After her daily hard work throughout her years at senior high, Dinh Thi Hoai Nhi outstandingly reached her goal and obtained 29.5 points at the 2022 High School Graduation Exam (HSGE). The prize for this girl from Daklak is nothing but a full scholarship for her university studies in the DTU Talent Program (HP) in International Relations.
Overcoming all difficulties with resolve to study university
Born and raised in Binh Thuan commune, Buon Ho, Daklak province, Dinh Thi Hoai Nhi and her two younger siblings lived year round among mountains and swiddens. Hoai Nhi’s family and the other people in the village are not financially stable due to their dependence on harvests and market fluctuations.
Hoai Nhi (middle) with her classmates
Fully understanding their parents’ hardship, Hoai Nhi and her siblings always work hard for school and help their parents a hand in the house or on the fields in their spare time. “In my village, almost all parents spend their days in the fields and the children at home need to take care of school and the household on their own,” Hoai Nhi explains. “Whenever I go to work alongside my parents, I understand how hard they have it to earn money and take care of us. That’s why my siblings and I always remind each other that, ‘While we can’t yet do anything big to help our parents, we should try our best to study really hard.’”
When she was far from home to study at senior high, Hoai Nhi missed her family something fierce. She turned the feeling into her motivation and focused completely on her studies to get the grades she dreamed of and to bring joy to her parents. She clearly divided her time between the different subjects. Among them, C-block subjects have always been her strength and she gave them priority over the others.
Among the three subjects considered for university admission, Hoai Nhi obtained 9.25 points for History, which is also the subject she likes most. “Studying history doesn’t need any secret methods,” Hoai Nhi explains. “All knowledge is there in the textbook. However, each of us must find their own way to remember all the landmarks and events. To remember each landmark, it’s important to clearly understand the nature of each of the events, whether big or small. I first make sure I fully grasp the knowledge in the textbook, and then I download exams from the internet, which I make as seriously as if it were a real exam to know for myself where I still lack anything I need to improve on before H-hour.”
In 2022–2023, History will become a compulsory subject in senior high school. As someone who likes history a lot, Hoai Nhi says that, “I remember that, in his poem History of our Country, Uncle Ho Chi Minh writes that, ‘Our people must know our history, To understand the origin of the Vietnamese state.’ The History subject not only teaches the important events of our people and the tradition and culture of our nation, it also kindles a pride of one’s people in the students. Besides teaching the history of the country, the subject also provides students with core knowledge of world history. History is therefore a subject to be respected and to be included in the senior high compulsory curriculum for all years.”
Dream of becoming skilled diplomat and setting foot in many countries
About her dream job for the future, Hoai Nhi says she wishes to become a skilled diplomat. She often still vacillates among the many choices and is not completely sure what kind of career would suit her best, but the more deeply she investigates the matter, the more she is certain she is cut out for the work of a diplomat.
The beautiful friendships from her senior high years will warm Hoai Nhi’s heart when starting her new journey at DTU
As she loves history, the first step towards understanding the beauty of the culture and people of many countries around the world, Hoai Nhi nurtures the dream to set foot in and explore many different nations.
“I dream of becoming a diplomat to be able to go many places, learn about the relations between different countries, and make my small contribution to forging even more such relation,” Hoai Nhi explains. “I put myself the goal to sit the exam for International Relations to come closer to my dream. It’s really lucky that, besides being able to study the major I like, I furthermore received a full Talent Program scholarship from DTU. I hope that, during my studies at this university with renown in training, modern infrastructure, and dynamic study environment, I’ll be able to hone my knowledge and the necessary skills to overcome all challenges and realize my dream.”
Although she wanted to study International Relations, her family’s finances are limited, which left Hoai Nhi hesitant to start university. “Working the swiddens, my parents’ income is only just enough to feed the three of us and to let us study up to this point,” she confides. “I was very worried when I thought how much higher tuition and daily expenses would be when studying at university. Although my parents agree with me and encourage me in all my decisions and wishes, I still hesitated for a long time. Now I don’t worry any longer. The DTU scholarship is really a push in the back, giving me extra encouragement to study in peace of mind for the four coming years, and my parents won’t need to carry the burden of tuition anymore.”
The one-liner Hoai Nhi likes most and uses to encourage herself when faced with choices and difficulties is, “I can do it, and so can you!” She believes that you only need to try and work hard, and your dreams will no longer be far away and a professional future will quickly appear before you.
As of August 1, 2022, Dinh Thi Hoai Nhi is the applicant with second highest score to be admitted to first choice DTU, after Tang Thi Phuong with HSGE score of 29.75, who enrolled in Public Relations.
(Media Center)