Vietnamese girl graduated as valedictorian of university in Australia

Hoang Phuong Linh's study abroad journey was not smooth, working 80 hours a week during her internship to earn extra money to pay for her tuition, but she had brilliant results at the end of the semester.

Phuong Linh, 22, graduated as valedictorian of the Business Administration program at the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School. She was also the only recipient of the award for the most outstanding student in her class.

After graduating, Linh is now a wine expert at a high-end restaurant in Sydney, published the book "Gen Z Big" in February and has a podcast channel of the same name with 1.2 million listeners.

Before achieving this result, Linh had gone through a difficult and arduous study abroad journey.

Hoang Phuong Linh is currently a wine expert in Australia. Photo: Character provided

Determined to study abroad since middle school, Linh tried to maintain a high GPA of 9.6 or higher during her years at Nguyen Sieu Inter-level School. In 11th grade, she won a scholarship and transferred to an international school in Hanoi . With excellent grades, Linh set a goal of winning a full scholarship to study in the US, choosing an academic major and not having to work hard to earn money.

But after her sister settled in Australia, Linh changed her direction to look for universities in this country. Because her family did not have the means, Linh aimed at schools that allowed her to start early, graduate early, and earn money during her internship to pay for her tuition. During a study abroad seminar, she learned about the Hotel Management program at Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School - a famous school in this field in the Asia- Pacific region.

Linh was impressed because the school was built with a resort model, students live in the school and must comply with strict regulations on clothing and hair when leaving their rooms every day.

"I want to live in such a professional environment. Especially, this major only takes 2.5 years to study," Linh said.

In addition, the school accepts students after finishing grade 11, instead of grade 12 as usual. Linh was also awarded the highest scholarship of 5,000 AUD (over 77 million VND) for international students, thanks to her academic achievements and IELTS 7.5. The remaining 100,000 AUD (over 1.5 billion VND) for Linh's family included tuition and living expenses.

Ms. Phan Thi Kim Thuy, Linh's mother, decided to borrow money for her child to go. Ms. Thuy said that because she did not know a foreign language, she had missed out on many career opportunities. Therefore, although she was not well-off, she still tried to invest in her child's bilingual education early on to have a good foundation in English.

"Many people say I'm showing off, not having money but still sending my child to study abroad, but I'm just doing what's best for my child," said Ms. Thuy.

Linh came to Australia in 2018, after finishing grade 11. After a preparatory semester, she was able to officially enroll when she turned 18. Back in Vietnam, Linh was used to living independently because her parents were often away from home. Thanks to that, she quickly adapted to studying abroad.

Because she was not used to the Australian accent, Linh had difficulty understanding the language for the first 6 months. During that time, she went to the library every day to borrow English books to read and watch videos on YouTube to get more familiar with the native language.

The curriculum includes theory and practice in different departments of the hotel. Linh easily passed the academic subjects but was afraid of the practical ones because she was not used to cleaning work. In the first year, students learn culinary practice, are required to work in all positions in the kitchen and serve in high-class restaurants. In the second year, Linh is trained in the operation of the housekeeping department, learns to make sheets, fold blankets, clean bathrooms and toilets.

Linh said that cleaning the room also has a process, on average about 30 minutes and always starts with making the bed first. After wiping the table and windows, she continues to scrub the bathroom, clean up the trash, and vacuums last to avoid making the room dirty.

According to Linh, making the bed was the most difficult part and was graded strictly down to every corner. To master it, she had to borrow sheets to study by herself. At the end of the internship, Linh won the award for excellent student.

During her 6-month internship at the restaurant, Linh's life revolved around going from home to work. In addition to her main job 5 days a week, Linh also worked extra at 3 different restaurants to earn money for her tuition. On average, she worked 80 hours a week. Many days Linh only slept 4 hours, then had to wake up and work 14 hours. Many times when she returned to her room and lay in bed, she couldn't feel her body.

"If I don't work, I won't have money to pay for school. I promised to help my mother pay for school, so I can't break that promise. Reality is the only motivation that helps me overcome fatigue," Linh said, adding that she hides from her relatives that she works a lot.

Having free time, instead of hanging out with friends, Linh tried to rest and recharge her batteries so she could get back to work. After finishing her internship, Linh earned 40,000 AUD, enough to pay for her tuition for the next semester. After that semester, Linh was able to take control of her life thanks to receiving a scholarship to work as a teaching assistant for first-year students in the Food and Beverage department; she was selected to work at the school's resort. She also received a letter of commendation from the principal for her excellent academic performance in every semester at the school.

Last April, Ms. Thuy went to Australia to attend her daughter’s graduation ceremony. The school kept the information about the valedictorian secret until the last minute. After receiving her diploma, Linh was invited to a special position reserved for the person who won the highest award. Hearing her daughter’s name being called, Ms. Thuy was surprised and happy in the audience.

"I'm still very emotional," Ms. Thuy shared.

She didn’t know Linh had four jobs until her internship ended. Hearing Linh say there were days when she couldn’t walk home made her cry for her daughter.

"Linh is decisive. When she decides to do something, she will make a plan, set a deadline, and be determined to carry it out. I always feel confident in her," said Ms. Thuy.

Upon receiving the news, Ms. Pham Thi Ngoc Diep, Linh's former homeroom teacher at Nguyen Sieu School, was proud of her student's success. According to Ms. Diep, Linh has comprehensive learning ability, is independent and has an organizational mind. Not only is Linh good at studying, she also loves experiential and extracurricular activities.

"Linh is emotional and quite dreamy but knows how to set goals and break them down to complete them. This achievement is well deserved," Ms. Diep commented.

Linh and her mother on her university graduation day in Australia, April 2022. Photo: Provided by the character

For Linh, becoming valedictorian is proof that she has overcome financial and life difficulties to balance her studies and her livelihood. She never thought of publishing a book, but after developing the "Gen Z Big Episode" Podcast channel, a publisher suggested she write a book.

"I have lived a life of ups and downs so that when I look back, I see that the journey I have gone through is meaningful enough for me and can inspire someone. Therefore, I accepted the invitation," Linh said.

The book was written in 4 months and 2,000 copies were published. In addition to the book and YouTube channel with 60,000 followers, Linh also developed Instagram and blogged about the restaurant and culinary industry, with the desire to share knowledge.

After graduating, she wants to further her education in another field and plans to start a consulting service to help restaurants in Vietnam.

"I will explore areas I have never experienced before, maybe I will find something interesting. It is better to fail and know that the field is not for me than to regret later for not trying," Linh said.

Dawn

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