'Heart-stopping beauty' of elegant student runner-up, passionate about literature

Before becoming the runner-up of elegant students, Tung Son was quite shy, afraid of the judgmental looks 'why do boys study literature', 'studying literature can't do great things'...

Nguyen Tung Son, a student at Hanoi National University of Education, has just become the first runner-up of the 2024 Elegant Student contest - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

Nguyen Tung Son (21 years old, from Nghe An), a 4th year student majoring in literature and pedagogy at Hanoi National University of Education, has just become the first runner-up of the 2024 Elegant Student contest. The contest was organized by the Central Agencies' Youth Union in coordination with the Vietnam Women's Academy.

Immediately after Tung Son was crowned, social media platforms were flooded with photos of the male student, along with compliments such as "heart-stopping beauty", "radiant beauty"...

The judges said it was a talent contest, but the contestant... told a story about studying literature.

Sharing about the first runner-up title he just won at the 2024 Elegant Student contest, Tung Son said he was quite surprised, happy and pleased to receive the attention of many young people after the contest.

Tung Son has followed this contest for many years, but it was only this year that he felt "ripe" and registered to compete. To participate in the 2024 Elegant Student Contest, candidates must have a good academic record and good conduct, in which Tung Son achieved a GPA of 3.21 (equivalent to excellent).

"In the first round, the judges asked the contestants to show off their talents, but I chose to convince the judges with my own story of pursuing my passion for literature, which was full of difficulties and challenges," Tung Son said.

Tung Son said that he used to be a shy person, afraid of the judgmental eyes of outsiders like "why is a boy studying literature", "studying literature will only make you write in the future and not be able to do great things"...

Tung Son at the 2024 Elegant Student Contest - Photo: NVCC

Not only that, during his junior high school years, Tung Son continuously failed the literature awards at school and district levels, making the male student feel even more pressured.

"When I think back to 9th and 10th grade, I still shudder because I suffered from depression. I had terrible symptoms like biting my nails until they bled, biting my lips, even closing the door and talking to myself...

Fortunately, with the encouragement of my teachers and family, I gradually overcame my inferiority complex. By grade 12, I was the only student at Nguyen Canh Chan High School to win two provincial excellent student awards at the same time, including third prize in literature and consolation prize in history, and was admitted directly to Hanoi National University of Education. From then on, I was more confident in my passion," Tung Son recalled.

Choose teaching or art?

Tung Son said his passion for teaching was inspired by his father, an elementary school teacher. In high school, his love for the profession was further nurtured by his two literature and history teachers, teachers who always respected their students' personalities, accompanied them, and supported their dreams.

According to Tung Son, studying literature at Hanoi National University of Education is very difficult, from the beginning to the end. However, the male student believes that this is also an opportunity for him to "transform", mature, study and work more professionally.

"The strict teachers made me mature. When I first started, I was not used to the new way of learning. I had to learn from the experiences of my seniors to gradually adapt. I learned to draw mind maps, systematize knowledge, and from there analyze problems best.

Studying literature pedagogy, the amount of knowledge is large, students always have to be proactive in self-study, lecturers only give guidance. Studying literature is very rich, I feel like I can complete many things in life more", Tung Son said.

Faced with concerns that when there are many opportunities to do art, Tung Son will turn to another direction and not pursue a teaching career, the male student affirmed that despite many choices, teaching is still the number 1 goal to pursue.

"If I could only choose to be a teacher or an artist, I would still choose to be a teacher. However, I want to be both a literature teacher and an artist like I am doing to gain more experience. This could also be a strength for me to attract and inspire more students.

With the nickname "Gen Z teacher", I want to build the image of a new generation of teachers, dynamic, creative and exemplary", Tung Son shared.

Before being crowned 1st runner-up, Tung Son was known by many 12th graders as "Gen Z teacher" because he had spent nearly 4 years teaching literature online to students preparing for university entrance exams. In addition, Tung Son also took on jobs such as MC, media ambassador...

Tung Son said that after the competition, there were organizations and entertainment companies that contacted him to offer him work, but he is currently in his final year so he needs to focus on studying well and have a memorable internship.

At the same time, you also spend time accompanying the organizers of the Elegant Student contest to do community projects during your term to spread positive values ​​to young people.

In the future, Tung Son hopes to open his own center to teach literature and soft skills to students.

Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thu Thuy takes a photo with student Tung Son - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

Associate Professor Dr. Dang Thu Thuy - lecturer of the Faculty of Literature, Hanoi National University of Education - said that in her class, Tung Son is a diligent, serious, modest, and somewhat quiet student. However, in extracurricular activities and professional training of the faculty, Tung Son is very enthusiastic and active.

"When Tung Son achieved the runner-up position in a competition, I both encouraged and reminded him to calmly accept the good news, but not to neglect his main job, and to consider it as motivation to become more mature," said Ms. Thuy.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ve-dep-don-tim-cua-a-vuong-sinh-vien-thanh-lich-nguoi-dam-me-hoc-van-20241127095627552.htm