Female student who had one kidney removed as a child graduates with honors from University of Technology

Nguyen Thi My Ngoc, a student of the 2021 class of engineering physics at the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University), has just graduated ahead of schedule with excellent grades.

Prof. Dr. Mai Thanh Phong - Principal of the University of Technology - awarded the university diploma and reward to Nguyen Thi My Ngoc at the graduation ceremony on the morning of April 25 - Photo: NHU QUYNH

At the University of Technology, My Ngoc stands out with a series of impressive achievements, but what few people know about this student who received the "Vietnam Female Science and Technology Student" award is that she has been living with one kidney for nearly 20 years.

Talking to Tuoi Tre Online , My Ngoc said: "When I was only 3 years old, I was in the hospital for a month to have surgery to remove my left kidney due to congenital polycystic kidney disease. During the treatment and after, I was inspired by the doctors and nurses and had a dream of growing up to work in the medical field. Thanks to my mother's guidance, I chose biomedical engineering."

* At the Polytechnic University, a place "notorious" for its strict learning environment, graduating on time is already difficult, studying ahead with the dream score is even more difficult. While it seems Ngoc has easily overcome the "flood of deadlines" and successfully graduated a semester early. How did you do it?

- After completing my first year, I realized that the program required quite a lot of elective credits (including both free elective and major credits). However, a semester according to the roadmap is only about 14-15 credits, while I can study up to 17 credits without incurring additional costs.

Since my mother was the only one who paid for my tuition, I wanted to help reduce her financial burden by increasing the number of credits each semester. From then on, I started taking 1-2 more subjects than the schedule, even taking extra classes in the summer to accumulate enough credits for graduation.

I created a Google Sheet file called "Study Plan" from freshman year to present to track and adjust my personal study plan.

For additional subjects, I included some general subjects planned for semester 8 in previous semesters, and flexibly adjusted the free credits accordingly.

I don't have a specific set of subjects to study in each semester, but rather see planning as a "fill in the blanks" game.

* Having lived with one kidney for so long, you must have had to find a way to balance your health and study schedule?

- Yes. My biggest challenge is balancing my health and my study schedule. Due to my poor health, I always prioritize getting enough sleep and entertaining myself to stay positive.

An important factor that helps me maintain good academic results is my ability to manage my personal time and energy. I usually study the lesson content in advance, study actively in class, then do homework or review after class.

Thanks to that, I can access each piece of knowledge at least three times, making my review more effective without feeling overwhelmed. For non-study activities, I make a "to-do list" and do it when I have enough energy.

Around the middle of my second year, I developed an irregular heartbeat, while my study schedule was quite tight - there were days when I studied continuously for 10 hours from 7am to 6pm. So I arranged my review time reasonably during the week, to avoid being overloaded during project, test or exam periods.

My Ngoc was honored as Vietnam's Female Student of Science and Technology 2024 - Photo provided by the character

* What are your plans for the future?

- I plan to study abroad to gain more experience and resources to continue participating in in-depth research.

Therefore, I hope to participate in courses, seminars, and workshops on basic science related to my current research direction so that I can continue to develop further in the future.

Top 2% of outstanding students

Associate Professor Dr. Do Ngoc Son - Head of the Computational Physics Laboratory - commented: "My Ngoc is a very enthusiastic, eager person, actively participating in scientific research activities. I rate Ngoc's learning ability as being in the top 2% of the best students in the faculty.

During the teaching process, I realized that Ngoc has a talent for physics. Since 2023, Ngoc has proactively applied to join my research group, and has made a lot of progress. I am guiding Ngoc to write articles for international journals as well as to conduct further research."

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nu-sinh-bi-cat-bo-1-qua-than-tu-be-tot-nghiep-xuat-sac-truong-dai-hoc-bach-khoa-20250426105631886.htm