The journey to conquer the USABO Biology Gold Medal of a Math major student

Student Nguyen Quynh Chi (2nd from left) with her friends and teacher Tran Thi Thanh Xuan - leader of the National Excellent Student Team in Biology.

For many students, Biology can be a difficult challenge, but for Nguyen Quynh Chi, it is like a door that opens a world of new things and opportunities for her to nurture her dream of wearing a white blouse in the future. The first mark on that journey of relentless effort is the successful conquest of the Gold Medal at the 2025 US Biology Olympiad. With this achievement, Chi is closer to her goal of becoming a student at Hanoi Medical University.

Born into an intellectual family, her father was a shipbuilding engineer and her mother was a nurse, Chi inherited both the precision and logic from her father who worked in engineering and the love, care and attention from her mother who worked in medicine. It was the everyday stories her mother told, the times she worked at night or took care of patients... that instilled in little Chi a deep admiration for the medical profession - a job that requires both professional steadfastness, courage, intelligence and heart.

Since her primary school years, Nguyen Quynh Chi has shown an excellent aptitude for natural sciences . During her four years in junior high school, Chi was a student who chose Mathematics at Tran Dang Ninh Junior High School - a school with a tradition of nurturing excellent students in Nam Dinh city. During her four years studying here, Chi had a rich "collection" of achievements: In grade 8, she won second prize in the city-level Mathematics competition, third prize in the city-level Mathematics competition in English, and an encouragement prize in the provincial VioEdu competition; in grade 9, she won third prize in the city-level Mathematics competition and third prize in the provincial Mathematics competition.

Because she planned to pursue a career in Medicine in the future, Chi decided to switch from studying Mathematics to studying Biology when she took the entrance exam to Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted and sought help from teacher Tran Thi Thanh Xuan, head of the school's Biology group. With the help and guidance of Ms. Xuan, at the end of grade 10, Chi was selected to join the school's Biology team. That year, Chi won second prize in the provincial-level gifted student exam for the gifted student category.

In grade 11, Nguyen Quynh Chi officially became a member of the Nam Dinh Province National Biology Team led by Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Xuan. She won the Encouragement Prize in the 2024 National Excellent Student Competition. After passing this exam, Ms. Xuan introduced and encouraged her to participate in the USABO exam to gain more knowledge, experience, lessons, and train her mental endurance.

At the USABO exam, the test is in English with 50 questions in 50 minutes. “With such limited time, I had to learn how to narrow down the keywords in the test, improve my reading speed and most importantly, learn how to measure my strength - clearly define the time limit to do the maximum number of questions possible” - Chi shared. Overcoming the stressful exam, practicing each small operation to optimize time, the USABO exam brought Nguyen Quynh Chi the prestigious Gold Medal, and moreover, it was the maturity in learning thinking, discipline and mental endurance - essential factors for all future knowledge conquest journeys.

Quynh Chi confided: Today's achievement is the result of a long journey. During that journey, my mother was always there to encourage me whenever I felt tired. She did not put pressure on me to be good, she just wanted me to do what I love with all my passion. That gave me more motivation to try harder in my studies. Besides, I was lucky to be taught and guided by good and dedicated teachers such as Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Xuan, head of the Biology group, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thoa, Ms. Tran Thi Anh Diep, Ms. Luu Thi Yen, and many other subject teachers. In particular, my homeroom teacher Nguyen Hoang Cuong helped and encouraged me a lot during my studies, always accompanied me, listened to me and created the best conditions for each of us students to develop comprehensively. Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Xuan always encouraged me and my friends to participate in many exams to compete, test ourselves and discover ourselves. She not only imparts knowledge enthusiastically but also always encourages and motivates me to try to overcome difficulties and maintain my learning spirit. Her timely attention and strictness help me practice discipline and a high sense of responsibility in studying.

Friends are also a very important source of motivation in Chi's efforts. They are always willing to share and help her in her studies as well as in her life. Group study sessions and sharing lessons together help her understand the lessons more deeply and make learning more interesting and easier. Thanks to teachers and friends, she is more determined to strive to achieve her goals.

With an impressive academic record: Second prize in the provincial Biology competition in the 2024-2025 school year, Encouragement prize in the national Biology competition in 2024, and recently the USABO Gold Medal, Nguyen Quynh Chi is very close to her dream of becoming a student at Hanoi Medical University as she wishes.

Quynh Chi added: “The USABO exam gave me many valuable experiences, helping me gain more knowledge and train my mental endurance; through that, I have carefully prepared to achieve my goal of entering my dream school in the near future. And besides the score, I also learned something more important, which is perseverance and gratitude. Without my family, teachers, friends and opportunities from Le Hong Phong school, I would not be able to have today”.

Evaluating her young student, Distinguished Teacher, Dr. Tran Thi Thanh Xuan, leader of the National Excellent Student Biology Team, said: “Chi is a student with independent thinking, self-study and is especially passionate about discovering knowledge beyond the curriculum. Winning the Gold Medal at USABO is a worthy result, demonstrating her rare ability, courage and serious learning spirit.”

Nguyen Quynh Chi's achievements have contributed to extending the achievements of the over 100-year-old school, being a source of inspiration, encouragement, and motivation for all students of the school to compete in studying to achieve high results, contributing to the glory of the tradition of the homeland of learning.

Article and photos: Minh Thuan

Source: https://baonamdinh.vn/xa-hoi/202505/hanh-trinh-chinh-phuc-huy-chuong-vang-sinh-hoc-usabo-cua-co-hoc-tro-chuyen-tan-b5e5fe5/