Chu Thanh Tu, a 12th grade English 1 student at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, has just received news that she has won the Monash International Leadership Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded by Monash University, worth 100% of the entire course tuition fee. Each year, only 4 international students are selected by the school to receive this scholarship.
“I was very surprised to know that I was chosen from about 10,000 candidates. This is the beginning for me to gradually ‘touch’ my dream,” Thanh Tu said.
In addition to Monash University, Tu was also admitted to a series of other top universities in Australia such as the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland.
With her parents' support, Tu has nurtured her dream of studying abroad since middle school. Unlike her brother who is studying in the US, the female student prefers Australia, because she thinks it is a peaceful country and also has many world- class universities.
Until he had the opportunity to attend a summer camp and experience studying in Australia, Tu became more certain about this choice. “I knew this was the right environment for me, so as soon as I returned, I started preparing my study abroad application.”
Another difference compared to studying in the US, according to Tu, is that schools in Australia place a lot of emphasis on academic achievement. Therefore, since grade 10, the female student has made a specific plan, trying to maintain an average score of 9.5-9.9/10. In addition, Tu also took the SAT and scored 1590/1600 and 8.0 on the IELTS.
Regarding extracurricular activities, Tu said that her family has a tea garden in Thach That, specializing in workshops for tea picking and drying. Many times, Tu and her mother went to the tea cooperative in Thai Nguyen to look for sources of goods. Here, a tea artisan shared with the female student her love for tea plants and Vietnamese tea culture. That experience made Tu wonder even more: "Why does Vietnam have strengths in tea products, but when it comes to drinking tea, people think of England or Japanese matcha?"
Learning more about the origin and production processes, Tu and his brother - both students at Ams at that time - came up with the idea of connecting farmers with consumers through the distribution of tea-related products, while spreading the value and culture of Vietnamese tea to young people through organizing workshops. After that, the two decided to register to establish a social enterprise called Mattrà.
The female student said that during the process of starting a business, there were stages of operations that did not go as expected, even facing the risk of failure, but both brothers still persevered to find ways to manage, learn more about sales channels, and introduce products. Through each stage like that, Tu learned more about how to run a business, teamwork skills, leadership thinking, etc.
All profits were then used by Tu to raise funds and award scholarships to 10 disadvantaged students at Thai Nguyen tea cooperative, each worth one million VND.
Last year, Tu brought this project to the INOVA Croatia international invention competition and won the Gold Prize in the Startup category. In addition to the score, according to Tu, this is also a highlight for his application when applying to Australian universities.
Like many other universities in Australia, Monash does not require applicants to write essays. Instead, Tu submitted her application for review, which then selected potential candidates for an interview. During the interview with the university's admissions committee, the student was asked questions about her achievements, why she deserved the scholarship, and what she would do for Monash.
Tu said that the criteria of the Monash International Leadership Scholarship is to find candidates with leadership qualities, who have positive impacts on the community, in addition to excellent academic ability. Therefore, he has shown his true self through the activities he has done, focusing on his leadership ability in projects.
“I believe that these experiences are the foundation for me to try my hand at many different positions and roles when I become a member of Monash,” Tu said.
After being accepted into a top Australian university, Tu is now actively studying for her high school graduation exam. At the same time, she has also begun to learn about some business-related subjects that she will study in the upcoming fall semester.
“During my years of study in this country, I will focus on improving my expertise related to the commercial sector, continue to maintain my tea startup project and possibly develop this business in the future,” Tu said.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nu-sinh-truong-ams-gianh-hoc-bong-hiem-tai-dai-hoc-australia-2395166.html
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