Female student both studies and works, in 3 years becomes excellent valedictorian

(Dan Tri) - Nguyen Phuong Anh became the valedictorian of the International School - Hanoi National University after 3 years of study. The female student studied and worked as a tutor and waitress to cover her living expenses and help her family.

Self-funded since 11th grade, earned 30 million VND/month in first year of university

Nguyen Phuong Anh is the valedictorian of the International School (Hanoi National University) with an average score of 3.78/4.0.

Phuong Anh feels honored to receive the title of excellent valedictorian of the program to honor excellent valedictorians graduating from universities and academies in Hanoi in 2023.

Phuong Anh took a souvenir photo with her parents at the graduation ceremony. (Photo: NVCC).

When she learned that her daughter had received the title of valedictorian, Phuong Anh's mother was moved and shared: "I feel happy and joyful. From childhood to adulthood, Phuong Anh has always tried her best and is the pride of the family. I hope Phuong Anh will always be happy, confident and achieve more success in life."

Phuong Anh was born into a wealthy family with parents who were in business. Therefore, from a young age, Phuong Anh had a passion for economics.

After graduating from high school, Phuong Anh chose international business , Faculty of Economics and Management, International School (Hanoi National University).

Although born into a wealthy family, Phuong Anh still went to work early to take care of herself. (Photo: NVCC).

However, not relying on her family, Phuong Anh has been working as a tutor since grade 11 to take care of her finances and help her parents.

"In 11th grade, when I started tutoring, I only earned 2 million VND per month. Although my initial income was quite low, I still did not give up because I received support from my mother. My mother is a thoughtful person, always helping me find a way whenever I encountered difficulties," Phuong Anh said.

Phuong Anh said that after the first 5 months of teaching, she felt discouraged and disappointed. Because Phuong Anh felt that the salary of 20,000 VND/hour was not worth the investment she made. In addition, in exchange for earning money, Phuong Anh had to spend a lot of effort balancing her study and work time.

Sharing about her motivation to earn money, Phuong Anh confided: "To achieve the results I have today, my mother had to make many sacrifices. After graduating from secondary school, I won a national math prize and was admitted directly to high school. At that time, I entered a new environment with the mentality of a good person, so I neglected my studies.

My grades in grade 10 also dropped because of that. My family was shocked and my mother decided to take 5 months off work to stay home and tutor me. After my academic results gradually stabilized, I was determined to study and start my journey as a tutor to repay my parents' expectations."

Phuong Anh said that in her first year of university, the female student received about 30 million VND/month from tutoring .

In order to both study and earn money, Phuong Anh has made a strict study plan and optimized her time. In addition, the female student always clearly identifies each subject that needs to be completed and sets up a specific study schedule for each week.

Phuong Anh used to think that as long as she studied well, she wouldn't have to worry about finding a job after graduation. However, after starting a job, Phuong Anh realized that outside, people only need excellent people who are well-rounded in all aspects.

"Therefore, I feel grateful to my family for always supporting and encouraging me to go out and work part-time and interact with society," Phuong Anh said.

Studying at university for 3 years, becoming valedictorian

Because she wanted to experience early and save study time, Phuong Anh arranged her study time and excellently completed the university program within 3 years, becoming the school's valedictorian.

"I set a goal of graduating early from the moment I became a student. In my first year of university, because I was still unfamiliar with the new environment, I did not participate in any extracurricular activities.

In the second year, I started to increase the number of credits and participated in some extracurricular activities. Besides, I applied for internships at some agencies to gain more experience. In the third year, when I was preparing to study a lot and do internships, I gave up all my jobs to focus only on studying," Phuong Anh shared.

Phuong Anh at the graduation ceremony. (Photo: NVCC).

"I have applied some learning methods such as making a tight study plan as well as optimizing time. In addition, I always clearly identify each subject that needs to be completed and set up a specific study schedule for each week.

Moreover, instead of just remembering the original information, I focus on understanding and applying the knowledge in practice. This helps me save time in reviewing and mastering the knowledge.

I also often discuss difficult concepts with my friends and solve exercises together. Finally, to maintain high learning performance, I always pay attention to taking care of my health by eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly," Phuong Anh shared.

Live fully in the present

Although spending a lot of time studying, Phuong Anh is still always active in extracurricular activities.

"I especially love international exchange activities. These programs help me change the way I study and realize that, in addition to knowledge, I need to actively cultivate communication, leadership, presentation, information research and time management skills.

Meeting and interacting with international friends also helps me realize that I need to learn constantly. The world is constantly changing, so we need to constantly renew ourselves so as not to fall behind. Exchange activities give me the opportunity to make friends, learn about other countries and people, as well as introduce the image of Vietnam to the world," Phuong Anh confided.

Phuong Anh won the Second Prize and Potential Project Prize of the "VNU - Innovation Startup 2021" competition organized by the Hanoi National University Delegation. (Photo: NVCC).

According to Phuong Anh, participating in competitions helps her to be exposed to new challenges and experiences, taking her out of her comfort zone. This connection allows Phuong Anh to learn and acquire skills that she does not yet have.

The competitive environment encourages Phuong Anh to constantly innovate, explore new strategies and improve performance. "This drive for continuous improvement fosters a growth mindset, allowing me to push my limits and reach my full potential.

In addition, competitions also give me countless relationships with like-minded people, helping me have more opportunities to understand and learn from each other," Phuong Anh said.

Phuong Anh took a commemorative photo at the Central-level ceremony to honor 5-good students in the 2021-2022 school year. (Photo: NVCC).

Through that, Phuong Anh hopes that young people can live fully in the present and always try to achieve their dreams.

"University is a memorable time, you should try to enjoy this beautiful journey, face all the joys and difficulties and leave your footprints on every path", Phuong Anh confided.

On the road to success, there is no path filled with roses. Everyone has to go through hardships and learn lessons from those difficulties.

Academic achievements and extracurricular activities:

- Overall GPA: 3.78/4.0

- Overall training score: Excellent

- Valedictorian of the International School - VNU 2023 and Valedictorian of the International Business major 2023.

- Champion of the contest "ECO-n 2021 - Environmental startups".

- Second Prize and Potential Project Prize of the "VNU - Innovation Startup 2021" competition organized by the Hanoi National University Delegation.

- Third Prize at the National Student Startup Ideas Competition.

- Second Prize of the Final Round of the "VNU Innovative Startup Ideas 2021" Competition.

- Breakthrough Award of ICAEW Vietnam Business Challenge 2022 organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales ICAEW.

- Champion of the contest "Hack4SVGrowth 2021 - Student Growth Innovation" organized by Hanoi Youth Union in collaboration with AVSE Global.

- Central level 5 good students, school year 2021-2022.

- Outstanding young face at Hanoi National University level.

- One of 27 delegates of the Youth Conference of the Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program (SSEAYP) 2021.

- One of only two Vietnamese delegates participating in the Asia Pacific Week of the Australian National University.

- One of 30 delegates attending the Women for Peace Conference organized by the Vietnam Youth for Peace Development project - sponsored by the US Embassy.

- Participate in the Prime Minister's Youth Dialogue Conference program in 2023.

- Participate in the program "Dialogue between the Central Standing Committee of the Vietnam Student Association and members and students at home and abroad in 2023".

- Intern in Economic News Department - Vietnam News Newspaper - Vietnam News Agency.

- Corporate Tax Intern at Tax and Legal department of KPMG - one of the four largest auditing firms in the world.

- United People Global Initiatives 2022 Sustainability Leadership Conference Candidate.

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