Female student of Polytechnic earns her own money to go to school and has remarkable achievements

Since her second year of university, this female student has been able to pay for her tuition of 60 million VND/year and her monthly living expenses. She recently received the 2023 Vietnam Female Science and Technology Student Award. What is her secret to working part-time and studying well?

Portrait of a hard-working, talented, studious female student

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Passion for scientific research

That is the story of Vo Le Thao Vy, a student majoring in food technology at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. Thao Vy has a strong passion for scientific research, especially in the field of food. Vy shared: "I want to research foods that are safe for health but have reasonable prices that everyone can use. Therefore, although my family oriented me to become a teacher or doctor, I chose the food field."

After more than 3 years of working in the field and laboratory, Vy has participated in many projects. Among them, there are 2 outstanding projects: extraction method using natural solvents (NADES) combined with ultrasonic wave support to increase the efficiency of recovering bioactive substances and weight loss cake from coconut jelly powder.

Regarding the extraction method using natural solvents, Vy shared: "Instead of using the traditional extraction method, using toxic solvents, we replace it with environmentally friendly methods, which are edible, but cheap and easy to find, such as: from mangosteen peel or fruit pulp. And after extraction, those solvents can be kept intact and added directly to food."

Vy (3rd from right) and her team at the Teach Planter competition

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Thanks to these outstanding advantages, this project has been granted intellectual property for useful solutions and has had articles published in Q.1 international scientific journals.

Regarding the project of making cakes to support weight loss from coconut jelly powder, Vy said: "Instead of making cakes from wheat flour, I use coconut jelly powder. Thanks to that, the product has low calories but higher fiber content than normal cakes."

Vy said: "There was a day when I entered the lab at 6:15, when the school had just opened, and I didn't leave until 8:00 p.m., so I only had time to eat one meal. I was quite worried about having to constantly come into contact with toxic chemicals. However, this is the field I chose, so I have to try hard."

Thanks to those efforts, Vy recently received the 2023 Vietnamese Female Science and Technology Student Award in the field of chemical engineering technology. This is an award given annually by the Central Youth Union to female students with outstanding achievements in the field of science and technology. This award marked a milestone in her learning process.

Unable to hide her happiness, Vy shared: "Ever since I was a second-year student, I have known and learned about this award. It is one of the goals that I am aiming for and I am very happy because this is the result of a period of effort."

Work a lot but still have impressive academic performance

Not only is Vy a good student, she is also a hard-working and diligent girl. During the day, she goes to school and at night she works as a tutor. Currently, she teaches 4 classes of students, with a full schedule all week. Vy said: "I really like seeing my friends traveling, but I don't have time. During the day, I go to school and the lab, and at night I work as a tutor. I also teach on Saturdays and Sundays."

Thanks to her diligence and hard work, the salary from her part-time job and the scholarship help Vy pay for her tuition and living expenses every month without having to ask her family for money. "My parents only provided money for me to go to school in the first year. From the second year onwards, I took care of myself because my parents also wanted me to be independent. And thanks to working part-time and being exposed to reality, I learned a lot of things," Vy said.

Vy (middle) wants to research clean, safe and reasonably priced foods so that everyone can use them.

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There is almost no free time during the week, so Vy rarely has any dates to hang out with friends. When asked when she studies with such a busy work and school schedule, Vy said: "After teaching at night, I eat and study until late at night. If I am too tired and go to bed early, I wake up at 4am the next morning to study."

‏However, this female student still maintains admirable academic achievements, Vy's current cumulative average score is 9.0/10, and she has won many titles and scholarships. Talking about her study secrets, Vy shared: "I take full notes of everything the teachers teach in class because writing by hand will help me remember longer. In addition, I also spend time reading and preparing lessons at home, so it's easier to absorb in class." ‏

Vy admitted that there were times when she felt pressured because the curriculum was quite heavy and difficult, but thanks to that, she was able to progress. Sharing about her future plans, this female student said: "After graduating, I hope to work in a multinational corporation. Then I will study an additional major in economic management to make it easier for my long-term work in the future."

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Dinh Quan, lecturer of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Head of the Biofuel and Biomass Laboratory, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, commented: "Through the process of teaching and guiding Vy in the laboratory, I realized that she is a very energetic and intelligent student. In particular, Vy is very diligent and always tries hard, so her contributions are remarkable. Vy participates in the process of writing articles published in international scientific journals, directly conducts research, reads documents to come up with technical implementation directions. To achieve such achievements, Vy herself must work very hard."

Thanhnien.vn