From her hobby of gardening, 21-year-old female student won a PhD scholarship at Harvard University

Passion "germinates" from the home garden

Talking about her journey, student Trinh Ngoc My started with a very simple hobby. My said that since she was a child, she liked gardening and taking care of plants to relieve stress after school. Gradually, the student read more books about plants to learn about diverse growth forms.

"However, that only stopped at the hobby level for a very long time because I decided to pursue Literature at the High School for the Gifted, Ho Chi Minh City National University. Until grade 11, when I studied high school in the US, I registered for an advanced Biology class. From this class, I was more impressed with the chapter on evolution and genetics, especially evolution in plants," My shared.

Trinh Ngoc My (21 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) won a PhD scholarship from Harvard University to study Plants and Evolution.

To satisfy her curiosity and to learn more about plant evolution, My applied for a scholarship and was accepted into Oberlin College to study Biology. During this time, she took part in many different laboratories with the same topic of genetics and evolution; extracted and built a library of plant genes, and performed analyses to create a genealogy for Schiedea.

In late 2023, the Vietnamese female student completed the evolutionary diagram of the Schiedea species. This achievement helped My gain admission to the Arnold Institute for Plant and Crop Science (Harvard University) internship program and win the Young Botanist Award from the Botanical Society of America (BSA).

Overcoming self-doubt

Behind the energetic girl, My admitted that there were times when she wanted to stop. "At Oberlin College - a liberal arts college with the most students applying to master's programs. Therefore, next to me were very good students with a lot of work experience. When I looked back at myself, I was worried that I was too young and did not have enough experience to be able to highlight myself among many other talented candidates," the female student confided.

When she felt doubtful about herself, My spoke to her advisor for advice, and discussed with him whether she should postpone her application. "When he looked at my research and commented that this project was something unimaginable for an undergraduate student to do, I felt more confident in myself," she said.

Ngoc My is a former student majoring in Literature at the Gifted High School, Ho Chi Minh City National University.

Therefore, in July 2023, My decided to graduate 1 year early from university and determined to pursue a doctorate. With only 2 months to prepare documents to apply to doctoral programs in the US, the female student had to rush to read research and find suitable laboratories.

In addition to Harvard University, the female student was also accepted into 6 other universities such as Stanford University, Chicago, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Texas.

"The whole family was very surprised because during the application process from August 2023 until the first results in February 2024, I did not reveal anything because my parents were always worried that I would work too hard.

When I received the notice of admission to Harvard University, the first person I told was my mother. She was very confused and surprised at first, completely not understanding what was happening. However, after I explained, my family was very happy and fully supported the path I had chosen," My shared.

Currently, My is interested in researching pollination and reproductive biology in plant evolution. According to her, evolutionary biology plays an important role in solving global problems such as climate change and environmental conservation.

“By understanding how species adapt to changing environments, we can predict which organisms are most at risk and develop strategies to protect them.

Evolutionary insights into genetic diversity and adaptive capacity can also guide efforts to restore habitats, manage invasive species, and maintain ecosystem services essential for sustainable development,” the US said.

Source: https://danviet.vn/tu-so-thich-lam-vuon-nu-sinh-21-tuoi-gianh-hoc-bong-tien-si-dai-hoc-harvard-20240923102400869.htm