Name:
Daniel Phan
Year:
I’m graduating in 2014.
Age:
Is this really important? Let’s just say that I’m older than I look. Unless you think I look like I’m 27 or something, in which case, I’m younger than I look.
Major:
Mechanical Engineering with a concentration on Nuclear Engineering
Birthday:
February 8th.
Relationship Status:
Alone.
Hometown:
Springfield, Virginia.
What made you choose VCU?
Well, I needed a school that was in-state, not too far from home, but just far enough that I had to move out. Also, I was looking for a solid engineering program. VCU seemed like a good school that fit the bill.
Describe your dream girl:
My dream girl would be open-minded and regularly challenge her own beliefs and predilections. I’d want her to have the courage to face her problems head-on, the heart to stand by her beliefs, and the strength to admit if she’s wrong. Lastly, I am a sucker for quirky girls with really expressive faces. But what would I know about choosing girls? I’m still single.
Describe your ideal date:
To start off, we’d meet up for coffee and lounge around the coffee shop a bit, just chatting and stuff. After we finish our coffees, she’d ask me what I’d want to do next and I’ll whisper to her, “It’s a surprise.” Then I’ll look at the street and put my phone to my ear and declare, “It’s go time!”
Out of nowhere, a limousine will pull up and we’ll be greeted by none other than THE Neil Patrick Harris. He’ll look at us, wink, and tell us, “Get in.” While the chauffeur delivers us to our destination, NPH starts debriefing us on an impromptu magic show in which we’ll be starring in. The show begins in about an hour or so and the tickets have already sold out.
When we get there, we get taken to our respective fitting rooms where I get outfitted in the most perfectly tailored suit and my date has a brief makeover. After both my date and I are stage-ready, I’ll look at her in her cute, playful dress and tell her that she looks great. Neil briskly reviews the outline of the magic show to us and promptly leaves. The curtains open and the spotlights are on us. The smiling audience claps enthusiastically and we nervously wave while Mr. Harris’s voice booms over the speakers to introduce us as magician and assistant.
We carry through the show with as much as we can remember from the 15 minute rehearsal, adlibbing the fuzzy parts in our memory, and trying to cover each others’ awkward pauses with corny jokes and playful banter. The audience is receptive to our mistakes during the performance and through their collective laughter, ‘oohs,’ ‘ahhhs,’ and ‘awwws,’ make it apparent that they thoroughly enjoy our stage presence and our chemistry with one another.
The audience begins taking their seats from their standing ovation and we finish taking our bows while the orchestra gracefully plays us off the stage. We hail a taxi and direct the driver to take us to a burger joint where we eat our dinner still in the stage attire we were performing in earlier. We get interrupted by a man stealing one of my French fries, and when we look up at him, we realize that it’s none other than Bill Murray. Before we can say anything, he eats the fry and says, “No one will ever believe you.”
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
If I could go anywhere in the universe, I’d go into space and feel what zero-gravity feels like… Take a trip to the moon and look back at the Earth. If that’s outside the scope of the question, then I think I’d like to go to Belgium; it’s the land where many of my favorite beers are crafted.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Eccentric, hypnopompic, circumlocutory