Orphaned mother, tiny boy overcomes adversity to enter university

This new school year, the National Academy of Public Administration welcomes a special male student who is only 1.34 m tall and weighs 27.5 kg (less than the average height and weight of a 5th grader). That is Nguyen Cong Bach, born in 2006 in Chau Phong commune, Que Vo town, Bac Ninh province - a new student majoring in Economics.

On the first day of school, many teachers and friends mistook Bach for an elementary school student following his older siblings to school.

“I am only small in appearance, but my knowledge and understanding are equal to my peers. I can still do everything by myself like normal people, so I don’t feel inferior,” Bach said.

Nguyen Cong Bach. (Photo: NVCC)

Adversity surrounds the poor student

Before conquering his dream of university, few people knew that this student from Bac Ninh had to go through countless difficulties and challenges. His parents divorced when he was three years old, Bach lived with his mother and grandparents in a small house in Chau Phong commune. The family's economy mainly depended on the small garden in front of the house with a few rows of green vegetables and a few fruit trees.

Bach said that when he was young, seeing himself smaller than his peers, people simply thought he had rickets. When he was in elementary school, his mother took him to the doctor and he was diagnosed with calcium deficiency. However, after he went home and took supplements, his height and weight did not improve. It was not until the summer of 7th grade, when he had the opportunity to go to Hanoi for a checkup, that his family was shocked when the doctor concluded that Bach had pituitary failure and growth hormone deficiency.

Loving their child and grandchild, the mother and grandparents decided to use all their savings and borrow money from relatives to buy medicine to treat Bach. Because of using imported medicine as prescribed by the doctor, the family had to pay more than 6 million VND/month.

The small family was not rich, and now it became even more poor. At the beginning of 11th grade, seeing that the medicine was expensive and his body was not growing much, Bach decided to stop treatment.

Hypopituitarism and growth hormone deficiency make Bach smaller than his peers. (Photo: NVCC)

But the cruel life did not stop there for the boy from Bac Ninh, right in the 11th grade, his mother unfortunately had an accident and passed away. In a moment, the male student became a motherless child.

"At that time, I was very shocked and sad. After recovering my spirit, I thought that what happened could not be changed anymore, so I just tried to study hard to become a good person, when I graduated, I would have a stable job like my mother always wanted," Bach confided.

Determined to conquer university to change fate

Facing adversity, the 10X never thought of giving up but kept dreaming of a brighter future. Bach believed that only studying could change his fate. Taking his family as motivation, the male student kept trying every day to reach his dream of going to university.

Life does not disappoint those who work hard. In the 2024 admission season, Bach scored 24.5 points in block A07 (Math 8, History 8, Geography 8.5), and was admitted to the Economics major of the National Academy of Public Administration. The day he received the results, the young man from Bac Ninh burst into happiness.

“I chose Economics as my major, partly because Math is my favorite subject and I do quite well in it. And partly because this major has many job opportunities, and the jobs may not require a high level of appearance, so it will be easier for me to find a job,” the male student said.

10X Bac Ninh determined to conquer university to change fate. (Photo: NVCC)

Having been in Hanoi for more than a month, Bach said he is still trying to integrate into the bustling urban life. In the university environment, the 10X is enthusiastically helped by teachers and friends in everything, making him feel touched and happy.

“In studying, with cultural subjects, if my friends can do it, I can do it too. Because of my small body, I may have difficulties with physical education subjects, but I believe that if I try my best, I will overcome it,” Bach expressed. The male student also boldly applied to join the school’s extracurricular clubs, with the desire to learn more skills and experience from his seniors.

10X confided that the biggest difficulty right now is the cost of education, because after his mother passed away, his family was no longer recognized as a poor household because there was no head of household.

Last year, Bach was not old enough to be the head of household, so this year he has to redo the procedure and is waiting for the approval from the local authorities. The student hopes that because his family is classified as a poor household, the school will exempt him from tuition fees so he can study with peace of mind.

Currently, Bach is living in the school dormitory. His grandparents still provide for his tuition and living expenses, but he has thought about working part-time to share the burden with them.

The boy from Bac Ninh promised himself to study hard and aim to win a scholarship from the school. At the same time, he hoped that after graduation, he would find a stable job in his hometown to take care of his grandparents.

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/mo-coi-me-nam-sinh-ti-hon-vuot-nghich-canh-vao-dai-hoc-ar904492.html