Vietnamese female student '5 good' year of the Snake in the land of Aries

TPO - A petite figure and a pretty face with thick glasses are the images of "5 good students" Nguyen Thu Trang, who has a rich record of academic achievements and extracurricular activities in the land of the White Birch.

Active Youth Union officials

Nguyen Thu Trang (born in 2001, Hai Phong ) is currently a fourth-year student in the Real Estate Appraisal and Management department at the Moscow State University of Construction . Trang explored this field of study since high school, then coincidentally learned about the study abroad program in Russia and decided to apply, subsequently being accepted.

This female student, born in the year of the Snake , only began learning Russian upon arriving in Russia and spent a preparatory year honing her language skills. She focused on understanding the material in the textbook and completing basic Russian exercises, as well as regularly communicating with teachers and classmates; reading newspapers, listening to news, and watching television programs.

Nguyen Thu Trang is a student at the Moscow State University of Construction. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

To achieve excellent academic results , Trang said that she not only had to be determined to quickly overcome the language barrier but also set specific goals and plans for each subject. Once she understood some of the knowledge the lecturers shared in class, self-study and research became much easier.

"I listened to lectures, took complete notes in Russian in class, read and translated the Russian textbooks for the course, and also read additional Vietnamese materials so that I could apply the knowledge I gained abroad to the practical situation in my country," Trang said.

Besides her excellent academic achievements, Thu Trang is also an active participant in extracurricular activities organized by the Youth Union and the Student Association. She is currently the head of the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Club (affiliated with the Vietnamese Student Association in Russia) with over 70 members and regularly organizes volunteer activities such as: donating clothes, visiting nursing homes, distributing humanitarian meals… in Russia, as well as many fundraising volunteer activities for Vietnam. Notably, she participated in a project to build a computer lab in 2024 at Coc Chom school ( Cao Bang province) with a budget of 100 million VND.

“I am honored to have been admitted to the Party in my third year of university, after a period of continuous effort and self-improvement. The Party Committee, the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia, and directly the Executive Committee of the Youth Union and the Vietnamese Student Association in Russia have always created opportunities for Vietnamese youth and students to become outstanding individuals and be introduced into the ranks of the Party,” Trang said.

As the Secretary of the Youth Union Branch and the interim President of the Vietnamese Student Association at Moscow State University of Construction, Trang has initiated many activities and made efforts to develop activities at the campus to connect and create a training environment for Vietnamese union members and students.

She said: "Although my school doesn't have a large number of Vietnamese students , I always try to maintain annual activities on special occasions such as Vietnamese and Russian holidays, sports activities to maintain traditions, welcome and support new students, and create a friendly environment so that international students don't feel disoriented when far from home and can still develop and live fully as they would in Vietnam."

Thu Trang is currently the head of the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Club and actively participates in charitable activities. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Taking exams while celebrating Tet (Lunar New Year)

Having studied abroad for nearly five years, Nguyen Thu Trang has spent two Lunar New Year holidays away from home.

She shared that most of the activities related to Lunar New Year are organized by the schools themselves. Here, talking about Tet means talking about gatherings, celebrating New Year's Eve a little later than usual with siblings and friends at school; decorating together to have peach blossom trees, apricot blossom trees, or making banh chung and banh tet (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes) just like in Vietnam. The Tet lucky money envelopes are a gift that the organizers prepare secretly so that everyone can receive them as a surprise.

Trang further shared: “There were years when Tet (Lunar New Year) came early, and we had to celebrate Tet while taking exams. Although it was a little disheartening, missing the atmosphere of family reunions, everyone tried their best to complete their studies well. This year, because the exam schedule was more convenient, I returned to Vietnam to celebrate Tet with my family.”

In the new year of the Snake (2025) , Nguyen Thu Trang, a female student born in the year of the Snake, said she will try her best to complete her studies and graduate to return home, as well as spend time gaining new experiences in Russia.

“This year also marks my 24th birthday, a milestone in my life where I'm mature and need to set certain goals for myself. I also need to return to Vietnam soon and settle down with a mindset ready to learn and adapt,” Trang said.

Thanks to her academic achievements and extracurricular activities, Trang has received many awards. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Her academic average for the 2023-2024 school year was 4.69/5.0. In 2024, she was the Head of the Organizing Committee for the annual "Seedling" Book Festival, held to celebrate Vietnam's Book and Reading Culture Day; participated in and completed the "Youth Footprint" race in 2024; was an official delegate at the World Youth Festival in Sochi, Russia; and led the fundraising project "For the Beloved Hoang Sa - Truong Sa Islands" launched by the Vietnamese Student Association in Russia in response to World Ocean Day and Vietnam's Sea and Islands Week.

To date, Nguyen Thu Trang has received numerous awards, including: a Certificate of Merit from the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union for "outstanding achievements in Youth Union work and youth movements in the Russian Federation in 2023"; a Certificate of Merit from the Youth Union Executive Committee in the Russian Federation for "exceptionally outstanding achievements in fundraising activities for the 'Building Schools' program in 2023-2024"; and the title of "Excellent Student" from the Central Committee of the Vietnam Student Association.