'I determined that I had to have a scholarship to continue studying'

New student Nguyen Thi Sang - Photo: C.TUE

"My family is poor, my father is unable to work, my mother is the main breadwinner in the house. She works alone to earn money to support the family and take care of my education. Before entering university, I decided that I had to get a scholarship to continue studying."

Those are the shares of new student Nguyen Thi Sang - who just received two "special" scholarships as valedictorian and a study abroad scholarship (full scholarship) from the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture.

Sell ​​pigs to get money for children to go to school

Sang was born and raised in a farming family in Chau Tien village, Quynh My commune, Quynh Phu district, Thai Binh. Although he was an only child, Sang had a more difficult childhood than his peers because his father, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Huan (63 years old), suffered from schizophrenia 30 years ago.

"Normally he is very good-natured, staying at home to help his wife and children feed the chickens and ducks, chop firewood, sweep the yard... but when he gets sick, his wife is not his wife, and his children are not his children" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Xa (43 years old, Sang's mother) shared.

All the burden of the family fell on Mrs. Xa's shoulders. She worked hard day and night to earn money to support her parents-in-law, her mother, her husband and Sang's education.

Previously, Mrs. Xa planted more than 1 mau of rice (more than 10 sao of Northern Vietnam), but when her husband's parents were old and bedridden, and her husband was unable to work, she could only plant 5 sao of rice to have time to take care of them, and also worked extra to earn money to cover living expenses and support Sang's education.

"When I'm not planting or harvesting rice, I wash dishes and clean houses for hire. I work whenever someone hires me, and sometimes it's not enough to cover expenses. For example, this rice crop had 5 sao, but the flood lost 3 sao, so in general, it's like cutting fish heads and patching crab heads," said Ms. Xa.

More than a month ago, before Sang entered university, he had no money, Mrs. Xa called a trader, sold the pigs for more than 9 million, along with money from relatives and friends for Sang's travel and food. They collected more than ten million.

"Before my child went to Hanoi to study, I told him to go get 2-3 sets of clothes made, but he said he could just bring his clothes from home. He also brought his old bike from high school to university. I told him to buy an old electric bike to make it easier to get around, but he said no, the bike was still usable.

When I went to college, my mother only bought me small things like toothpaste, toothbrush, towel... I knew my mother worked hard so I didn't ask for anything," said Mrs. Xa.

Nguyen Thi Sang received the valedictorian scholarship and the study abroad scholarship from the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture - Photo: C.TUỆ

Want to study abroad and then come back to do something for my homeland

Early in the morning of September 7, Sang and his mother took their old bicycle to the end of the village to catch a bus to Hanoi so Sang could go to school. The money from selling the pig and from relatives was only enough to pay the tuition of 10 million VND, 900,000 VND for dormitory fees and a little money for Sang's food and living expenses.

"If you go to school, I'm worried that you won't have money, so I have to encourage you to try hard to study and not eat too frugally because if you get sick, I'll have to take care of two places. If you're healthy, I can rest assured to stay home and work, taking care of grandma and dad" - Mrs. Xa told Sang before getting in the car to return home.

Ms. Xa added that since he was in 10th grade, Sang often helped his mother sell vegetables early every morning, then left them for his mother to sell when it was time to go to school.

"Knowing that the family's circumstances were difficult, I was patient and hardworking. Near Tet, my family often planted beds of water spinach and water spinach. Sometimes on the first and second day of Tet, my mother would cut vegetables and I would sell them too," said Ms. Xa. She added that when Sang went to university, he also intended to work part-time to earn money to cover his living expenses, but she encouraged him to focus on studying well and then think about working.

"From the beginning, I chose the Agricultural Academy because I felt that I was suitable for the environment and my family was also a farmer. I wanted to study agriculture to do something for my hometown and help my family. Moreover, the academy has a very attractive treatment for students, especially scholarships," Sang said.

Receiving two scholarships, Sang said he prioritized choosing the scholarship to study abroad at Southwest University of Science and Technology (China).

"Before, I thought that if I only received a scholarship for talented students, I would try to study and research to have the opportunity to participate in R&D (research and development) or QA/QC (quality control) of a company in my hometown.

If I have the chance, I will also start my own business. Starting a business sounds very interesting, but I think you need a lot of experience to start a business. With the major I am pursuing, I think that if I have the chance, I will start a business related to food distribution.

Now that I have won a scholarship to study abroad, I need to focus on improving my foreign language skills and studying abroad first. I will put my longer-term goals behind me for now," Sang shared.

3 billion VND scholarships for new students

On the occasion of the opening of the new school year 2024 - 2025, Vietnam Academy of Agriculture awarded scholarships to 50 new students with high scores who received scholarships from businesses.

According to the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture, among the contents of cooperation with enterprises, student sponsorship scholarships are always an important content that the school has promoted. Up to now, the total value of study encouragement scholarships that the school grants to students each year is up to about 30 billion VND.

In addition, the academy also offers scholarships for specific student groups such as scholarships for new students, scholarships for graduate interns, etc. This year, there are over 10 businesses sponsoring with a total amount of 3 billion VND.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/em-xac-dinh-minh-phai-co-mot-hoc-bong-de-tiep-tuc-di-hoc-20241012150222935.htm