point in school, I realized that having different perspectives from different people is amazing.
4 At 2 or 3 a.m. on the trading floor in the B-school with my friends, we talk about really intimate stuff. It’s really cool because we get to keep those memories.
5 When you plan it, you see, “Oh, I can improve this."
6 Blue gives me the idea that every now and then you can sit down in this chaotic world and think about what’s going on and your reflections.
7 Music is what I really love, but not as a profession, as more of something I want to share with people.
8 Analysis is what makes research interesting.
9 The only spot I go to every time.