Poor male student wins full master's scholarship in UK
VTC News•20/08/2024
(VTC News) - Bui Thanh Viet (born in 2001, Hanoi), an excellent graduate of the Diplomatic Academy, won a full scholarship to study for a master's degree in education at the University of Bristol, UK.
Born and raised in a poor family, Thanh Viet never thought of studying abroad. From elementary school to high school, Viet attended public schools near his home. It was not until he was 21 that he had the opportunity to fly on a plane for the first time when the school organized a long trip to gain practical experience.
Bui Thanh Viet.
At the age of 16, Viet studied English intensively with the simple purpose of improving his foreign language skills. Unexpectedly, early exposure to Western documents and publications broadened his knowledge and ignited in Viet the dream of stepping out into the world. In 2017, as an 11th grade student at Tran Phu High School - Hoan Kiem, Viet took the IELTS test and scored 7.0. Not meeting his expectations, the male student continued to practice tirelessly, writing more than 500 essays in English in 5 years and achieving an IELTS score of 8.5 (9.0 Reading, 8.5 Listening, 8.5 Writing, 8.5 Speaking) in November 2022. The male student used to be an academic advisor for IELTS FACE OFF, VTV7 and completed the CELTA Teaching Certificate by Cambridge. However, Thanh Viet knew that he was "working in the wrong field", and would not be able to go the long way if he did not equip himself with proper skills to work. Understanding his professional limitations, right after graduating from the Diplomatic Academy, the male student started preparing his application to study abroad. "Partly to fulfill his dream of exploring the world, but mainly to equip himself with the knowledge and experience that English teachers need," Viet shared. However, spending 1-2 billion VND to study for a master's degree abroad is really beyond the financial capacity of the 22-year-old man. To study abroad, Viet must have a scholarship. In the process of researching many different types of scholarships, Viet found himself suitable for programs that seek people with leadership and networking abilities. That is why the male student chose to apply for the British government's Chevening scholarship. Thanh Viet applied for the Chevening scholarship for the first time in September 2023 and "failed at the first round" due to lack of work experience. “In my application, I wrote that my personal goal after studying abroad was to establish an English center, but I did not show the motivation, vision, and how to make that goal come true,” Viet added about the reason for the failure. Disappointed and disappointed, Viet was forced to temporarily put his dream of studying abroad on hold. The student tried harder to determine his personal and career goals, both short-term and long-term. Every time he did something, Thanh Viet asked himself “What is the purpose of doing this?”, “How will what I do affect the community?”. The student also often set 5-year and 10-year plans for himself and tried every day to make those goals come true. When Bristol University opened applications for the Think Big scholarship, Viet decided to try applying. From the lessons learned after failing with Chevening, this time the student was more confident. He had a clearer understanding of his goals and somewhat visualized what he needed to do to realize them. “If in the Chevening essay, I simply wrote that I wanted to open a general English center, then in the Think Big scholarship essay, I specified the goal of establishing a cheap and quality English center with the hope of bringing education closer to everyone,” Thanh Viet shared.
Thanh Viet graduated with honors in International Communication from the Diplomatic Academy in July 2023.
Viet explained in his essay that the above dream comes from his personal circumstances of not being born into a well-off family, and despite his parents' best efforts, learning English in general or IELTS in particular at a center is still beyond Viet's ability. Most of the English knowledge Viet has acquired comes from self-study. In the process of self-studying, Viet received a lot of help from friends, teachers, and especially the study community on Facebook. Those who have gone before him do not hesitate to share their knowledge, experience and help him. Having received a lot of value from the community in learning English, Viet himself also wants to contribute something back. With a more specific and realistic goal, the Vietnamese guy successfully convinced the admissions board and received a full Think Big scholarship from the University of Bristol for a master's program in education, worth 26,000 pounds (about 845 million VND). When receiving the scholarship results, Viet had two opposing emotions. Some of the male students burst into happiness, but the rest were afraid. Thanh Viet asked himself, “The school invested nearly 1 billion VND, so what can I do to contribute to the school?”, “How many parts of the goal can I complete, or will it forever be simply a dream written on paper?”. Regardless, Thanh Viet hopes that after successfully winning a scholarship to study for a master’s degree in the UK, when he returns, he can hone his leadership skills and build a team for his center. "I hope that my English center can become a comprehensive organization in the future, especially for students with financial difficulties," Viet shared. Ms. Dao Xuan Phuong, Thanh Viet's mother, said that when he was young, Viet was quite stubborn, but thanks to his "stubbornness", Viet always persevered with his goals. The family often encouraged him to study on his own and find new goals to conquer. "I myself am very happy to see Viet achieve many achievements at a young age, but I always emphasize to him that there is always a higher mountain, and Viet still has to try very hard to fulfill his dream," Ms. Phuong confided.
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