Truong Tuan Thanh (born in 1976) comes from a poor farming family with 7 siblings in Truong Tri (Shanxi, China). Being the youngest child and being intelligent, Tuan Thanh was wholeheartedly supported in his studies by his relatives. However, due to family circumstances, Tuan Thanh had to drop out of school after 7th grade to stay home and help his parents pay off their debts.

In his teens, he worked hard doing all kinds of jobs in the iron mine with a low salary of 20 to 30 NDT/month (~70,000-105,000 VND).

A few years later, with the help of his fellow villagers, he went to the city to work as a car mechanic. The work there was hard and tiring, and he realized that he could not do manual labor for the rest of his life. Tuan Thanh's desire to change his fate began to grow.

In 1994, he was introduced to Beijing (China) to participate in a security guard training course. After nearly 1 month of rigorous and intense training, surpassing 500 candidates, Tuan Thanh was assigned to Peking University (China) to work as a security guard. Becoming a security guard at China's top university, Tuan Thanh was proud. Therefore, he was always enthusiastic about his work.

However, one day, an unexpected incident occurred. Because he had only finished 6th grade, Tuan Thanh's English was not good. When foreign tourists wanted to visit Peking University, because he did not understand what they were saying, Tuan Thanh blocked the gate and did not let them in. Angry at Tuan Thanh's actions, the group of tourists made sarcastic remarks about him. At this time, Tuan Thanh was embarrassed and called his mother to go home.

Faced with the question: "Have you been successful working in the city?", Tuan Thanh immediately woke up and thought about what his mother said. Because he had no way back, the next day, he bought a secondary school English textbook to study by himself. At first, Tuan Thanh memorized basic communication sentences. Then, he took the initiative to talk to foreigners.

Because he was self-taught, Tuan Thanh's pronunciation had many shortcomings. By chance, Professor Cao Yen of the English Department of Peking University heard a conversation between him and a tourist. At that time, the professor told Tuan Thanh: "It's good to be eager to learn, but your English sounds like German. If you continue to pronounce like that, tourists will laugh at you."

Seeing Tuan Thanh's eagerness to learn and his spirit of progress, Professor Yen decided to create conditions for him to take the GRE course (GRE results are used for graduate admission in the US). However, the tuition fee at that time was 3,600 NDT/semester (~12.6 million VND), while Tuan Thanh's security guard salary was only 214 NDT/month (~750,000 VND). Knowing his family's situation, Professor Yen waived the tuition fee so Tuan Thanh could attend class.

In addition to studying from 7am to 12pm and 3pm to 5pm, Tuan Thanh still worked as a security guard at Beijing University. During the day he worked and studied, and at night he continued to study hard. Realizing that studying was the only way to change his life, Tuan Thanh cherished the dream of taking the university entrance exam. At that time, China allowed candidates to freely take the university entrance exam.

Seizing the opportunity, Tuan Thanh started studying for the exam. With the goal of passing the university entrance exam, he only slept 3 hours a day. After a period of effort and the help of teachers, in 1995, Tuan Thanh took the university entrance exam and scored 413 points.

With 2 points more than the standard score for the Law Faculty of Peking University, Tuan Thanh officially became a freshman at the age of 19. To cover living expenses, he went to school during the day and stood guard at the gate at night.

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Overcoming adversity, at the age of 39, Mr. Truong Tuan Thanh became the Principal of Truong Tri Technical College of Technology (China). Photo: Baidu

In 1998, after graduating with a Bachelor of Law degree with honors, he decided to return to his hometown to become a teacher at a vocational school in Changzhi (Shanxi, China). Entering the education sector, the young teacher devoted himself to the cause of teaching.

Thanks to his profound knowledge, humor, wit and rich life experience, Mr. Thanh quickly impressed his students. His Law and Politics classes were always eagerly awaited by his students.

Not long after, Mr. Thanh was assigned to be the homeroom teacher of a special class. Choosing to accompany his students, Mr. Thanh immersed himself in their lives, sharing daily stories.

It is this closeness that helps teachers gain the trust of their students. Feeling listened to and understood, they are motivated to improve in their studies. From being in an unremarkable class, they are now at the top of their class upon graduation.

After 16 years working at the school, realizing that many ideas and educational methods could not be implemented, Mr. Thanh decided to resign.

In 2015, he and four friends founded the Changzhi Technical College of Technology (China). Overcoming adversity, at the age of 39, he became the principal of the vocational college. He shared that all learning activities of the school are built on military principles, with almost zero tuition fees for poor students.

"I want to help poor children. The only way they can change their fate is through education," said the principal of Changzhi Technical College (China). With the motto of treating students like their own children, he wants to create a warm and loving learning environment.

Becoming one of the inspirational figures, when appearing on the program See You Again of Hunan Radio and Television (China), he said: "Currently, my greatest wish is to help poor children realize their dreams." He believes that having the right guide will make their future brighter.

Despite having achieved certain successes in his career, the Principal of Truong Tri Technical College of Technology is still not satisfied with himself. "I have not contributed much to society. My contribution is only a small part," he said.

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