Haunted by debt, female student breaks through to win full scholarship to international university

(Dan Tri) - Having witnessed her family sinking into debt, Bui Pham Thanh Vy did not choose to avoid it. She turned adversity into motivation, excelling in winning a full scholarship to pursue a career in finance.

Bui Pham Thanh Vy received a full scholarship (Photo: NTCC).

At the age of 11, Thanh Vy’s childhood memories were not of carefree innocence but of the silence that pervaded her house in Vung Tau Ward (HCMC). What started as a small loan to cover emergency medical expenses quickly became a huge burden with escalating interest rates and unexpected fees.

She silently witnessed her father struggling under financial pressure. No one in the family knew what to do, but to try to move forward in these uncertain days.

However, it was from that financial trouble that Vy sowed an unshakable determination that one day she would find a way to help others not fall into the same situation. She believes that financial literacy is not a privilege but an essential need, no less important than health care or education .

That childhood memory shaped Vy’s dream of creating an accessible personal finance management tool for everyone. She envisioned a mobile application that could automatically track spending, categorize categories, identify risks early, and make appropriate suggestions to help users achieve their goals from paying off debt, studying abroad, to building an emergency fund.

Vy began taking concrete steps to turn her idea into reality. In 2023, she became a core member of SEAGLE – a financial education initiative, where Vy spent nearly 3 months designing a financial simulation game.

Inspired by the Monopoly game but adapted to Vietnamese students, this game recreates the stock market in 3 sectors, with stock prices fluctuating according to supply and demand, and challenge cards transformed into exciting games. The activity attracted more than 300 students to participate and raised more than 10 million VND for charity projects.

At SEAGLE, Vy has gone from a quiet contributor to a confident leader who has directly contributed to successfully calling for many large sponsorship packages for student events. Those efforts have led her to the position of Deputy Team Leader in charge of finance and translation of the project.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Trung Kien, Chairman of SEAGLE, commented: “Vy has a rare ability to combine strategic thinking with creativity. She has breathed life into dry financial concepts and helped young people approach them in a more familiar and lively way.”

Thanh Vy and her family at the 2025 scholarship award ceremony (Photo: NTCC).

As one of six new students receiving full scholarships to RMIT University Vietnam in 2025, Thanh Vy looks forward to experiencing an international learning environment that values ​​creativity, critical thinking and practicality.

“This full scholarship gives me the opportunity to study finance in an international environment and start building a personal financial management application that is user-friendly for Vietnamese people,” Vy shared.

The girl said her dream is to become a financial analyst and then take on senior management positions in financial or investment companies.

“I want to help businesses make data-driven and sustainable decisions. One day, I hope to start my own business, applying all that I have learned to create value and contribute back to the community. For me, university is the place to equip me with both the skills and confidence to make those dreams come true,” Bui Pham Thanh Vy confided.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/am-anh-no-nan-nu-sinh-but-pha-gianh-hoc-bong-toan-phan-dai-hoc-quoc-te-20251024091951873.htm