Failures are the source of success Born in An Giang, the journey of 9x guy Hua Nhat Thanh shows boldness, daring to dream to go beyond the usual boundaries.

Nhat Thanh's journey to a top American school was often filled with doubt and confusion.

Wishing to study at two specialized schools in Ho Chi Minh City, the male student "studied hard" for the 10th grade entrance exam. However, luck did not smile on this male student when both wishes were not fulfilled as desired. Nhat Thanh passed the Physics major exam at Thoai Ngoc Hau High School for the Gifted (An Giang) and won the second prize for excellent students at the provincial level and the national consolation prize in the Violympic Physics competition 2017. When it came to the university entrance exam, the young man failed his first wish to enter the Foreign Trade University. Nhat Thanh enrolled in Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics. "After failing to achieve my dreams many times, I was psychologically traumatized and could not help but blame myself for not being good enough." Not discouraged, Nhat Thanh accepted failure as a lesson. The young man understood that challenges or adversity are often signs of development. Looking back, Thanh said: “I consider those as ‘lucky’ lessons learned when I was young. Instead of being afraid of failure and not daring to do anything, I think I should study hard, work hard, and endure the pain of failure, and persistently pursue my goals to succeed.” After many steps that did not go as planned, Nhat Thanh decided to stop, giving himself some time to reflect on his failures and discover himself. Dropping out of college after 1 semester, Nhat Thanh devoted himself to applying for a scholarship to study in the US. “I spent my gap year reading about famous people and heroes in history and sometimes they made very unconventional decisions. I think America is a country with many good things and worth learning. I always consider my life’s mission to be to select the good, the good and the appropriate things to bring back to Vietnam to apply and contribute to building my homeland.” Nhat Thanh had to take the IELTS and SAT 3 times to get a good enough score. The young man also applied to nearly 50 non-profit organizations to volunteer and applied to work as a kitchen assistant at about 30 restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City during his 2-year gap year but only received a few nods. The effort was rewarded . The turning point came in 2019 when the An Giang boy received a scholarship worth 100,000 USD (about 2.5 billion VND) from Columbia University - one of the top private universities in the US and ranked 23rd in the QS World University Rankings 2024. Entering Columbia's lecture hall marked the beginning of a journey of maturity for Hua Nhat Thanh. This journey was driven by the desire to pursue knowledge and a passionate commitment to conquering the pinnacle of knowledge. At Columbia University, Nhat Thanh pursued a double major in Mathematics/Computer Science and Political Science. Rather than considering these as different fields, the male student viewed them as interconnected aspects of a multifaceted world. “Understanding technology to apply to work to increase efficiency. Understanding politics to better understand the culture and environment in diverse places in multinational corporations in the US will help you a lot in dealing with people.” Nhat Thanh also won the Saltzman Scholar Scholarship from Columbia University to study political issues of war and peace with the help of professors from other top universities such as Harvard and Princeton. While still in school, the young man worked as an intern at the leading investment bank on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs.

The male student plans to work in the US for a while before returning to Vietnam to contribute.

Beyond the academic framework, Hua Nhat Thanh also carries out many initiatives to contribute to improving society. Co-founding the social enterprise Nuoc Solutions, the young man and his friends lead solutions to environmental conservation, receiving 100,000 USD (about 2.5 billion VND) in investment from the Melinda Gates Foundation of billionaire Bill Gates and more than 7000 USD (about 178 million VND) from individual sponsors in Vietnam and the US. The young man also co-founded the non-profit organization Ao Trang Den Truong Fund. The projects have received more than 8,000 USD (about 203 million VND) and many uniforms and books for primary schools in rural areas of Vietnam such as An Giang, Tay Ninh, Dak Nong, Lam Dong... Hua Nhat Thanh will graduate with a dual degree this year. Sharing with VietNamNet, the young man plans to work in the financial sector in the US to better understand corporate finance, how businesses in developed countries operate, how to build a business in a few years and then return to Vietnam. "I dream of contributing to building a transparent financial market for Vietnam, an effective company or a reputable bank, helping the country develop its economy and integrate with foreign countries."

Tu Huy (Photo: Character provided)

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tu-cu-soc-truot-dai-hoc-den-gianh-hoc-bong-danh-gia-tai-my-cua-nam-sinh-9x-2283467.html