Waking up at 5:30 a.m., taking the bus more than 30km from his home in Chuong My district to school in Ba Dinh district (Hanoi), studying and participating in extracurricular activities until late afternoon, then taking the bus for nearly 2 hours back home. That was a familiar schedule for Ha Viet Tinh during his 3 years of studying at RMIT University Vietnam.
However, traveling such a long distance every day makes Tinh more determined to study well, because coming to an international environment like RMIT is a "dream come true" for the boy born in 1998.
After graduating from high school and being admitted to two universities in 2017, Tinh decided to go to work to gain experience and support his family financially. At that time, his family still relied on income from farming and had been poor for many years.
Tinh used to work on a chicken farm and a garment factory, then as a salesman at a beverage company. In 2020, thanks to the introduction of REACH (a non-governmental organization), he applied for and won the RMIT University's Wings of Dreams scholarship. The scholarship covers 100% of the English language program tuition, undergraduate program, monthly living allowance and other allowances.
After a year of studying at the Department of English and University Transfer (SEUP) to develop English proficiency and academic skills, Tinh officially entered the university program at the end of 2021.
“At first, I was quite worried because my circumstances and background were different from my friends. But a year studying at SEUP gave me the perfect stepping stone and helped me become much more confident,” Tinh shared.
When working in groups, Tinh always takes the initiative to promote his strengths such as researching and finding presentation design templates. Tinh also always tries to complete assignments at least 3-4 days before the deadline. It is his initiative and professionalism that has made Tinh trusted by many of his teammates.
Not only that, Tinh is also a familiar face in extracurricular activities. He has participated in supporting dozens of large and small events of the school, acted as a representative to receive questions and requests from students for the school, participated in organizing activities for international students, etc.
“While my friends my age were studying and enjoying student life, I was working. So I told myself that if I ever got to go to university, I would definitely make the most of my time as a student,” Tinh said.
Years of living a fulfilling student life have given Tinh the confidence to step out into the world. At the end of 2023, Tinh decided to go on a student exchange to RMIT University's Melbourne campus.
“That period of time was extremely precious to me because it was associated with many ‘firsts’. It was the first time I studied abroad alone and encountered difficulties in a foreign country such as finding a house, finding a job, and finding ways to use transportation,” Tinh recalled.
“That was also the first time I received support from my RMIT friends right in Melbourne. When they knew I couldn’t find a part-time job, they pooled money to buy food to help me through the difficult time.”
That time was memorable because it was the first time Tinh worked four jobs in parallel with his studies, from sales staff, kitchen assistant, photographer to waiter at a hotel.
“Those four jobs supported me a lot financially. Because I knew how to spend frugally, when I returned to Vietnam, I was able to return the emergency money I borrowed from my family and also add to my savings fund to buy my first motorbike,” Tinh shared.
Returning to Vietnam, after a period of proactively learning experience, Tinh applied and was accepted for an internship position at EY Vietnam - a "Big 4" company in the field of auditing and consulting.
Having studied business administration and had diverse work experience, after graduating, Tinh decided to pursue the plan he had cherished since receiving the RMIT scholarship, which was to establish a community English project for children and young people in difficult circumstances.
With the Green English project launched in early 2025, the province has taught English for free to dozens of students of different ages in Chuong My district (Hanoi) and Nam Dinh province through online classes. After positive feedback from students, the province is completing legal procedures to open an English center.
Before entering RMIT, Tinh did not have the opportunity to study English systematically. He only studied on his own through YouTube and then took advantage of his after-work hours to go to Hoan Kiem Lake to chat with foreign tourists.
He said: “I have experienced difficulties so I really want to support people in the same situation as me to learn English. Up until now, I have always wanted to teach English in the future, but I never thought that one day I would open a center in my hometown.”
Constantly improving himself and “burning” himself out with student life, Tinh has ended his university journey with many valuable things. The road ahead may have ups and downs, but Tinh is confident in his own efforts.
“My philosophy is to never stop learning and keep exploring. There are times when I don’t know where I’m going, but I always try and stay curious about the world around me. I always tell myself to focus on what I can do today, enjoy every moment and do my best for the new goals I set,” Tinh shared.
Le Thanh
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tu-hoc-bong-thay-doi-cuoc-doi-den-lop-hoc-tieng-anh-cho-tre-vung-que-2391954.html
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