HA TINH - "Switching" to Informatics in grade 10, Tuan Anh became the only student not from a specialized school to be selected for the Asia-Pacific Informatics Olympiad team.
Tran Tuan Anh is a 12A1 student at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School in Duc Tho District. He was selected for the Asia-Pacific Informatics Olympiad team after ranking 9th out of 38 candidates in the selection round of the Ministry of Education and Training at the end of March.
This round gathered students with the highest scores in the national excellent student exam, most of them from specialized schools. Tuan Anh initially thought that the chance of being selected for the team was quite slim, so he tried his best to do the test with the most comfortable mindset.
"When I left the exam room and saw my dad smiling as he watched the score on the screen, I knew I had created a miracle," Tuan Anh said.
Tran Tuan Anh in his study corner at home. Photo: Duc Hung
Mr. Phan Huu Quyen, Vice Principal of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School, said that in its 52-year history, this is the first time the school has had a student selected for the Olympic team of the Ministry of Education and Training. Tuan Anh had to pass many selection rounds, from provincial and national excellent student competitions to international team selection exams.
"This achievement is excellent," said Mr. Quyen.
Tuan Anh lives in village 3, Son Long commune, Huong Son district. In 2nd grade, his parents let him use computers and phones.
"At first, I used the computer to play games, listen to music and read newspapers. When I was in 4th grade, I started to find IT more interesting. Sometimes I tried to make presentations and write commands to draw pictures," the male student recalled.
When he was in 5th grade, Duc Tho District Youth Union organized a youth IT competition. Tuan Anh was chosen by his teachers to compete and surprisingly won first prize. The boy dreamed of becoming a programmer since then.
When he entered 6th grade, Tuan Anh realized that there were few IT competitions in middle school, so he switched to studying English. In 8th grade, he took the exam for excellent students at a higher level and won third prize in the province. A year later, he became the valedictorian of the 9th grade English exam. In 10th grade, Tuan Anh took the IELTS exam and scored 8.0.
However, Tuan Anh still did not forget about Computer Science. Every day, he used the computer to improve his skills, doing all the IT exercises in the textbook. He determined that Computer Science would be the subject he would stick with when he entered university, realizing his dream of becoming a programmer.
"After achieving 8.0 IELTS, I made a quick decision to switch to IT, both teachers and friends were concerned," Tuan Anh said. The male student said that even though he changed direction, he still used English every day so it was not a waste. Moreover, with this advantage, he found many IT books in English for reference.
"When I understand English, I can join many IT communities abroad, chat with friends to ask for more documents, and discuss how to solve problems," Tuan Anh said.
The male student recognized that IT questions often had many different answers. When discussing, he often looked at his friend's solutions, then synthesized the ideas to find the best solution.
Every day, Tuan Anh also participates in online competitions, feeling excited when the scores go up and down and are constantly updated. On days off, Tuan Anh spends up to 10 hours studying and reviewing. He realizes that Information Technology is widely applied in life, through familiar objects such as televisions, refrigerators...
As soon as he changed direction in grade 10, Tuan Anh participated in the provincial excellent student competition in Information Technology for grade 12 and won third prize. In grade 11, he won first prize and was then selected for the provincial team. In this year's national excellent student competition, the male student won second prize.
Tuan Anh and his father - Mr. Tran Thanh Bang, at home. Photo: Duc Hung
Mr. Tran Thanh Bang, 48 years old, Tuan Anh's father, said that the family does not impose but creates all conditions for their children to pursue their passion. On the day his son competed in the Ministry's selection round for the national team, he and his neighbors went to Hanoi to cheer him on. Seeing his son compete with friends from many famous specialized schools, he felt "overwhelmed".
"The online scoreboard kept jumping up and down like playing the stock market, I was extremely nervous," Mr. Bang recalled. "After two days of competition, seeing Tuan Anh's name in the top 10, I cried with joy."
Mr. Phan Huu Quyen added that at the beginning of 10th grade, seeing that Tuan Anh was good at both IT and English, the teachers were also concerned about the direction of his training. When they saw that he had a special talent for IT and outstanding skills compared to many of his friends, the school supported the boy to change direction.
"Foreign languages are a tool to help Tuan Anh cultivate and improve his skills and knowledge of IT. Initial achievements show that the turning point from English to IT is correct," said Mr. Quyen.
Tuan Anh exercises to relax in his free time. Photo: Duc Hung
Tuan Anh said he will prepare himself well for the upcoming rounds of the Informatics Olympic team.
"My goal is to be in the top 6 of the team," Tuan Anh said. "If we are in the top 6, our scores will be used to select 4 students to attend the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), but at this time I am not thinking further."
In addition, the male student plans to apply for admission to Hanoi University of Science and Technology, majoring in Computer Science or Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.
Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School was established in 1972, located in Duc Tho town, Duc Tho district. Over the years, the school has always achieved high results in provincial excellent student competitions, second only to Ha Tinh Specialized High School. In the 2023-2024 school year, the school has 18 first prizes in provincial excellent student competitions.
The 2024 Asia-Pacific Informatics Olympiad is scheduled to take place in May. Last year, Vietnam won six medals, including two silver and two bronze; ranking ninth out of 36 participating teams.
Comment (0)