Whether conducting international business in Europe and Asia, touring Egypt on a photojournalism expedition, or implementing a Project for Peace initiative in the Dominican Republic, Phoebe Do ’17 has navigated the world through adventure.
Since graduating from Gettysburg College, Do’s career path has taken her from social entrepreneurism to management consulting for global firms such as Deloitte and Method, a digital transformation unit of Hitachi.
Do’s fearless curiosity has led to a restless desire to challenge herself. Do cultivated this quality when she created Gettysburg’s first Burgburst in 2014 with support from Aimee Bosman ’18. For the last 10 years, Burgburst has become a tradition bringing the Gettysburg community together to celebrate international cultures through food, music, spoken word, and dance performances.
Discover how Do, a mathematical economics and globalization studies major from Vietnam, leverages the knowledge and skills she gained at Gettysburg to create a life of consequence.
GETTYSBURG College Magazine: Why did you decide to attend Gettysburg College?
Phoebe Do ’17: My mom earned a rare opportunity to study in France as a medical professional during the challenging years of post-war recovery in Vietnam. She developed a vision for me to study English and get out to see the bigger world, which led to me coming to the United States and Gettysburg College from Vietnam. It changed the trajectory of my life. As an 18-year-old, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but Gettysburg provided a great environment. Professors encouraged me in my journey. I received support from the College community. I feel like I came into myself through studying abroad in Shanghai and Cairo.
GCM: How did your Gettysburg education prepare you for your career?
PD: Gettysburg College provided me with great skillsets and experiences that have been instrumental in launching my career and continue serving as a nurturing ground for my growth.
Quantitative training in economics and research experience with Economics Prof. James O’Brien laid the foundation for a strong set of core competencies that I’ve applied in my professional and personal life.
Open-mindedness, the deep comfort in the existence of conflicting realities and perspectives to one given matter, and the ability to integrate the diversity of thought are qualities I practiced through my globalization studies education. I learned about confidence, comfort with ambiguity, and optimism that risks can lead to learning and positive disruption through two study-abroad journeys and various co-curricular activities in the United States and internationally in college.
Each of these areas has shaped my career at Deloitte as a management consultant and at Method/Hitachi as a product manager. Both are not one-track straightforward paths; they are very much an adventure every day. They require someone with not only a strong technical foundation but also a generalist with lots of experience and perspectives—and, on top of that, a can-do attitude.
GCM: How does your experience organizing the first Burgburst continue to support you today?
PD: Organizing Burgburst for the first time gave me the opportunity to test a lot of different ideas. It built this resilience and confidence that, if you put yourself into something, you lift the vision and build what your mind thinks you can do.
In my career now as a consultant, I feel like there’s that mental power: “You’re going to build something. That’s your vision. Go with it.” My hope is to build a legacy of my own, whether it’s in the form of a business or nonprofit organization.
I still always think back to Burgburst—if I could do that at 19, maybe I can do something just as great when I’m older!
by Michael Vyskocil
Posted: 08/27/25