Just a few days before the entrance exam to Ha Long High School for the Gifted (Quang Ninh), an unexpected accident caused Luu Tien Trung - a San Diu student in Trang Luong commune (old Dong Trieu city) - to break his right arm. It was thought that the door to his dream had closed, but with determination, Trung endured the pain, held the pen with his whole arm, and wrote a resilient journey to today win a direct admission to Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

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The homeroom teacher is instructing Luu Tien Trung in a team exam review session.

Overcoming difficulties to assert oneself

Recalling the entrance exam for the 10th grade specialized in Mathematics and Information Technology, Trung still cannot forget the days when he had to hold a pen with his whole arm. Just four days before the exam, he unfortunately broke his right wrist. The injury seemed to make taking the exam impossible, but Trung decided not to give up.

“Since I couldn’t move my wrist, I used my whole arm to write. The teachers advised me to retake the exam next year, but I thought about how hard I had studied for the past few days so I still took the exam,” Trung said.

That determination brought him into the Math - IT class as he dreamed, opening a new journey for the student from the mining region who was passionate about computers.

That passion was kindled since grade 4. By the end of grade 8, Trung and some friends were trained by teachers at Ha Long Specialized School to compete in the IT team. As a result, he won the provincial Encouragement Prize. In grade 9, Trung continued to excel, winning the second prize at the provincial IT competition, the first prize in Dong Trieu town, and the provincial Encouragement Prize for young IT.

These achievements helped Trung gain more confidence in entering the national excellent student team. In the 2023-2024 school year, he won the Encouragement Prize. Just one year later, in 2024-2025, Trung advanced one step further, winning the third national prize in Information Technology - an achievement that is not easy to achieve, especially for an ethnic minority student.

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Luu Tien Trung (second from left) takes a photo with his homeroom teacher and students who won national excellent student awards.

With that journey full of effort, Trung has just become one of the typical faces to be directly admitted to the Computer Science (IT1) department, Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

The homeroom teacher of the 12th grade IT class, Ha Dai Ton, commented: “Trung is a very hard-working student. Compared to many of his teammates, he is mature and active. In addition to studying, he also participates in sports and group activities. He has completed all assigned tasks excellently. Most importantly, Trung always has a progressive spirit and knows how to train himself to improve.”

Sweet fruit from determination and accompanying policies

According to the Board of Directors of Ha Long High School for the Gifted, Resolution 63/2021 of the People's Council of Quang Ninh province has created many practical support policies for the training of excellent students, especially in the period 2021-2026.

Principal Do Thi Dieu Thuy said: “This is a great source of encouragement, encouraging students to strive to study. For ethnic minority students, when they first enter specialized schools, there is often a certain gap in academic performance compared to their friends at the center. However, after only one semester, thanks to their own perseverance and the close supervision of teachers, that gap gradually narrowed, and many students rose up to achieve outstanding results.”

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Luu Tien Trung (second from left) with his homeroom teacher and students who won national excellent student awards during a practice hour.

In the 2024-2025 school year, the school recorded many outstanding results from the national to international levels. The university entrance rate of 12th graders was high, many of them were directly admitted to top universities in the country. Although the number of ethnic minority students admitted to Ha Long Specialized School each year is not large, the achievements are very impressive.

From a boy with a broken arm who still determinedly took the exam, Trung has proven that with determination, support from policies and dedication from teachers, students in disadvantaged areas can absolutely reach knowledge. That success is also a message: If you persevere and dare to dream, all doors will open.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/hanh-trinh-kien-cuong-tu-tai-nan-gay-tay-den-tam-ve-vao-thang-dai-hoc-bach-khoa-2438689.html