A recent graduate carried his mother to the university to receive his diploma, along with a heartfelt letter that moved the entire auditorium to tears.

Having graduated from university with honors, Pham Trung Tri Dung carried his mother on his back to receive his diploma. On stage, Dung choked up while giving his speech, and his mother and older brother, sitting in the audience, also shed tears.

Báo Tuổi Trẻ•25/01/2026

University - Photo 1.

Pham Trung Tri Dung carried his mother onto the stage to receive his university graduation certificate - Photo: NT

Tri Dung graduated from Nguyen Tat Thanh University with a degree in Pharmacy. His mother attended the ceremony in a wheelchair. When his name was called, Dung immediately carried his mother onto the stage to receive her diploma with him, saying, "If it weren't for my mother, I wouldn't be standing here."

Studying at university while taking care of parents.

Dung looks more mature than his classmates, partly because he's older, and partly because of the worries and hardships he's faced in life.

For the past few years, every morning Dung has taken a bus from Go Cong to Ho Chi Minh City to study, and in the afternoon he takes another bus back to take his parents in the hospital. The journey, which once seemed long to Dung, has now become strangely familiar.

Born and raised in a family deeply involved in the pharmaceutical profession, Dung's mother was a pharmacist who had worked for many years at a small pharmacy in their hometown of Go Cong (formerly Tien Giang province ). Dung's childhood was filled with the smell of medicine and evenings spent helping his mother meticulously check prescriptions, sort blister packs of medicine, and bottles of syrup.

After graduating from high school, Dung didn't go straight to university but instead enlisted in the army to fulfill his military service. Two years in the disciplined environment of the military instilled in Dung perseverance, but also made returning to his studies somewhat more difficult.

Dũng chose pharmacy as his major because of his mother's unfulfilled dream of "seeing her son become a pharmacist." However, tragedy struck in his final year of university when his father suffered from severe dementia and was unable to care for himself.

Almost every aspect of his father's life required someone's presence. Dung hadn't even had time to adjust to that when his mother was diagnosed with a serious illness. The prolonged treatment left her exhausted, struggling to eat, and mentally unstable.

From then on, Tri Dung's life was almost divided into two halves. One half was in Ho Chi Minh City with his studies and internships at hospitals and pharmacies, the other half was in Go Cong with hurried meals, taking his father to the restroom, and driving his mother to the hospital for treatment.

"There were days when I did my internship from morning till evening, then took a bus back home in the evening, stayed up all night watching over my mother, and then took a bus back to school the next morning. Many days I was so tired that I just wanted to sleep for a whole day, but I didn't allow myself to give up," Dung shared.

But then the biggest tragedy struck. Just a month before his graduation thesis defense, Dung's father passed away. Everything seemed to fall apart, but Dung kept telling himself he couldn't give up.

After arranging his father's funeral, Dung simultaneously cared for his mother after her treatments and completed his thesis. There were nights when he had to write reports by his mother's bedside, waiting for each IV drip to finish so he could take her to the bathroom before returning to his computer.

Those efforts were rewarded with an outstanding thesis result. Dung wanted his mother to accompany him to receive the diploma because "this is not just the achievement of myself, but the result of a lifetime of sacrifice."

Pharmacist Nguyen Thi Xuan Lieu (Nguyen Tat Thanh University)

Having been a homeroom teacher for many years, I rarely encountered a student with the willpower and discipline of Dung. He is not only academically gifted but also very responsible towards his family and his own future. Even when juggling hospital and lecture hall work, Dung never neglected his studies.

Dung receives his university diploma with his mother - Photo: NT

I will take Dad's place and be by Mom's side...

Chosen to speak on behalf of the group, Dung's voice often choked with emotion. Below, his mother wiped away tears several times. His older brother was also in tears, clinging to his mother's leg...

This is the heartfelt letter that Tri Dung shared at his graduation ceremony:

"Only now, having reached this point, do I understand that there are sacrifices that are quiet, that don't need recognition, yet they support an entire lifetime."

Looking back five years ago, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when I realized how fragile and short life is, I decided to continue my studies, not only for myself but also to fulfill my mother's unfinished dream - her dream of seeing me become a pharmacist.

About a year ago, a sudden tragedy struck; both my father and mother fell seriously ill at the same time.

Mom, I still vividly remember the days when Dad went to the market with a small piece of paper in his hand, scribbled with names like meat, fish, vegetables, onions… because he was so forgetful. Sometimes he had to run back and forth four or five times just to buy one item, and other times he would stand there bewildered, not remembering what he had bought or not.

Then one day, Dad no longer had the strength to go to the market…

My mother lost weight with each round of chemotherapy, one IV drip after another. Not only did she suffer from the illness, but she also had to spend long days in the hospital due to the side effects of the medication. There were times when she was so weak that she couldn't sit up or walk on her own; she needed someone by her side for everything.

Watching my mother lie silently in her hospital bed, I only wish I could bear some of her pain for her.

I will never forget those days of going to my internship in the morning, coming home in the afternoon to cook, clean the house, and then setting off again the next morning. The road from Go Cong to Saigon, which once seemed so far away, now felt strangely familiar.

On those hurried afternoons, I would quickly call home to ask:

"Mom, have you eaten yet?"

My mother simply replied:

"Here's some soy sauce and bananas, son."

Just hearing that made my heart ache; I just wanted to drop everything and run home right then and there.

Then the days of working on my thesis and writing my graduation report passed. Just one more month… and Dad will be gone, leaving Mom and my brother and me in an irreplaceable void.

Dad…Mom…Today, I graduated.

Mom, this degree isn't just my achievement; it's also your dream, Dad's silent sacrifice, your tears, the long nights in the hospital, and the simple meals you cooked for the two of us.

"I know the road ahead is still very long and difficult, but let's try our best, Mom. I will take Dad's place by your side, fighting the disease with you, moving forward together, so that Dad can rest in peace."

University - Photo 2.