Ethnic minority female student wins award at international math competition

Living in an area with challenging learning conditions, this female student was very insecure about her English skills and even asked her teacher to withdraw her from the international competition team. However, she ultimately achieved a miracle by winning a silver medal at the TIMO International Mathematical Olympiad.

The miracle of the Dan Lai student.

This is the story of Nguyen La Vi Na, an 11th-grade student at the Nghe An Provincial Ethnic Boarding High School. “I’m luckier than my classmates because I can still go to school. Some of my friends have dropped out due to difficult family circumstances and the arduous journey to school, so they have to work to help their parents,” the girl from the Dan Lai ethnic minority group expressed.

Perhaps because she clearly felt those hardships, the young student nurtured the dream of becoming a teacher in the future so that she could bring literacy closer to her ethnic minority classmates. To realize that dream, Vi Na focused intently on her studies and achieved certain accomplishments.

Portrait of the Danish female student who won an award at the international competition.

NVCC

Vi Na achieved a remarkable feat by winning an award at an international mathematics competition . This accomplishment was the result of a long and arduous journey for this young student.

Vi Na developed a love and interest in mathematics in the fourth grade. In the fifth grade, she participated in the district-level gifted student competition. During her middle school years, her math teacher recognized her aptitude for the subject and included her in the district's gifted student team. "In the ninth grade, I participated in the district-level gifted student competition in mathematics. Although I only won an honorable mention, I was very happy. Because I only studied at a school in a rural area with many shortcomings, achieving such a result compared to students from prestigious schools in the district was beyond my expectations," Vi Na shared.

Vi Na (center) with her friends at the TIMO International Mathematical Olympiad.

NVCC

Thanks to her hard work and effort, after passing the national finals, Vi Na and her teammates participated in the TIMO International Mathematical Olympiad held in Thailand and won a silver medal. “When I was preparing, my goals weren't too high. After the competition, I felt insecure and anxious about my performance. So when my name was called, I was overwhelmed with happiness. I never thought I would achieve this. Even now, I still can't believe it's true,” Vi Na shared emotionally.

Overcoming obstacles and self-doubt

The TIMO International Mathematical Olympiad is a math competition conducted in English. Therefore, in addition to mathematical knowledge, students must also possess a strong English vocabulary. This is extremely challenging for a student from a rural school like Vi Na.

“During my primary and secondary school years, I only attended a small school in my village, so I had very little exposure to English. Therefore, English was a very difficult subject for me. When I took the entrance exam for high school, my English score was only 5,” Vi Na recounted.

Therefore, to participate in this exam, the female student from Dan Lai not only had to study math but also improve her English vocabulary. “The international final in Thailand had 30 questions in English, and I had to solve them within 120 minutes. The math knowledge covered all three years of high school, so my classmates and I had to put in a lot of effort,” Vi Na said.

Vi Na and teacher Thuy Linh

NVCC

Because of her lack of self-confidence, Vi Na once considered withdrawing from an international competition. "I felt I still had many weaknesses, so competing internationally would be very difficult. But thanks to the encouragement from my parents and teachers, I persevered and continued to study," Vi Na shared.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh, a math teacher at the Nghe An Provincial Ethnic Boarding High School, shared: "Vi Na is a diligent student who has truly put in a lot of effort. Her starting point when entering the school was only at a fairly good level, not outstanding or exceptional. Vi Na is in class A1, specializing in natural sciences. Seeing that she also enjoyed math, I encouraged her to participate in the English-language math competition. Throughout the 8 months of preparation, Vi Na studied math to gain sufficient knowledge and improved her English vocabulary. This is a difficult foreign language for ethnic minority students. But with effort and perseverance, Vi Na achieved good results, well-deserved for her hard work."

The TIMO International Mathematical Olympiad is held annually by the Hong Kong Olympiad Education Centre in collaboration with the Tourism Authority of Thailand. It's a valuable intellectual playground for students who love and are passionate about mathematics, from kindergarten to high school. The competition aims to stimulate and nurture a love of mathematics among young people, enhance students' creative thinking abilities, and expand international cultural exchange.

Thanhnien.vn