Giving up the 'prestigious' medical profession, female student chooses her passion again and becomes valedictorian of double major in English

Dinh Hoang Yen was admitted to medical school, studied for 4 years, then retook the English exam and became valedictorian of both entrance and exit.

Female student Dinh Hoang Yen, valedictorian of double major in English - Photo: NVCC

Dinh Hoang Yen - a student of the English Linguistics Department, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City - is the valedictorian of the English Linguistics major of the 2021 - 2025 course with a cumulative GPA of 9.02/10.

Previously, in 2021, Hoang Yen was also the valedictorian of this major according to the organizational capacity assessment method.

Giving up on 'prestigious' major

In 2017, Dinh Hoang Yen was admitted to the general medicine department of the Faculty of Medicine (now the University of Health Sciences) of Ho Chi Minh City National University.

Yen said that before that, she was still quite hesitant between medicine and English. People around her thought that medicine was "noble" and English was just like studying at a center, so Yen decided to choose medicine.

"After enrolling, I convinced myself that the profession of healing and saving people was very meaningful, and that maybe I would like it after studying. So I kept studying, got good grades, and received a scholarship.

But sometimes I still feel bored. My friends advised me that in the 4th year, when I practice clinical, I might feel more interested. I believed and kept trying.

However, the clinical practice process revealed the incompatibility between me and my field of study. Up to that point, I still could not imagine myself in the role of a doctor," Yen recalled.

At that time, Yen encountered many difficulties in changing her major to English. The biggest difficulty was facing and being honest with herself.

In addition, when giving up a "prestigious" field of study like medicine, Yen had to face gossip from the outside. "In fact, the notion that studying medicine is "noble" and studying English is just like studying at a center, in my opinion, is not true.

For me, every profession is as noble as any other. I don't care much about public opinion, but I'm still sad because my parents still have to bear some of the social pressure," Yen said.

Yen participates in a fundraising music night - Photo: NVCC

Valedictorian's secret to balance

Sharing her study secrets, Hoang Yen said her learning style can be summed up in three keywords: "active", "regular" and "balanced".

At university level and beyond, being proactive is essential: from reading textbooks, working in groups, asking questions to lecturers… to finding problems yourself, setting goals and determining learning content. Next, learning must take place regularly, not just cramming for exams.

"As for balance, besides studying, I always set aside a certain amount of time each week for sports , art or reading." According to Yen, these activities play an important role in nurturing the mind, soul and body, and it is this balance that has guided her to the ability to study effectively and sustainably.

Dinh Hoang Yen

'Live true to yourself, live life to the fullest'. This means being true to yourself, cherishing your own journey of development, and wholeheartedly creating a life worth living.

"This time, thanks to understanding and connecting with myself, I was ready to open my heart and proactively create meaningful connections. I also enthusiastically supported my friends within my ability, so I was loved and from there had quality groups of friends and study groups. This made my journey much more brilliant," Yen said.

Although throughout her student life, Yen did not stick with any specific club, she actively participated in social, cultural and artistic activities depending on her time.

"Thanks to that flexibility, every time I participate, I can contribute my best. These activities not only make my student life more meaningful, but also help me get a scholarship to cover my fees, making me feel less 'guilty' towards my family after deciding to change majors," she shared.

Thanks to the scholarship, Yen is not under too much pressure to work part-time and can focus on studying. "In addition, I still spend time on hobbies such as reading, skating and playing musical instruments - things that help me balance my life," Yen said.

Do not hesitate to ask and discuss further with the lecturer

Master Trinh Kim Ngan - lecturer of English language and literature - gave her students many compliments. "I taught Hoang Yen in two subjects at university level, I found Yen to always be a student who knows how to dig deep, find out problems, answers, or how to develop assignments in class through asking questions, observing and applying.

Yen also did not hesitate to ask and discuss further with the lecturer to understand the problem better. In my opinion, this is a good skill. It shows that you are very responsible for your studies and have really achieved a very worthy graduation result," said Ms. Ngan.

HUU HUNG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tu-bo-nganh-y-danh-gia-nu-sinh-chon-lai-dam-me-va-tro-thanh-thu-khoa-kep-ngon-ngu-anh-20251016152620947.htm