Poor female student is national karate champion, excellent student in IT at province, passed Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics

Nữ sinh luyện võ kiếm tiền ăn học, đậu Đại học Kinh tế TP.HCM - Ảnh 1. — *New student Nguyen Do Nhu Hang in the self-study area at Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics on the afternoon of November 11 - Photo: TRAN HUYNH*

With the achievement of winning 3rd prize in the IT subject in the provincial 12th grade excellent student selection exam for the 2022-2023 school year, along with the high school study results of all subjects in the A00 group (math - physics - chemistry) above 8 points, Nguyen Do Nhu Hang (IT student at Tran Hung Dao High School for the Gifted, Binh Thuan province) was admitted to the business accounting major at Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics.

Practice martial arts, become a karate master to earn money for school

Since the summer when Hang was in 5th grade, her mother had an accident and could not work. At that time, Hang went to work as a waitress at a restaurant for an acquaintance. Every day, she set up tables and chairs, then ran errands and washed dishes until about 2 p.m.

“Working as a restaurant assistant was paid 20,000 VND/day. I worked for 3 months during the summer to help my mother. After that, I planned to continue working as an assistant at the restaurant, but if I did, I would have to quit school. I still wanted to go to school, so I quit my job. Luckily, my teachers at school helped me and gave me money to pay for my tuition,” Hang said.

What surprised and impressed many people more was the way she chose to practice martial arts to earn money to pay for her own education. In the small charity house in Xuan An ward, Phan Thiet city (Binh Thuan province), Hang’s most valuable “assets” were her academic achievements and karate medals and trophies.

“Hang loves martial arts. For many years now, she has been coming to the gym regularly to practice martial arts. She practiced diligently and was good at martial arts, so she became a karate athlete in the province and received a monthly allowance to cover her tuition.

After martial arts practice, she didn’t rest for long before going to school. She often competed in the provinces, and there was a 10-day martial arts competition in the North. I thought she wouldn’t be able to take the exams anymore… But she still passed the university entrance exam,” Hang’s grandmother was proud of her granddaughter.

Hang said that when she was in 7th grade, she was fascinated by martial arts matches on TV, so she rode her bike to the provincial gymnasium to ask to learn karate. Every evening, Hang regularly spends about 2 hours practicing martial arts. If she practices every day of the week, she will receive about 5 million VND/month in support, but because she is busy with school, she can only practice a few times a week.

“Thanks to the martial arts training, I have been able to take care of myself and pay for my school fees since 8th grade. Whenever I have any money left over, I send some to my mother. Every time I go to compete in a tournament outside the province, there are times when I go for more than half a month, but it mainly happens during the summer so it doesn’t affect my studies.

Because I participated in martial arts training and competitions in many places, I had to study math and chemistry. But thanks to the teachers who always encouraged me, taught me free of charge and created conditions for me to participate in competitions in the provinces, my academic results were still good,” Hang shared.

Nữ sinh luyện võ kiếm tiền ăn học, đậu Đại học Kinh tế TP.HCM - Ảnh 3. — *Female athlete Nguyen Do Nhu Hang won first prize at the 3rd Phu Yen Provincial Open Karate Clubs Tournament in 2020 - Photo: NVCC*

National female karate champion burdened with university tuition fees

Having been with his students for more than 6 years, Mr. Duong Ngoc Son - a karate coach in Binh Thuan province - is no stranger to the gentle, polite, and hard-working personality of national karate champion Nguyen Do Nhu Hang.

Watching Hang in the amateur karate class, Mr. Son discovered that she had the talent to compete, so he recruited her into the province's gifted class. Here, the female athlete continued to strive to compete and achieved many impressive results.

“Having a difficult family situation sometimes hinders Hang’s training and competition. But she is very persistent in her training. And the sweet fruit came in 2022, Hang won a bronze medal at the National Karate Club Championship.

This is the premise for Hang to officially become a provincial karate athlete, adding conditions to compete, maintaining a source of income to cover living expenses and future studies. Hang is both a sports athlete with a good mindset and maintaining high achievements in a specialized school, which is a rare case," Mr. Son commented.

Nữ sinh luyện võ kiếm tiền ăn học, đậu Đại học Kinh tế TP.HCM - Ảnh 5. — *Female student Nguyen Do Nhu Hang with the certificate of third prize in the provincial exam for excellent 12th grade high school students - Photo: NVCC*

But now the female grandmaster is worried that her contract with the Binh Thuan province karate team is about to end and has now moved to Ho Chi Minh City to study at university, so it is not known whether she can still practice martial arts to continue receiving her monthly salary or not.

“No one in my family has a good education, so I try my best to study. I want to continue my education so that I can earn money to take care of my mother and grandmother. I am trying to find a job that is suitable for my studies to earn money to support my life, but I am still worried that I cannot afford the tuition fees for several years of university. My mother is already suffering too much, and she certainly cannot afford to pay for my university education,” Hang pursed her lips, wiping away the tears rolling down her cheeks.

Never knew his father, poor, still an excellent student in the province

Born without knowing her father, Hang felt that her mother had worked hard all her life to raise 4 siblings in the family. Life was difficult, her mother often worked far away, so Hang lived with her grandmother Dang Thi Thuong (72 years old) in a charity house supported by the locality.

Fearing that her family's difficult circumstances would prevent her from going to school, Hang confided in her mother and grandmother many times that her greatest wish was to go to school. Since elementary school, Hang's mother often took her to the market to sell fish and shrimp.

“Whenever anyone mentioned not letting her go to school anymore and stay home to help her grandmother and mother, Hang would cry. She often said she would try to study well to support her mother. She would not suffer like her mother sitting in the sun,” said her grandmother Thuong.

For a long time, Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan Hoa (47 years old, Hang's mother) has been doing whatever job anyone hired her to do: working at a restaurant, washing dishes, selling coffee...

She is unmarried and struggles to make a living alone, unable to afford to send her children to school. Her two eldest sons both dropped out of school early.

Meanwhile, Hang studies very well, is admitted to a specialized school, and wins third prize in information technology in the provincial exam for excellent 12th grade students in the 2022-2023 school year.

She understood her daughter's thinking, only by going to school could she escape the family's poverty.

“Now, looking at the tuition fee of more than 30 million VND/year, and hearing that it will be higher in the following years, I am a bit shocked. The amount of money for each semester is too much, I really cannot afford it. The other day, the parents of an athlete in the same karate club knew about Hang's difficult situation, so they lent her 15 million VND to complete the admission procedures,” said Ms. Hoa.

Nữ sinh luyện võ kiếm tiền ăn học, đậu Đại học Kinh tế TP.HCM - Ảnh 2. — *Ms. Dang Thi Thuong with her granddaughter's academic certificates and karate medals - Photo: DUC TRONG*

The female student rarely reveals about her family situation.

Mr. Huynh Le Tri - Hang's homeroom teacher at Tran Hung Dao High School for the Gifted (Binh Thuan) - said of his student: "Hang is an enthusiastic student, actively participating in all school activities. Despite her difficult family circumstances, she never asks anyone for help but still quietly struggles alone.

Once I called her to ask why she was late in paying her tuition. She asked me to wait a few more days until she got her salary. Only then did I know that she used the money from martial arts training to pay for her tuition and her education. She rarely revealed her family situation but quietly practiced martial arts to help pay for her schoolwork.

Awarding 128 scholarships to new students in the Southeast region

On November 17, the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union and Tuoi Tre newspaper awarded scholarships and summarized the 2024 School Support Program and 36 years of the "For a Developing Tomorrow" program in Ho Chi Minh City.

Of the 231 scholarships awarded tonight, 128 are for new students in the Southeast region (Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Tay Ninh, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Ho Chi Minh City). The remaining 103 are for new students from other provinces studying in Ho Chi Minh City who have not had the opportunity to attend the award ceremony in their hometown.

128 scholarships in the Southeast region worth over 2 billion VND. Each scholarship is 15 million VND and 4 special scholarships (50 million VND/4 years). The total funding is sponsored by the German-Vietnamese Mutual Aid and Cooperation Association, Professor Phan Luong Cam (wife of the late Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet), Mr. Duong Thai Son and friends, Vinacam Education Promotion Fund (Vinacam Group Joint Stock Company), "Accompanying Farmers" Fund (Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company), Dai-ichi Life Vietnam Company, Ho Chi Minh City Union of Trading Cooperatives (Saigon Co.op), Hoang Kim Joint Stock Company.

There was also sharing from Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and the following universities: Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, University of Finance - Marketing, Saigon University, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Pedagogy, and two member schools of Ho Chi Minh City National University (Economics - Law, Information Technology) and readers of Tuoi Tre newspaper.

Nestlé Vietnam Co., Ltd. donated backpacks to new students, Vinacam Scholarship Fund sponsored 13 laptops to new students with special difficulties who lack learning equipment, and the Vietnam - USA Society English System donated 20 IELTS test preparation courses to new students studying in Ho Chi Minh City.

We invite you to join us in School Support.

Tuoi Tre newspaper's 2024 School Support Program launched on August 8, expected to award 1,100 scholarships with a total cost of more than 20 billion VND (15 million VND for new students with difficulties, 20 special scholarships worth 50 million VND/scholarship for 4 years of study and learning equipment, gifts...).

With the motto "No young person can go to university due to poverty", "If new students encounter difficulties, Tuoi Tre is there" - as a commitment to support new students in the past 20 years of Tuoi Tre .

The program received contributions and support from the "Accompanying Farmers" Fund - Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company, Vinacam Education Promotion Fund - Vinacam Group Joint Stock Company and the clubs "Nghia Tinh Quang Tri", "Nghia Tinh Phu Yen"; the clubs "Supporting School" Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam - Da Nang, Tien Giang - Ben Tre, Quang Ngai and the Tien Giang - Ben Tre Business Association in Ho Chi Minh City, the German - Vietnamese Mutual Aid and Cooperation Association (VSW), Nam Long Company, Nestlé Vietnam Co., Ltd. ... along with businesses, philanthropists and a large number of readers of Tuoi Tre newspaper.