Tran Ngoc Gia Khoa, born in 2004, currently lives in Prague, Czech Republic. In just a few days, Khoa will leave for England to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). This is one of the most prestigious universities in the world for teaching and research in the field of social sciences.

Gia Khoa is the only student to receive a full scholarship (Cato Stonex Undergraduate Scholarship) from the school for EU students. This scholarship will cover his entire tuition fee of more than 41,000 pounds/year and a living allowance.

“This is the best gift I want to give my mother, as compensation for the hardships and sacrifices she has silently endured over the years,” Gia Khoa said.

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Tran Ngoc Gia Khoa currently lives in Prague, Czech Republic (Photo: NVCC)

Khoa said that after his parents divorced, his mother decided to take her two sons out of Vietnam and start a new life in the Czech Republic. The first place the three of them moved to was Ústecký kraj, one of the most economically disadvantaged regions of the country.

Leaving with little money and not knowing the local language, Khoa recalls that it was a time when the whole family struggled with financial hardship.

To be able to take care of her two children, Khoa's mother often does hard manual labor, from 5am to 10pm. "Whatever makes money, she does and works tirelessly."

Meanwhile, Khoa’s brother suffered from congenital heart disease. Many times Khoa was on the verge of tears when he saw his mother and brother having to wake up at 3am to catch the early train to the capital for treatment. However, it was his mother’s hardships that motivated Khoa to study and work hard.

At the age of 11, Khoa started taking on some small jobs to help his mother earn money, such as tutoring Math and Physics in the Vietnamese community about 2-3 sessions/week, and finding additional translation resources... Even though he could only support his mother with a small amount, it also helped Khoa have a more positive outlook on life.

“Holding the first money I earned, I understood that only by trying can I achieve what I want,” Khoa said.

The year Khoa finished middle school, when his brother entered university, his mother decided to move the whole family to the capital city of Prague to make it more convenient for his studies. At this time, Khoa also passed the entrance exam to a high school specializing in finance in Prague.

At the age of 15, when he was old enough to legally work part-time, Khoa asked his mother to let him work as a salesman at a clothing store. After a while, he applied to work as a collaborator for the British Council, a job he still maintains to this day.

Studying at a high school specializing in finance also brings Khoa many advantages. In addition to the basic subjects studied in grades 10-11, in grades 12-13, students study specialized subjects such as Sociology, Economics, Accounting, Law...

From grade 12, students are required to participate in a short-term internship. During this time, Khoa interned at the Investment Department at the Prague City Council. In grade 13, the male student interned at the largest bank in Eastern and Central Europe - Česká spořitelna (part of the Erste Group) and several other international organizations.

“These experiences help me gain more understanding and foundation in economics, thereby making me more confident in my choice to pursue this field in the future,” Khoa said.

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Khoa took a photo with Czech Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Bartos (Photo: NVCC)

Having decided to study finance, Khoa initially wanted to study in Germany or the Netherlands so that his mother would not be burdened with expensive tuition fees. However, he later decided to try his hand at some of the top schools in the UK, even though the tuition fees were 20 times higher.

Finally, Khoa was accepted into 9 universities in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Norway, including the London School of Economics and Political Science, which granted him a full scholarship.

According to the Vietnamese-American student, in reality, there are many excellent candidates, even more deserving than him. But what makes Khoa confident that he has a chance is the deep connection with the values that this school pursues - the commitment to creating equal educational opportunities for everyone.

“Although I know that the Czech government has done a great job in providing free education for all students, in reality, many poor families still face racism. As I used to live in a poor province, I also witnessed many families who could not even afford to send their children to extracurricular activities or buy pens and notebooks. Therefore, my wish is to study and apply the knowledge I have to create equal educational opportunities for everyone.”

In addition, in the essay, Khoa also mentioned his mother's sacrifices. "Over the years, I have witnessed my mother working tirelessly just to ensure that my siblings and I had adequate living conditions. She always put our needs above her own health and desires. Despite being tired and having many health problems, she never let her burden become our burden.

It was those tireless efforts that deeply influenced and shaped my dreams and aspirations for studying. Together, we overcame the difficulties of our circumstances and moved forward step by step,” Khoa wrote in his essay.

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Khoa and his mother on the day of receiving their diplomas at Obchodní Akademie Heroldovy Sady. (Photo: NVCC)

Witnessing his younger brother’s efforts, Tran Ngoc Khiem (25 years old), Khoa’s older brother, said that from a very young age, Khoa was understanding and mature beyond his years. “While other children were playing around, Khoa spent most of his time studying and working. Khoa was always clearly aware of his responsibility to his family. It was the circumstances and living environment that forged in him a strong will and a steadfast character,” Khiem said.

But Khoa admits that what he does is nothing big. “My mother has given me everything, so I have to try to make my dream come true. Her hard work all her life is the motivation that urges me to succeed,” Khoa shared.

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