Quang Ngai student 'takes off' from the sea breeze of his homeland

Turning point from exam failure

Thanh Phat (20 years old), a student majoring in computer science and information technology at the University of Natural Sciences in Ho Chi Minh City, has just completed his military semester and is preparing to enter his second year of university. After a year of studying and working in Ho Chi Minh City, the male student is still filled with emotion when remembering the first days away from home, as well as the journey of more than 800 km to pursue his university dream.

Born and living with his family in the coastal area of ​​Quang Ngai province, a village considered to be particularly difficult at that time, Phat said he could never forget the days when he cycled across dirt roads to go to school, but "when it rained, he could only walk because the roads were muddy". When he was in 9th grade, he had the opportunity to study extracurricular activities. Every day, his mother took him to school on a scooter, about 2 hours away from home.

Not to mention, Phat's family is also in a difficult situation, his father is a fisherman, his mother helps him sell fish. The family's economy, including Phat and his two sisters, weighs heavily on his parents' shoulders. "But my parents never told us about this, nor did they force anyone to do anything or study anything, but always fully supported us on our journey to adulthood. My parents hope that all three of us can pursue our passions and find stable jobs," Phat shared.

Nguyen Thanh Phat, student of Computer Science and Information Technology, University of Science, Ho Chi Minh City

Thanks to his parents, Phat's two older sisters graduated from Foreign Trade University (campus 2) and Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry. During his junior high school years, the male student himself won first and second prizes in the English Olympiad on the Internet and the provincial chemistry competition (including one time when he skipped a level). "I brought all the prize money back to my parents to help my family," said the 20-year-old boy.

In 10th grade, Phat passed the entrance exam to the specialized chemistry class at Le Khiet High School for the Gifted, the only specialized school in Quang Ngai, with the achievement of being the second best student in the whole school. Here, he and his friends participated in the 2021 Quang Ngai province student startup idea search competition, winning an encouragement prize with the idea of ​​producing plastic bags based on shrimp and crab shells.

"At the same time, I was selected to join the national chemistry team, but I didn't win the prize. I was quite shocked at that time because I thought I could have done better. But luckily, the failure helped me realize that I wasn't passionate enough about this subject and started paying attention to programming. After 3 months of research, I 'took a risk' and chose it as my university choice with the mindset, 'Why not give myself another chance?'", Phat confided.

Up to now, when asked if he regretted his previous choice, the male student confidently affirmed that programming was "the job for me". Moreover, in his first year of university, Phat was also awarded many scholarships to cover tuition fees and help his parents, such as the "Power On" scholarship of the Ho Chi Minh City Student Support Center, the "Intelligence Nurturing" scholarship of Hoang Phap Pagoda...

Must be in the mindset of a pilot preparing to "take off"

On the first day of arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, Phat confessed that he was "confused and sad" when he had to leave home and no longer be taken care of by his family as before. The male student also encountered many difficulties when getting used to the hustle and bustle of life and nightlife here, as well as the awkwardness when interacting with new friends from many different places and circumstances.

However, because he was used to living in a dormitory in high school, Phat said he did not suffer from "psychological shock" like many other new students and was able to quickly "get into tune" with his roommates at the Ho Chi Minh City National University dormitory. "Treat everyone sincerely, and you will receive the same in return. In addition, you should have a common sense in maintaining the dormitory, or establish clear rules to follow," Phat advised new students.

Thanh Phat took a photo with his classmates after finishing the recent military semester.

After two semesters last year, Phat achieved an average score of 8.33 and 8.75 respectively. To improve his performance, during class, the male student always takes notes in his notebook to remember for a long time and focuses completely on the lessons and exercises, so that he understands 100% when the class ends. After that, Phat chooses to learn just enough knowledge and previews the next lecture. "I also learn more knowledge on my own, such as watching tutorial videos of Indian programmers to find more ways to 'solve' the problem," Phat said.

Along with studying, Phat has also actively participated in charity activities since high school as an organizer, such as donating funds and items to give gifts to nursing homes and children in mountainous districts... In university, he continued to register for the school's social work team, participating in many activities such as "Charity Meal", "Awakening Spring" campaign, "Spring Aspiration"...

"I was greatly inspired by the book On the Runway by author Tony Buoi Sang. Through the short stories in the book, I realized that I had to be in the mindset of a pilot preparing to 'take off'. And to do that, I needed to understand what I should do to build the clearest 'flight path'. Most importantly, no matter how much I fell, I needed to get up to learn my lesson," the 20-year-old man shared.

"When you first enter university, you will certainly have your own difficulties and worries. But everything will pass. Right from your first year, you should study and live to the fullest, and at the same time set goals to conquer so that you always know who you are and where your motivation is. And be determined to reach those goals," Phat added.

Currently, Phat is studying IELTS by himself to achieve a score of 6.5, and is also looking for a job as a tutor in natural sciences to earn more income. At the same time, the Quang Ngai boy said that he will strive to achieve a high score to be admitted to the computer engineering major at the end of year 2 as he always dreamed of. "After graduating, I want to become a programmer to design applications that can practically support the needs of users," Phat shared.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/chang-sinh-vien-quang-ngai-cat-canh-tu-gio-bien-que-huong-185230930205351812.htm