Nam Dinh 10th grade valedictorian refuses to attend specialized school because of family difficulties

In the 2024-2025 10th grade entrance exam, Nam Dinh province had 23,262 candidates. Doan Thi Diep (a student in class 9A, Giao Yen Secondary School, Giao Thuy district, Nam Dinh) became the top scorer with a total score of 49/50. Specifically, she scored 9.75 in Literature, 10 in Mathematics, and 9.5 in Foreign Language.

The special circumstances of the top-scoring student from Thanh Nam.

These days, Diep's house in Giao Yen commune is busier than usual as many people come to congratulate her on achieving the top score in the provincial 10th grade entrance exam, with a near-perfect score.

Diep was born into a family with three siblings. Her father passed away when she was only 8 months old. From then on, all the burdens fell on her mother's shoulders.

Working as a vegetable vendor at the market, Nguyen Thi Huong (Diep's mother) has to wake up at 3 am every day to go to the market, return home for a few hours at noon, and then go out again until late at night. This leaves her with little time to care for her children, and the three sisters are all self-motivated in their studies.

Mother is the motivation for the top-scoring student to strive harder.

Ms. Huong shared: “Previously, I ran a shrimp farm, but the income was unstable, and I constantly suffered crop failures, resulting in debt. Many years have passed, but I still haven't been able to pay off the debt from that time. When I couldn't continue any longer, I had to abandon the farm and switch to selling vegetables at the market to make ends meet and support my three children's education.”

Understanding her family's difficult circumstances and feeling sorry for her mother's tireless efforts, Diep always reminded herself to strive and study hard so that her mother wouldn't be worried. Besides studying, Diep also regularly helped her mother with household chores and assisted her in arranging goods for the market.

Every day, in addition to studying, Diep helps her mother arrange goods for the market and does housework.

Ms. Huong said: “The greatest blessing in my life is that my three children, despite living in difficult circumstances and lacking a father's love, are always well-behaved, excel in their studies, and love their mother very much. They are the biggest motivation for me to keep striving tirelessly for all these years. When Diep announced that she had achieved such high exam scores, I was overjoyed; all my fatigue seemed to disappear.”

After the joy came worry due to the family's financial difficulties. Diep also passed the entrance exam to Le Hong Phong Specialized High School in Nam Dinh, however, she will not be studying there but will instead attend Giao Thuy B High School.

Sharing her decision, Diep said: "Due to difficult family circumstances, the cost of studying in the city is higher, and it would be more difficult for my mother, so I chose to study at a school near home."

A journey of overcoming adversity.

Despite her family's financial difficulties and lack of opportunities for extra tutoring like many of her peers, Diep consistently excelled in all subjects for many years. In 9th grade, Ms. Vu Thi Linh, her Literature teacher and homeroom teacher, further ignited her passion for the subject, and it was then that Diep realized her true love for it.

Diep won second prize in the 9th grade Literature competition at the district level and was selected for the provincial-level competition team, but due to extremely difficult family circumstances and her mother's inability to take her to and from the competition, she withdrew from participating.

Furthermore, in all the peer-marked tests organized by the education department, Diep consistently ranked first or second in the entire district.

With her determination to build a solid foundation of knowledge, the young female student achieved well-deserved academic results.

Besides achieving excellent academic results, Diep also actively participates in school and class arts and extracurricular activities and is always loved and respected by her teachers and friends.

Sharing her secret to achieving high academic results, Diep said that she is always conscious of building a solid foundation of basic knowledge before exploring advanced topics. In class, she always tries to focus on listening carefully to the teachers' lectures to grasp the knowledge thoroughly, avoiding rote learning or memorization. At home, she continues to review and asks her older sister for tutoring.

Instead of staying up late, Diep created a habit for herself of waking up early in the morning to study. "Every day, I only study until 10 PM and then wake up at 3 AM the next day to study because studying early in the morning helps me concentrate better," Diep added.

Speaking about her 9.75 score in Literature, Diep shared: “When I received the exam paper, I remained calm, thought carefully, and then applied the knowledge my teachers had given me beforehand to my answer.”

Regarding the social commentary section, I based my essay on real-life examples, role models from previous generations, or social media phenomena, incorporating their positive achievements and contributions to society as evidence. In this exam, I used Quang Linh Vlog and Huyen Chip as examples.

Teacher Vu Thi Linh speaks proudly about her students.

Ms. Vu Thi Linh revealed: “Diep is a rather shy girl, but very intelligent, diligent, determined, and eager to learn. As a literature teacher and Diep's homeroom teacher, with 23 years of experience, I have encountered many excellent essays on social issues written by students, but with Diep, each of her essays is an extremely unique and fresh creation.”

In class, she teaches methods, techniques, and writing style, but when her teachings are translated into my writing, it's a completely new and creative process.”

“This year's Literature exam was quite challenging. When I received the exam paper, I only dared to hope that Diep would get 9.5 points, which would have been a great success for her, but after she achieved 9.75 points, I was truly overwhelmed with emotion.”

"I believe my child's essay was very well-written and resonated with the judges because this exam was graded independently in two rounds, with two judges in two different rooms, so reaching a consensus on a score of 9.75 is not easy," Ms. Linh proudly said.

In the near future, Diep will begin a new journey at Giao Thuy B High School.

The achievements Diep has made are the result of a long process of hard work and dedication. In the coming time, Diep will begin a new journey at Giao Thuy B High School. This new path will present many difficulties and challenges for her, but thinking of her mother always gives her more motivation to try even harder.

"My mother worked so hard to raise the three of us, so I've always been self-motivated and strived to achieve excellent academic results. That's the greatest gift I can give her right now," Diep said, her voice choked with emotion.

Not only has Diep achieved many academic successes, but her older sister was also a top student at the district level and is currently a final-year student at the National Economics University. Her sister is also Diep's closest relative and always serves as a role model for her.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/thu-khoa-lop-10-nam-dinh-tu-choi-truong-chuyen-vi-gia-dinh-kho-khan-2293253.html