Hanoi Receiving the school's certificate of merit for being an excellent student, Trung rushed to Giang Vo street, where his mother was collecting scrap metal, to show it off.
On the afternoon of December 29, Pham Thanh Trung, class 22A Tourism and Travel Services Management, National Academy of Public Administration, was recognized by the school as an excellent student of the 2022-2023 school year with an average score of 3.45/4. Among the 80 students in the class, Trung is one of 7 people with this honor.
After receiving the certificate, the male student did not return to his boarding house immediately but instead drove off to find his mother. Seeing a familiar figure on Giang Vo street, Trung ran over.
"My mother was picking up scrap metal and quickly threw it on the ground, took off her gloves, picked up the certificate, and looked at it carefully. I teased her: 'Mom, do you think I'm okay?' She said 'okay' and smiled," Trung said, saying he was very happy to see his mother's eyes shining with pride and happiness.
Trung received a certificate of merit and showed off a photo of his younger brother in the countryside also receiving an award. Photo: Character provided
Trung is the middle child in a family of three brothers in Xuan Truong district. For the past 30 years, during the off-season, Trung's father has gone to Hanoi for a few months, collecting scrap metal to earn money to send home to his wife to raise their children.
In high school, Trung used to play around and not pay attention to studying. Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen, Xuan Truong High School, remembers that in 12th grade, Trung was still very vague about Math. Ms. Huyen had to patiently explain to Trung many times, occasionally texting to encourage the student to do basic exercises again to understand and remember the knowledge.
"Trung gradually improved with each test and exam," Ms. Huyen, Trung's homeroom teacher, recalled. In other subjects, Trung was better in high school, with History being his outstanding subject. Thanks to his efforts, Trung passed the graduation exam and entered university with the admission combination of block C (Literature, History, Geography).
After Trung went to college, his mother followed him, picking up trash with her husband to earn money to send their two children to college. The youngest son, who is in 6th grade this year, is sent to live with relatives.
However, Trung was negligent and did not want to go to school. When he expressed his intention to quit, Trung's parents were sad, saying that all their efforts and sacrifices for their son were wasted. From then on, Trung changed his mind, went to school regularly and focused more.
"The certificate of merit is not only a reward for my own efforts, but also for my parents' sacrifices and hard work," Trung shared.
Ms. Van, 49 years old, received a gift from her son while working on December 29. Photo: Character provided
In Hanoi, Trung’s family rents a room in an area with many people collecting scrap metal on Thai Ha Street. Van, Trung’s mother, said that to save money, the family rents two rooms of about 6-8 square meters, separated by wooden boards, for 1.7 million VND/month. The small room is for the parents, and the larger room is for the two children and a grandchild.
The mother shared that a workday usually starts at 4pm, when the family goes to take out the trash, and she doesn’t return to her rented room until 1-2am the next day. She eats and rests until 7am, then takes the opportunity to cycle to work while her husband stays home to cook for the children. 12pm is the only time of the day when her family gets to eat together.
Every month, Van and her husband earn about 7-8 million VND, and in better months, they earn 9 million VND. After deducting all expenses, the remaining amount is saved to pay for their children's school fees. Although they work hard day and night, rain or shine, they are at ease when their children are well-behaved and focused on their studies.
"The children living with their parents are also easy to manage, they use whatever they have. The oldest brother also received a certificate of merit last year," Ms. Van boasted.
Trung's family at a reunion in Nam Dinh. Photo: Provided by the character
At night, Trung often stays up late to study to prepare warm water, rice, and hot soup for his parents to come home. The male student understands the hardships of his parents who still have to work outside when everyone else is resting. That is also the motivation for Trung to try to study hard, aiming for better things.
At school, Trung has difficulty with English and often has to ask his friends and seniors in the group for help. For subjects that require a lot of memorization, the male student applies the mind map method to remember for a long time and not get confused.
After school, Trung and his brother work part-time to help their parents. Passionate about football, Trung works as a commentator for matches on artificial turf, 3-4 times a week, earning about 300,000 VND/time. In his free time, he cuts and edits sports videos for a media company.
Ms. Than Thi Thanh Hieu, Trung's academic advisor, said the boy is determined and emotional. She was impressed with the small but agile, talkative and multi-talented student. Trung plays soccer well and has a talent for being a commentator with his charming and inspiring speech. The boy also participates enthusiastically in school and class activities.
"He is a union officer, very active and enthusiastic," she said.
Trung said that in addition to the goal of not failing any subjects, he will spend more time improving his English. The male student sees this as a way to increase his opportunities in the tourism industry after graduation.
"With English, I will be more confident in my job," Trung shared.
Dawn
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