Ethnic minority female student wins award at international math competition

Living in a place where learning conditions are still difficult, this female student herself is very self-conscious about her English ability, and once asked her teacher to withdraw from the international competition team. However, in the end, she created a miracle when she won a silver medal at the TIMO International Mathematical Olympiad.

The miracle of a Dan Lai student

That is the story of Nguyen La Vi Na, an 11th grader at Nghe An Province Ethnic Boarding High School. “I am luckier than my friends because I am still able to go to school. Some of my friends have dropped out of school because of difficult family circumstances and the difficult journey to school to help their parents,” said the Dan Lai ethnic minority girl.

Perhaps because she clearly felt those hardships, the little student dreamed of becoming a teacher in the future to bring letters closer to ethnic minority students. To realize that dream, Vi Na focused on studying and achieved certain achievements.

Portrait of Dan Lai female student wins award at international competition

NVCC

Vi Na created a miracle when she won a prize at an international math competition . To achieve that result was a process full of effort of the little student.

She started to love and be interested in math since grade 4. When she was in grade 5, Vi Na participated in the district-level excellent student competition. When she was in middle school, her math teacher saw Vi Na's ability in this subject and put her in the district's excellent student team. "In grade 9, I participated in the district-level excellent math competition, even though I only won the consolation prize, I was very happy. Because I only studied at a commune school with many shortages, when I competed with my friends in key schools in the district and got such a result, it was beyond my expectations," Vi Na shared.

Vi Na (middle) with friends at the TIMO International Mathematical Olympiad

NVCC

Thanks to her efforts and hard work, after passing the national finals, Vi Na and her teammates participated in the TIMO International Mathematics Olympiad held in Thailand and won a silver medal. “When I was studying, my goal was not too high. When I finished the exam, I felt a lack of confidence and was worried about my test. So when my name was called, I was overwhelmed with happiness. I never thought I would achieve this result. Until now, I still can't believe this is true,” Vi Na emotionally shared.

Overcoming obstacles and self-doubt

The TIMO International Mathematical Olympiad is a math competition in English. Therefore, in addition to mathematical knowledge, it is necessary to equip oneself with English vocabulary. This is extremely difficult for a student from a village school like Vi Na.

“During my primary and secondary school years, I only studied at a small school in the commune, so I had very little exposure to English. Therefore, for me, English was a very difficult subject. When I took the high school entrance exam, my English score was only 5,” Vi Na said.

Therefore, to participate in this exam, the female student from Dan Lai not only had to study math knowledge but also improve her English vocabulary. “The international final exam in Thailand had 30 questions in English and I had to solve them within 120 minutes. Math knowledge covers all 3 years of high school, so my friends and I had to make a lot of effort,” Vi Na said.

Vina and teacher Thuy Linh

NVCC

Because she was not confident in her own abilities, Vi Na once asked to withdraw and not participate in international competitions anymore. “I felt that I still had many weaknesses, so competing internationally would be very difficult. But thanks to the encouragement from my parents and teachers, I tried hard and continued to study,” Vi Na shared.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh, math teacher at Nghe An Province Boarding High School for Ethnic Minorities, shared: "Vi Na is a hard-working student and really makes a lot of effort. Her starting point when entering the school was only quite good, not excellent or outstanding. Vi Na is in class A1, specializing in natural sciences. Realizing that she also likes studying math, I encouraged Vi Na to participate in the math competition in English. During the 8 months of preparation, Vi Na studied math to gain enough knowledge and improve her English vocabulary. This is a difficult foreign language for ethnic minority students. But with effort and perseverance, Vi Na has achieved good results, worthy of her efforts."

The TIMO International Mathematical Olympiad is organized annually by the Hong Kong Olympiad Education Center in cooperation with the Thailand Tourism Organization. This is a useful intellectual playground for students who love and are passionate about math from kindergarten to high school. Through the competition, the aim is to stimulate and nurture the love of math among young people, enhance students' creative thinking ability, and expand international cultural exchange relationships.

Thanhnien.vn