For Vu Quoc Cuong, the scholarship worth more than 1 billion VND today is not only a ticket to enter the dream university but also an affirmation that as long as he maintains a strong spirit and faith, life will turn in the right direction.
Now, he can pursue his dream of pursuing a career in film and media production. And on the journey to pursue that dream, Cuong wants to tell his story – the journey of a lost boy – becoming someone who spreads light, faith and courage to those who are going through darkness.
Vu Quoc Cuong, champion of the 2025 "Lion Heart" scholarship (Photo: NVCC).
Turning point of life
Overcoming hundreds of competitors, Vu Quoc Cuong has just won the 2025 “Lion Heart” scholarship of the British University. This scholarship is for students with difficult circumstances but strive to improve and have leadership potential.
During his studies, Cuong not only faced material deprivation but also prolonged loneliness. He felt “abnormal”, isolated from the group, to the point that he wanted to give up despite always achieving excellent academic results.
But instead of giving up, Cuong chose to turn his pain into strength, self-study IELTS, achieve B2 level in French and win a scholarship.
Sharing with Dan Tri reporter , Cuong said that it was a long and arduous journey and went through many complicated preparation steps.
It is known that Cuong applied for the scholarship in early April, but due to poor preparation, he still had many shortcomings and the results were not satisfactory.
Not stopping there, Cuong continued to make efforts to apply again. By August this year, after many trips between Hai Phong and Hanoi , after countless times of editing essays and adjusting and supplementing documents, combined with a rather complicated interview, he burst into tears when his name was called.
I won many English awards when I was in high school (Photo: NVCC).
According to the male student, his original plan was to pursue French language and become a teacher to fulfill his dream through foreign languages.
However, winning the scholarship has changed the life of this Hai Phong male student. For him, this is not only a ticket, an opportunity but also a motivation to reach a bigger dream in life, which is to follow the path of filmmaking and digital creation.
Sharing about the journey of preparing documents and essays to apply for the scholarship, Cuong said that the essay was written in detail like a movie script, with chapters, times, and locations of events. Even the font size was used like a real movie script.
At first, I wrote the essay based on my feelings, the ideas were scattered and patchwork. Thanks to the guidance of some seniors, I edited it many times to complete it and make it more organized.
“In my essay, I wrote a story about my own life. From that, I want to say that no matter what the circumstances are, you must always keep an optimistic spirit and a strong heart, and you will definitely stand up after falling,” Cuong said.
During the interview, Cuong was asked many questions by the judges. In particular, there was the question “In the next 10 years, who do you think you will be?” Cuong answered: “I want to contribute to the creative arts and film industry. I dream of becoming a content creator and creating new things to bring more colors to life in the future.”
“I don't know what the judges appreciated, but I think I tried my best,” Cuong recalled.
Cuong with his mother and uncle at the scholarship award ceremony (Photo: NVCC).
Rewrite fate from a meal with fish sauce
Vu Quoc Cuong is a former French student at Tran Phu High School for the Gifted, Hai Phong. He grew up in the arms of his grandmother, as neither of his parents were around to take care of him for a long time. Cuong has lived with his mother since he was in the 4th grade.
His childhood was associated with simple meals of only white rice and fish sauce but full of love - memories that Cuong still remembers forever - because even though he was poor, he still had his mother, he still had joy.
“That year, my mother and I moved out to live in a rented house. After 4 years, my mother remarried, and I returned to live with my grandmother and father. Around 2023, my father also left, leaving me alone with my grandmother,” Cuong said.
In grade 12, Cuong won the 11th Hai Phong English Youth Championship. For 3 consecutive years in high school, he held the title of excellent and good student. Before that, in grade 9, he also won second prize in the district-level English competition.
Sharing with reporters, Cuong said he still remembers the first meal in 4th grade, when his mother and he first rented a house. In that first meal there, he ate fish sauce with rice.
“The food was very simple and frugal, but I felt lucky that my mother was still with me, and we could rely on each other. Until now, the taste of that frugal dinner still lingers in my mind,” Cuong said sadly.
Not only passionate about specialized language subjects, Cuong also has a talent for digital content production (Photo: NVCC).
In the letter of recommendation sent to Cuong's university, Dr. Do Thi Nhan, literature teacher, homeroom teacher of French class 12, Tran Phu High School for the Gifted, Hai Phong said that in more than 20 years of teaching, she has had many generations of students, but Vu Quoc Cuong is an excellent student that she is extremely impressed with.
In all semesters, Quoc Cuong achieved good results with an average score of 8.0, not an outstanding score but extremely proud.
In addition to his passion for specialized language subjects, Vu Quoc Cuong also has a talent for producing media content that surprises everyone.
“Cuong’s situation is different. His family’s economy is not very good, his family has had many difficulties in paying tuition fees or going on trips with the class.
Therefore, the parents' association and I proactively helped her by giving her an electric bicycle so she could easily go to school, as well as supporting part of her tuition fees to recognize her willpower and determination to study," she said.
In the new environment, Cuong integrated very quickly (Photo: NVCC).
Once lonely to the point of wanting to give up
Currently, Cuong is both studying and working. In addition to school hours, he teaches 5 sessions a week. Cuong admits that there were times when he wanted to give up, not because studying was too difficult or because of too much academic pressure, because his grades were usually quite good.
I want to give up because sometimes I feel very lonely in class, I have no friends to play with, to share with. I have not lived the life of a naughty, enthusiastic, playful student like other students.
I always felt like I was “out of step with the trend,” “rustic,” and “unable to fit in,” and sometimes I even felt like I was left out of the crowd. This used to make me lose motivation to go to school because I felt that my circumstances and personality were somewhat different.
“There was a time when I was kicked out of the French team because I missed many days of school because I felt I no longer had the mental strength to go to extra classes.
I didn’t even have 3G to look up words in the dictionary and I was too shy to ask my friends for help. I felt like my friends didn’t like me! I felt regretful and tormented because I couldn’t bring home a French award for myself and the school,” Cuong confided.
Sharing about his upcoming journey, Cuong said that in the new environment, he felt like he was immediately integrated. He is planning to set up a film club at school, in which he has to find members and come up with ideas for activities.
“I love movies, that is my biggest dream. The movies I watch help me have a more positive outlook on life, help me believe in miracles and feel less lonely.
"Movies have given me a lot of things, so I also want to contribute to cinema, or create my own products to share my own stories, continuing to spread positive spirit to others," the male student shared.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/nam-sinh-tung-thay-minh-khong-binh-thuong-va-hanh-trinh-viet-lai-so-phan-20251031235024817.htm
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