Last September, Nguyen Quoc Tuan - a former Chemistry student at Nguyen Hue High School for the Gifted, Hanoi , set foot in the United States.

Tuan’s “destination” is Minerva University. This is the school with the lowest admission rate in the world, with an admission rate ranging from 1-2%. In the next 4 years of study, with an 80% scholarship, Tuan has the opportunity to live and study in 7 countries according to the school’s program.

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Nguyen Quoc Tuan - first year student at Minerva University, USA

Before that, very few people, even close friends, knew that he had experienced " the darkest 6 months of his life" .

"There were days when I felt like I was nailed to the bed"

The male student admits that he is a person who loves studying and has the ability to learn very quickly. However, after finishing 12 years of high school, Tuan took a gap year.

“After applying for a scholarship to study abroad in my first gap year, I was like a person who was “hungry for knowledge” - a curious person, always wanting to learn new things from online courses and seniors. Therefore, my choice was to continue my gap year to the second year. Even when considering the worst case scenario, I am willing to gap to the third year to work and learn more.”

However, what the 19-year-old boy did not expect was that the gap process would encounter many difficulties and bring him a lot of crisis.

“I was in crisis because I didn’t know what I liked, didn’t know how to promote myself in front of the admissions committee. I was afraid that just because I had too many interests and wanted to learn everything, in the eyes of the admissions committee, I didn’t have any clear interests. I thought that at the age of 19, I should have known what I liked to do, what I liked to study, and had a clear direction in life,” Tuan recalled.

Being sensitive to not completing or succeeding in projects made him lose confidence in his own abilities.

“There were many projects I did and completed, but there were some I couldn’t complete or do regularly. This made me feel guilty and unable to get out of the negative emotional spiral. I fell into a moderate depression.”

For Tuan, depression is a scary disorder.

“I fell into deep thought, generalizing many thoughts about the world around me and giving it a negative face.

There are days when I feel so tired that I can’t get out of bed. It’s like I’m nailed to the bed, unable to find a way out. I lose all motivation to engage with the things around me, and the things I used to find joy in no longer seem fun.”

The secret of 'latecomers'

Affirming that the 6 months of depression were "the darkest period of my life" , looking back, one of the things Tuan is grateful for is that he still chose to continue.

"The future ahead didn't seem like an open one, but rather a dark sky. I just kept working, working, and working, hoping that I could find some meaning through what I did and help others...

I learned that I can have a crisis and I can still have many other crises in the process of growing up. What I can do is love myself, love the crises I go through, and enjoy that process."

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Tuan is the Head of Organizing Committee at the Vietnamese Youth Leadership Summit 2022 project - a summer camp that helps young people find meaning and better manage their personal emotions.

Once he understood that: "Everyone has their own path, I don't need to be different to become better in the eyes of the admissions officer or those around me" , Tuan really started preparing his study abroad application.

Calling himself " a late gap year student" , Tuan said he encountered many difficulties during this process.

“I had a foundation with IELTS before but had not studied for SAT, and my high school score was lower than the level needed to get into the desired environment.

To overcome this difficulty, I studied SAT by myself for 5 months with the help of a senior. I read a lot of books to accumulate vocabulary as well as continuously do SAT Verbal exercises to practice my test-taking skills. Whenever I feel pressured by studying SAT Verbal, I will relax by quickly doing 2-3 SAT Math exercises.

Another difficulty from Tuan's profile is extracurricular activities.

“When I intended to study abroad, the number of extracurricular activities I had was very small - only 3 activities. In order to have enough extracurricular activities for my application, I participated in many different activities, trying to complete and develop those activities with the help of seniors and like-minded friends.”

Tuan has filled his resume with achievements in 3 projects: Multiverse of Health, Vietnamese Youth Leadership Summit, and TT Advisers.

“These are all projects that I spend a lot of time on, from 6 months to 3 years. Throughout the 3 activities, the thing I am most passionate about is mental health - an issue that is receiving more attention in the mass media but is also closely linked to my activities and the way I approach the problem.”

Tuan said that when he first came to Minerva, the thing he always wanted to do was analyze why the school's admissions committee chose him.

“I asked around and found out that everyone had very different achievements. Minerva is an extremely diverse environment – ​​everyone is very talented and interested in a specific issue in life. So what I think convinced Minerva was the 3 activities I chose to fill in my profile.”

GenZ does not dare to seek services to help with mental disorders

Currently, in addition to studying a dual degree in Psychology and Computer Science , Tuan is also involved in several projects, one of which is research on the mental health of young people in Vietnam.

"As someone who has experienced the 19-year-old crisis with uncertainties, and at the same time, being in contact with many friends with mental health problems, I want to understand more about the problem and approach to mental health abroad as well as bring mental health to more young people in Vietnam. Especially when in today's life, the pressures of grades, family and society are weighing heavily on the shoulders of many people" - Tuan explained the reason for choosing his major.

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Photo of Tuan and his friends taken at the 2023 national SVStartup competition in Hue

GenZ's mental disorders, as observed by Tuan, include depression, anxiety disorders, multiple personality disorders and others.

"Anxiety disorders and depression are two of the most common problems, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't pay attention to less common problems. These disorders can stem from many things, from psychological trauma from personal experiences, from not finding meaning, or from too much pressure from people around us.

Sometimes, you don’t dare to seek support services. When the word “mental illness” still has a negative connotation, you are afraid of being judged.

However, I believe that at some point in the future, when people have a more positive outlook, young people can seek mental health support services" - Tuan shared.

As for those who plan to study abroad, Tuan said: "First, I want everyone to be realistic in the process of setting goals. This will prevent you from having to work too hard, which can affect your mental health and long-term ability to work.

Second, I want everyone, whether they are lost or struggling in the process of finding opportunities to study abroad, to never stop trying. If you can't take a big step, just take small steps. No matter how big the crisis is, I believe that one day the sweet fruit will come to those who deserve it."

Tuan has had a series of exciting extracurricular activities with remarkable achievements such as: Third prize at the national level in the 5th SVStarup competition (2023); Top 12 of the Northern Social Innovation Startup Competition VSIC 2022; Head of the Organizing Committee at the Vietnamese Youth Leadership Summit 2022 project; Head of Marketing at TT Advisers; Head of Technology at Peer Press.

He is also the co-founder of the startup project Multiverse of Health - a project with the desire to provide online psychological counseling sessions at a cost suitable for students' ability to pay.

Vietnamnet.vn