The ‘non-specialist’ student won a scholarship of nearly 6 billion dong

Although it is nearly 3 months until the high school exam, Nguyen Thi Quynh Nhu (born in 2004) is ready for the upcoming admission period at Franklin and Marshall College – top 31 in Best Value School and one of the top schools. on teaching Liberal Education.

Quynh Nhu also received scholarships from many other universities such as APU, Fulbright University Vietnam, Maastricht University and Tilburg University.

However, to reach the “destination”, Quynh Nhu went through a not easy journey.

The journey to “earn” a scholarship is difficult

Quynh Nhu’s dream of studying abroad was rekindled in grade 8 when her brother introduced her to the ASEAN scholarship program in Singapore.

However, despite the average academic result of 9.7/10 and participating in many extracurricular activities, Nhu still failed for 2 years in a row.

After that, she continued to try other opportunities such as UWC, Vinschool’s high school scholarship program… but did not receive the desired amount of scholarship.

Another disappointment continued when Nhu did not get into Le Quy Don School for the Gifted in Ba Ria – Vung Tau.

“Not being able to get into a specialized school means that without many extra-curricular activities and events, I will have fewer opportunities to do what I love.

In addition, when attending regular schools, students and teachers mainly focus on preparing to enter domestic universities, so the opportunity to receive advice on scholarships to study abroad from teachers will be limited. Share about the difficulties you have encountered.

However, after reassuring herself, Nhu thinks that each journey is a milestone for her to move forward, and the goal of winning a scholarship to study abroad is a challenge that she must overcome.

The female student began to research and see opportunities that specialized schools could not give her.

“In regular school, I study all subjects, so I have more time to understand what I want, have natural or social gifts.

Extracurricular activities are no longer difficult when I actively participate in clubs at school, and also participate in social projects outside.”

Currently, Quynh Nhu is the president of the STEM Club, Science and Technology Club, and Badminton Club of Chau Thanh High School.

At the same time, she is a PhD student of Youth Lab for Social Innovation, MiYork Research. Here, she had the opportunity to carry out her favorite project “Impact of the classification of specialized and common schools on the positive learning mindset and social entrepreneurship spirit of Vietnamese high school students”.

“When implementing this project, I had the opportunity to do research, interview, and listen to friends in many different provinces. Listening and sharing broadened my perspective a lot, helped me get to know a lot of good and dedicated people.

The special thing is that this research project will be consulted and used to evaluate the situation and current status of Vietnam’s education by international educational institutions” – Nhu excitedly shared.

In the past 3 years, according to Nhu, the biggest difficulty is balancing both study and extracurricular activities.

To do both well, the little girl spends Monday through Thursday to focus on her studies, but the days off are for sports and extracurricular activities.

Thanks to scientific planning, Nhu gradually adapted to multi-tasking. She achieved an 11th grade GPA of 9.5/10 along with many impressive extracurricular achievements.

“I think that when you participate in something, whether it’s study or extracurricular activities, you have to love and stick with it, not just participate to beautify your CV.

And when I complete it completely, I will achieve “sweet results” such as increasing teamwork skills, mastering time management, having many quality relationships … “.

“Badminton made me understand myself better”

Talking about the most important factor in winning a scholarship to Franklin and Marshall College, Nhu said it was the badminton essay.

In the essay, Nhu writes that this is a sport she has been involved in for nearly 8 years, showing a lot about Nhu as well as making her more complete.

In 2020, Nhu has to prepare for the provincial badminton tournament and prepare for the classroom exams. The intense study caused badminton practice time to be limited to weekend afternoons, and that was not enough to be able to compete in the best form.

To achieve the set goals, Nhu is determined to get up early to exercise. She jogs and exercises with older people.

After weeks of rigorous training, Nhu won the Provincial Gold Medal of the Phu Dong Health Association.

But what made Nhu most proud at that time was that badminton helped her understand more about her passion for sports and her patience.

“It’s the actual experiences that have made me understand myself better.”

Sharing about her choice of program as Liberal Art of Franklin and Marshall College, Nhu said that this is a program that gives her many opportunities to define who she is, what she can do and what talents she has.

In August, Nhu will officially enroll in the US. To prepare for a new journey, Nhu wishes to find friends with similar interests at university, to learn about the knowledge and culture of different countries.

At the same time, Quynh Nhu also hopes to continue her studies to higher levels and apply the knowledge she has learned to start a business in Vietnam.

Phuong Thao