Sad boy becomes creative award-winning guy, accepted into 3 universities

Freshman Nguyen Dang Khoa (18 years old, Thanh Phong commune, Thanh Phu district, Ben Tre province) has researched provincial-level science and technology topics and won many awards. One of them is a topic related to classifying insects that harm Tu Quy mango - Photo: MAU TRUONG

Currently, the Faculty has chosen the Chemical Technology major of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry with direct admission.

Childhood closed with broken love

Born into a poor family, poor in both material and parental love, Nguyen Dang Khoa chose to live a closed life from a young age.

Mrs. Tran Thi Hong Xuyen, 35 years old – mother of new student Nguyen Dang Khoa – said that she and her ex-husband both came from poor families. After giving birth to Nguyen Dang Khoa, the couple often argued and then went their separate ways.

Mrs. Xuyen took her child back to her maternal grandparents' house to live with them. After a while, Khoa's parents both went to find new happiness. Khoa lived with his maternal grandparents in the shrimp farm, lacking the warmth of his father and mother when he was only 5 years old.

Her maternal family was also poor, their income only depended on a few fields, which were sometimes profitable and sometimes not. But with the determination not to let her drop out of school, her maternal grandparents tried to borrow money so that she could go to school.

Then his grandparents got older and the road to school had to weave through the bumpy rice fields, so when Khoa was 8 years old, he had to make two choices: either go back to live with his mother and stepfather to continue going to school, or have to drop out of school.

Khoa wants to go to school.

“My mother worked hard to earn money to secretly send me to school. The money my stepfather gave me every month was enough to take care of my younger sister,” Khoa said.

Khoa's stepfather works as a sailor and is not at home most of the time, but whenever he is at home, he quarrels with his mother.

“The house is full of noise and chaos, there is no happiness, sometimes I am so miserable that I want to destroy myself. Since I moved in with my mother and stepfather, I have locked myself in my room, not wanting to talk to anyone. But then I realized that I should choose to be silent in the face of noise and find other joys.”

The turning points that reached the golden scoreboard

In the year of the 10th grade entrance exam, Khoa was selected to attend his favorite school – Tran Truong Sinh High School (Thanh Phu District, Ben Tre Province). From then on, Khoa was determined to change himself.

The Faculty is engaged in scientific research projects to solve problems facing the locality. The first project was “Building a school wastewater system using biological methods combined with UV” and won fourth prize in the 2021-2022 Provincial Science and Technology Competition. In 2023-2024, the Faculty continued to research the project “Classification and identification of insect pests of four-season mango in Thanh Phu district” and won another prize.

Nguyen Dang Khoa (18 years old, Thanh Phong commune, Thanh Phu district, Ben Tre province) is an excellent student for 12 years of schooling - Photo: MAU TRUONG

Khoa confided: “During the most difficult time due to the impact of mental abuse from adult problems, fortunately I found my own joy and lived with more purpose. I chose to research scientific topics related to the problems arising in my place. Among them, the research topic on the group of insects that harm the four-season mango was welcomed by many gardeners.”

Open yourself up to become a student leader, pass 3 universities

Although he was an excellent student for 12 years, according to Khoa, his 3 years of high school were the most meaningful time of his student life. Khoa not only maintained the title of excellent student, had many scientific research projects that won awards, but also performed well as deputy secretary, and then secretary of the Youth Union of Tran Truong Sinh High School.

During the 12th grade, while many friends were busy studying and preparing for exams, Khoa spent half a month volunteering with the Green Summer soldiers of Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture in many meaningful activities.

“That was also the time when I saw my child happiest. Freed from the days of locking himself in his room with piles of books, he participated in most volunteer activities at school and in the commune,” said Ms. Xuyen, Khoa’s mother.

Sharing his study tips, Khoa seriously said: The most important thing is to know how to organize. Studying in class is very important, so you should grasp the knowledge in class firmly, then do homework and research more deeply and find more solutions. In addition to studying time, you should participate in group and association activities to make studying less boring and at the same time have more relationships.

Thanks to his highly awarded scientific works and meaningful volunteer days, in 2024 Khoa was directly admitted to the Chemical Technology Department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry.

In addition, with a score of 28.23, Khoa was also admitted to two other universities: Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport and Vietnam University of Petroleum.

Having just become a new student at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, Khoa was trusted by his friends to be the class union secretary and had his first volunteer trip in Binh Thuan province.

Self-esteem and hardship need to be supported

Although he did not directly teach Khoa, when mentioning his name, Mr. Nguyen Van Han - a teacher at Tran Truong Sinh High School, still remembers this energetic and self-respecting student. "Once, a benefactor wanted to help the school's disadvantaged students, I introduced Khoa's situation, but this student refused to accept and gave his place to a student with more difficult circumstances," Mr. Han, a teacher who regularly connects to help poor students in Ben Tre province, recounted.

Currently, standing at the threshold of life, Khoa is facing many difficulties. His biological father has a new family and no longer provides financial support; his stepfather only earns enough to take care of his younger sister; and his mother works as a hired worker with an unstable income that cannot cover Khoa's four years of university.

Khoa boldly applied for the Tuoi Tre Newspaper's 2024 Support to School scholarship with the hope of partially solving the burden of university expenses. "Because my major is Chemical Technology, there is a lot of knowledge, so I have to always learn and improve my knowledge, so in the next 10 years I will still "study, study more, study forever". Even after I graduate, it will still be like that. My goal is to always improve my skills, be able to find a job suitable for my major, make ends meet and forget the pain" - that is Khoa's confession to Tuoi Tre.

Thanks to his impressive academic achievements, Khoa was admitted to 3 universities in Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria - Vung Tau province - Photo: MAU TRUONG

Mr. Tran Van Luan, the homeroom teacher of grade 12 and also the person who directly guided Khoa in conducting scientific research projects during high school, said that Khoa is a very capable student.

“During the process of my guidance on the project, Khoa grasped the subject very quickly and did it very well. Khoa is also an energetic and enthusiastic union officer. However, Khoa has a rather special situation, both parents have their own families, so he encountered many financial difficulties during his studies.

Especially in the future, when the Faculty of Science goes to university, it will require a lot of expenses, so the school will also support it wholeheartedly and look for scholarships so that the Faculty will not have to drop out of school," said Mr. Luan.

Invite you to join the School Support Program

Tuoi Tre Newspaper's 2024 School Support Program launched on August 8, expected to award 1,100 scholarships with a total cost of more than 20 billion VND (15 million VND for new students with difficulties, 20 special scholarships worth 50 million VND/scholarship throughout 4 years of study and learning equipment, gifts...).

With the motto "No young person can go to school because of poverty", "New students encounter difficulties, there is Tuoi Tre " - as a commitment to support new students in the past 20 years of Tuoi Tre . The scholarship registration program ended on September 20, 2024.

The program received contributions and support from the "Accompanying Farmers" Fund - Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company, Vinacam Education Promotion Fund - Vinacam Group Joint Stock Company and the clubs "Nghia Tinh Quang Tri", "Nghia Tinh Phu Yen"; the clubs "Supporting School" Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam - Da Nang, Tien Giang - Ben Tre, Quang Ngai and the Tien Giang - Ben Tre Business Association in Ho Chi Minh City, the German - Vietnamese Mutual Aid and Cooperation Association (VSW), Nam Long Company, Nestlé Vietnam Co., Ltd. ... along with businesses, philanthropists and a large number of readers of Tuoi Tre newspaper.

Businesses and readers can support scholarships for new students by transferring to Tuoi Tre newspaper account:

113000006100 VietinBank, Branch 3, Ho Chi Minh City.

Content: Support "Support to school" for new students or specify the province/city that you want to support.

Readers and businesses abroad can transfer money to Tuoi Tre newspaper:

USD account 007.137.0195.845 Ho Chi Minh City Foreign Trade Bank;

EUR account 007.114.0373.054 Foreign Trade Bank, Ho Chi Minh City

with Swift code BFTVVNVX007.

Content: Support "Support to school" for new students or specify the province/city that you want to support.

In addition to funding scholarships, readers can support learning equipment, accommodation, jobs, etc. for new students.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cau-be-buon-tui-thanh-chang-trai-cua-giai-thuong-sang-tao-dau-3-truong-dai-hoc-20240924074124754.htm