Following her family to the United States to live and study at the age of nine, Nhat Ha always tried hard to study. In high school, she ranked first out of 234 students and became the representative to speak at the graduation ceremony of North Dallas High School.
To prepare early for the university environment and pursue her passion for computer science, the girl born in 2006 studied a combined program and simultaneously graduated from Dallas College with a perfect score (4.0/4.0), receiving an Associate of Applied Science degree in software programming.
Nhat Ha ranked first at North Dallas High School and received an Associate of Applied Science degree in software programming with a perfect score (Photo: NVCC).
Throughout her high school years, she actively participated in internships at companies to apply her knowledge in practice. Ha interned at Pepsico and Southwest Airlines, and held many leadership roles at school such as Student Ambassador, National Honor Society student president, and captain of the Texas Math and Science Coaching Association.
Since June this year, the Gen Z female student has received a lot of good news from top universities. The girl from Da Nang won a full scholarship from Harvard with more than 8.5 billion VND for four years of university, Yale with more than 8.6 billion VND, Columbia with more than 8.5 billion VND, Vanderbilt with more than 9 billion VND, Southern Methodist University with more than 8.8 billion VND, and many other scholarships. The total value of the scholarships she received is up to 46.5 billion VND.
Nhat Ha took a photo at Columbia University, where she received a scholarship of more than 8.5 billion VND for 4 years of university (Photo: NVCC).
Essay inspired by the story of the Tortoise and the Hare
Although the themes of culture shock and language barriers are familiar experiences that many international students face, Ha cleverly incorporated the fable “The Tortoise and the Hare” into her essay.
In the familiar story, the Tortoise is praised for his “slow and steady” approach, while the Rabbit is criticized for his subjectivity, which leads to failure. However, the Vietnamese female student has gone against this stereotype, identifying herself as the Rabbit in the story. The young girl has always tried to “run really fast” to catch up with the learning environment in the US, where English is the main language.
In the essay, the 10x girl used vivid images to describe her journey: “(…) I found myself in the United States, an April storm greeted me on the first day of school(…) I tried to get to school early, but by the end of the day, I was late.
Everyone was racing to show off their knowledge, while I struggled to piece together the meaning of my new label “English language learner” (…) Physically, I was first, academically, I was left in the dust(…) Because a tortoise, no matter how fast, cannot beat the tortoise in front, but a hare can…”.
The girl from Da Nang also won a full scholarship from Harvard worth more than 8.5 billion VND (Photo: NVCC).
However, Tho also needed to stop and rest. And that time came when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Ha had the opportunity for the first time in 5 years to stop and reflect and refresh herself. She realized that life does not always need to be a race, but sometimes, it is important to enjoy your own passions and hobbies through writing.
“Typing at five words a minute, I researched every interest that piqued my curiosity to build characters and their stories.
A figure skater who doesn’t like skating after her initial successes. A documentary filmmaker who wishes time would last forever to avoid loss. A witch who breaks out of the box defined by her own magic. A rabbit who doesn’t lose the race (…) The rabbit didn’t lose the race, the rabbit found himself, I found myself,” Ha wrote.
Nhat Ha represented students to speak at the graduation ceremony of North Dallas High School (Photo: NVCC).
Sharing some essay writing tips that she personally feels are valuable, the Gen Z girl chose 7 things. “First, even if you use familiar ideas, add your personal touch to create a difference and uniqueness.
Next, you can write freely without worrying about the word limit in the first drafts. During the writing process, you can ask one or two relatives such as teachers or family to look at and give comments. Next, avoid using too flowery words, write honestly and do not need to use a dictionary.
Fifth, make your essay so unique that the reader can recognize it as yours without your name. Sixth, write it so that the admissions committee will remember you for something special about it.
And finally, if you have a favorite quote, don't force it into your essay; instead, try to move it to the end and move on, sometimes the essay can be better without it,” she shares.
Take pride in your mother tongue
In her graduation speech, Ha inspired and motivated more than 200 students in her class.
In particular, she made a strong impression when switching from English to Vietnamese to express her gratitude to her family: “Although I have never said it, thank you, Mom and Dad, for sacrificing so that I can have a better future. I hope I have made you proud. Thank you, Sister Hanh, Phuc, and Huong, for always cheering me up, taking me out, and buying milk tea for my slightly difficult younger sister. I love you, Mom and Dad, and my three sisters.”
The use of Vietnamese in her speech confused some people in the audience, but Nhat Ha has never regretted this decision. “I am proud to speak my mother tongue at the graduation ceremony to thank my family, because my family has sacrificed a lot and is my motivation,” she affirmed.
Dantri.com.vn
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/co-gai-viet-gianh-hoc-bong-tong-tri-gia-hon-46-ty-dong-tu-dai-hoc-my-20240904130037701.htm
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