The 24-year-old 'student father' and the comeback to become valedictorian

Nguyen Phuc Son is the second child in a family of three children in the countryside of Thanh Hoa. His parents separated when Son was only 2 years old, and his mother struggled to make a living everywhere.

Son grew up with his grandmother's jute vegetable stall. Every morning, she woke up at 5am, wrapped a scarf and hat, and carried vegetables to the market to sell regardless of the hot sun or the cold. Every penny she earned from selling vegetables was carefully saved by her to pay for her three children's education.

Nguyen Phuc Son's childhood lacked parental love, with only his grandmother by his side (Photo: NVCC)

The most haunting memory in Son’s mind is the poverty certificate that accompanied his family throughout 12 years of schooling. Every time he looks at that paper, the hardships of his mother and grandmother appear clearly. Aware of his difficult circumstances, Son actively participated in academic and extracurricular competitions, winning scholarships to pay his own tuition to support his family.

Having no money to buy books, Son borrowed old books from his friends, meticulously copying down each vocabulary word and sentence pattern to study by himself. Thanks to his natural talent, Son was selected to be part of the English team and brought home many awards for the school.

"Student father" by accident

When Son was in 11th grade, his life changed when his sister got pregnant and left two months after giving birth. He was studying for his university entrance exam but felt sorry for his grandmother's old age, so Son took on the responsibility of taking care of his grandchild. The student quickly got used to changing diapers, making milk, and rocking his grandchild to sleep. Many nights he stayed up all night when his grandchild had a fever, but the next morning Son still came to class on time. The image of the student reviewing his lessons while rocking his grandchild to sleep became familiar in the small house.

With the desire to escape poverty, Phuc Son studied hard and was admitted to the Foreign Economics Department of the Foreign Trade University in Ho Chi Minh City. His joy was short-lived when his grandmother passed away after only 2 months of enrolling.

On the way from Ho Chi Minh City to his hometown to see his grandmother off for the last time, Son “cried like a child”. With no more emotional support and a difficult family situation, Son made an important decision: to put his studies on hold to return to his hometown to be the breadwinner of the family.

“ Even though I could have stayed in the city to continue working and paying tuition, that would have been too selfish. The day I submitted my application to drop out of school, I understood that I was trading my entire future and could not turn back ,” Son confided.

The burden of making a living weighed heavily on his young shoulders, Son threw himself into many jobs to help his mother take care of life. The COVID-19 outbreak caused a shortage of jobs, so Son went to Hanoi to sell goods and carry loads at a convenience store. Many days he worked from 6am to 10pm but his salary was only 6 million VND, just enough to cover the minimum living expenses, unable to send money home to his family. Realizing that manual labor was not a long-term path, Son applied for labor export.

Luck came when Son learned about the admission information of Hanoi Pedagogical University 2, which considered high school results and exempted tuition fees. Like "finding the light at the end of the tunnel", Son applied and was accepted.

Phuc Son took a photo with his nephew on his university graduation day (Photo: NVCC)

Taking care of grandchildren and going to college at the same time

On the day he received the admission notice, Phuc Son wondered whether he should leave his nephew in the countryside or take him to the city. Finally, Son decided to take his nephew to Vinh Phuc to both study and take care of him. In 2021, the 20-year-old man and his 4-year-old nephew left their hometown, carrying with them many worries and youthful ambitions.

In the city, Son rented a small room near the school and began the life of a “student father”. Each day was a series of endless challenges. In the morning, Son prepared breakfast, and his grandchild went to kindergarten. At noon, his grandchild went to boarding school, and Son asked the teacher to look after him until evening so he could have time to tutor. Unable to find anyone to help, Son took his grandchild to work and asked his parents to look after him.

The two of them returned to their rented room when it was dark. After feeding and cleaning up, Son continued teaching online and preparing lesson plans until 4am.

"Although that period was stressful, I did not give up. Many nights, I just took a few hours of sleep and then quickly got up to go to work. When I was discouraged, I remembered my goal: to earn enough money to take care of my grandchildren and send money back home to help my mother pay off the debt, then I threw myself back into work ," Son confided.

Valedictorian with near-perfect GPA

From the first days of entering university, Phuc Son set a goal of shortening his study time to reduce the burden on his family. There were semesters when Son registered for 14-15 subjects, every day he was busy from morning to night without rest.

In addition to his regular studies, Son embarked on a scientific research project, "Using Write&Improve automatic writing assessment software to improve English writing skills for students in difficult circumstances."

Thanks to his persistent efforts, his excellent thesis won the first prize at the Faculty level, the first prize at the School level and the encouragement prize at the Ministry level. Not stopping there, Son was determined to win excellent scholarships in all 6 terms and complete the program within three years, one year shorter than the normal training time.

In November 2024, Nguyen Phuc Son graduated with honors from Hanoi National University of Education 2, with an average score of 3.81/4.0 and a training score of 93/100. Son is also the author of two scientific articles scored by the State Council of Professors, head of two school-level topics, co-author of a presentation at the VietTESOL 2024 International Conference and won second prize nationwide in the "Teachers in My Eyes" contest.

Phuc Son (first from right) became the Valedictorian of Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 with a near-perfect GPA (Photo: NVCC)

With his excellent achievements, Son was invited to work by many schools right after graduation. However, he decided to pack up and go with his nephew to Tay Ninh – nearly 2,000 km away from his hometown – to become an English teacher at An Hoa Secondary School, Trang Bang town. In addition to teaching, Son worked as a university teaching assistant to cover his nephew's living expenses.

“I was born into poverty, so I wanted to choose a land with many shortages to start. I believe that the most difficult places are the places that need the most dedicated teachers. There, each lesson can open a new door for students, just like it was opened for me in the past ,” the young teacher confided.

LINH NHI

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/24-year-old-student-father-and-reverse-gangster-turned-into-a-secretary-ar989422.html