How My Journey Started season 2 in Paris: Breaking barriers, building strength

When Huyen walked into the studio in central Paris, she didn’t just show up. She took the room. Despite some initial production challenges, her presence was sharp, assured, and focused. Sitting down with student host Hong Ngoc, Huyen was ready, not just to reflect on her career, but to challenge what success really means.

From the start, it was clear that Huyen would not sugarcoat her story. She would give an honest account of her career to Ngoc and other aspiring RMIT graduates who may aim for a global pathway for their own.

“I had always thought that I need to upgrade my career and discover the world more than what I already had for the past 10 years. Then the next question popped up in my head is that, okay, what's next?” Huyen looked back. “Then I said, listen, maybe I want to discover the world a little bit more and pass my 30-year-old milestone somewhere outside of Vietnam. And maybe, we never know what the future brings to you.”

Now living and working as the EMEA Demand Generation & Digital Marketing Manager at Ingenico in Paris, France, Huyen’s story is not about a straight path – it’s about transformation, courage, and clarity.

Trusting your own timeline

After graduating from RMIT Vietnam in 2013 with a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing), Huyen quickly built a strong career in Vietnam’s advertising and communications industry. But seven years in, she sensed a ceiling and felt something shift.

“It was quite amazing passing all of those experiences and environments,” she reflected. “But then deep inside, I know that I always want to have something more than that.”

It wasn’t a structured plan that launched her next chapter, rather, it was a moment. A conversation with a family member in France opened a window of possibility. And just like that, within months, Huyen had applied for an MBA program, packed her life into a suitcase, and boarded a flight to Paris.

“To be honest, Europe or Paris never actually stayed in my imagination because I didn’t speak French at all. But then I was like, why not start having an eye open and seeing what life brings to you?”

That bold step marked the start of a completely new journey, and Huyen never looked back.

Rebuilding from scratch

Huyen arrived in France knowing she was starting from scratch: a new city, new systems, and a language she hadn’t yet mastered. “Even when we see that Paris is quite attractive, but in reality, you have to get out of your comfort zone and away from your people to thrive on completely new things,” Huyen said. “You’ll have to relearn and adapt to everything that you have never been taught before. It needs a bit more courage, and you’ll need to push yourself to really try and optimise what you can do.”

Huyen earned her MBA while adjusting to a completely new pace of life. Breaking into the European job market, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, took a special kind of resilience. But Huyen eventually secured a role in fintech, where she now leads B2B digital marketing & demand generation activities for the European, Middle East and Africa market for Ingenico, a global leader in payment acceptance and services.

“There have been ups and downs in the past five years because it's not always la vie en rose. But I think it's also quite a beautiful experience. When you finally get to the other side of all those hardships, you can then proudly look back.”

Becoming the right version of yourself

At the core of Huyen’s story is one powerful idea: you don’t wait to be fully prepared. Sometimes, you just have to take risks and embrace the unknown. But there’s a catch – you first need to define yourself and have a plan to stick to.

“You’ll need to learn about yourself first, and then you befriend it and find the key core interest – a passion or light that can never be turned off in you,” Huyen explained. “Then, be bold enough to take all the risks. Everything always comes with challenges, but also with good rewards if you dare to take it.”

Huyen spoke openly about moments of doubt and reinvention, but her voice never wavered. From leaving her strong foundation in Vietnam to building a new life and career overseas, she covered them with candour but not without kindness and patience, especially to aspiring professionals. This combination of self-awareness and decisiveness makes Huyen’s story particularly relatable to international students like Ngoc.

“Huyen didn’t just talk about wins,” Ngoc shared after the recording. “She talked about setbacks, from smaller things like navigating your new life to taking risks and learning as you go. That hit home for me.”

What you need is already within you

Taking pride in being a well-planned strategist both in her work and career pathway, Huyen understands the wish to know all the variables before making a decision. But upon looking back and sharing her wisdom with the younger generation, Huyen emphasised the importance of being decisive and learning along the way.

“You can never be prepared enough to come to the decision. So, you cannot just simply stay there until you are prepared because we are never perfectly prepared. So just move on and take the risk, be bold in making the decision but also be responsible for it,” Huyen shared.

“At the end of the day, you are the one. No matter if it's good or bad, it's yours and you own that decision. Look at what you learned, how you grew, and how far you have gone to get where you are right now.”

“I would say I am not the version of me 15 years ago or even five years before I arrived in France, and look at me how I am today. I think I enjoyed the version of me today better.”

As How My Journey Started continues its 2025 season, Huyen’s story adds depth and determination to the series, reminding us that leadership doesn’t always begin with certainty. Sometimes, it begins with a decision to bet on yourself.

Check out the full episode on RMIT Vietnam's Spotify and YouTube below.

This season of How My Journey Started Podcast is part of RMIT Vietnam's 25th anniversary and celebrates the remarkable journeys of our senior alumni – the pioneers who were with RMIT Vietnam from the early days and now have built careers across the world.

Whether to start a new job, get a new degree, or find one’s passion, always remember that you already have what it takes at RMIT Vietnam, and your journey is uniquely yours to create.

Available on RMIT Vietnam’s Spotify and YouTube.

How My Journey Started season 2 in Paris: Breaking barriers, building strength