Minh Quan, 18 years old, was admitted to Johns Hopkins University with an essay on a clean water project, helping to distribute and use water scientifically in Suoi Giang, where there are hundred-year-old Shan Tuyet tea hills.
Quan is currently a 12th grade Chemistry 1 student at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. He received news that he was accepted to the Civil Engineering major at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), ranked 9th in the US, according to US News, on February 17.
Before JHU's announcement, Quan was accepted into two other schools in the Early Action round.
"It was an unexpected joy. I stayed up until 3am to wait for the results," Quan said, adding that he woke his parents up to share his joy.
Do Minh Quan. Photo: Character provided
Born into a family with a tradition of working in the construction industry. His father, a construction engineer, participated in the structural design of the first high-rise building in Ho Chi Minh City in the early 1990s. Since childhood, having heard a lot about this job, Quan gradually had the intention of learning how bridges and high-rise buildings were built.
Determined to study abroad in the US, from grade 9, Quan began to research information and how to prepare an application. After passing the entrance exam to grade 10 at Ams school, Quan joined clubs to prepare for his extracurricular application and maintain good grades in class.
"I want to continue my family's pride. Studying construction is also very practical when Vietnam has more and more large-scale projects," Quan said. Johns Hopkins is famous for its training in the health sector, but the university's School of Engineering also has a high ranking - top 14, in the US News industry rankings.
The male student considered the 650-word personal essay to be the biggest challenge in the application process. The essay had to be both novel and creative, and also needed to highlight the characteristics that made him stand out from other candidates. After thinking about it, Quan decided to write about his passion for tea ceremony and the idea of a clean water project in Suoi Giang commune, Van Chan district, Yen Bai province, where there are hundreds of years old Shan Tuyet tea hills of the Mong people.
Quan has been taught tea ceremony by an architect for many years. This hobby helps Quan practice patience, composure, observation and listening skills.
During trips with his teacher to Suoi Giang to learn about Shan Tuyet tea and practice tea ceremony, Quan saw that this place had beautiful nature, rare ancient tea trees and the cultural identity of the Mong people but had not yet developed due to the lack of a management system and clean water supply.
People who want to use water for daily life and production must go upstream and use plastic pipes to bring water to the village. This is not safe because the high water pressure from upstream can easily break the pipes. In the village, schools have to rely on water from local people's homes, so sometimes there is a shortage of water. Many tourist facilities need large water sources, but drilling wells affects the underground water sources of the people.
From there, Quan came up with the idea of the "Suoi Giang Clean Water" project. In it, he proposed to form a system to manage the exploitation, distribution, and use of clean water in a scientific and economical way. Large tanks will be built in suitable locations and water sources will be found to store. From the tanks, there will be safe pipes to distribute to places of need; users will be measured and charged according to the amount of water used. The collected amount will serve the management and maintenance of this clean water supply system.
In his essay, Quan explained the necessity of the project but the impossibility of its implementation. If he could study at JHU, gain enough professional knowledge and connections to be able to mobilize funds, he would return to Suoi Giang.
In the supplementary essay, Quan shows his understanding of the curriculum and evaluates the subjects here that will help him realize his dream. Quan gives an example of the subject of Natural Disaster and Risk Prevention that helps him know how to design pipelines that are resistant to corrosion and safe from floods and landslides; the subject of Engineering Geology gives him knowledge about geological activities and solutions for foundation structures on mountainous terrain...
According to the male student, in addition to the essay, the admissions board of American schools also highly values scientific research ability. Therefore, since grade 10, he joined a scientific research group guided by lecturers from Hanoi National University of Education. The group later won first prize at the national science and technology competition (ISEF), with the topic of enhancing wastewater treatment capacity by improving organic catalysts.
In grade 11, Quan joined a research group of teachers at the University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. That same year, Quan's group won a gold medal at the International Invention Competition in France with a topic related to diabetes treatment.
Instead of participating in many extracurricular activities in different fields, Quan only focuses on the science club of Ams school, where he and his friends do experiments and organize many science exhibitions.
During the remaining time, I tried to maintain my GPA at 9.4 or higher, got an IELTS English certificate score of 8.0 and an SAT score of 1560/1600 (a standardized test used for university admission in the US). Quan also studied on his own and took four AP (advanced level) courses, scoring 5/5 in Chemistry and Macroeconomics. He plans to take three more courses including Math, Physics and Computer Science, to be exempted from some credits when entering university.
Quan makes tea during a trip to Suoi Giang, Yen Bai, in 2023. Photo: Character provided
Accompanying and guiding Quan for three years, Ms. Dang Huyen Trang, an English teacher at Ams school, commented that her student was mature and knew what he loved early on, so he didn't waste time choosing a major.
"Quan's lively and adventurous personality is an important factor in helping him carry out projects that match his passion and the major he intends to pursue," said Ms. Trang.
Quan said that in the coming time, he will try to achieve the best possible academic results at Ams school, and complete the procedures to go to the US in August.
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