3 Nghe An female students win Russian Olympic scholarships

Vo Nhat Mai: "Winning a scholarship to study abroad in Russia was my goal at the age of 18"

Vo Nhat Mai (2001) class 12C6, Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. Photo: NVCC

Participating in the Russian Olympic competition, Vo Nhat Mai (2001), class 12C6, Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, had to go through 2 days of intense listening, speaking, reading, and writing tests in Hanoi to win a full scholarship from Russia for high school students.

Recalling her 3 years of studying Russian, Nhat Mai said that when she first entered the school, Russian was just a subject, a specialized subject in class. But later, thanks to her homeroom teacher's "fire", she loved Russian more and more, and wanted to learn more about the customs and culture of the land of the White Birch.

Nhat Mai's love for Russia became deeper when she was one of four Vietnamese contestants to participate in the 15th International Russian Olympiad held in Moscow, Russia in December 2017. Although she did not win any prizes, the trip left a deep impression on the Phan school student. Nhat Mai cannot forget the feelings when coming to this beautiful country and its lovely people.

This is what motivated Nhat Mai to study Russian more and find competitions with scholarships to Russia. When she learned about the competition, she registered to compete with the goal of winning a scholarship to study in the famous White Birch country. “I am very happy to have achieved my goal before the age of 18. The road ahead is still long and quite difficult, but I am ready to face it,” said Nhat Mai.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Thanh: "Winning a scholarship helps me become more confident"

Nguyen Thi Thanh Thanh (2001) is a student in Russian specialized class 12C6. Photo: NVCC

Admitting that she is a shy and quiet person, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thanh (2001), a student of the Russian specialized class 12C6, Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, could not hide her joy when she became one of the few high school students to receive a full scholarship to universities in the Russian Federation. "It took me more than a week to believe that I had won this dream scholarship," Thanh Thanh confided.

Loving Russia from its nature to its people, Thanh Thanh registered for the Russian specialized class at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted to learn more about the land of the White Birch. “Learning Russian is not easy. Especially the Russian grammar is very difficult. Sometimes I think back, if I didn’t love Russian, I probably wouldn’t have been able to overcome the difficulties in the process of conquering this language,” Thanh Thanh said.

Being shy and lacking in confidence, Thanh Thanh was initially hesitant to register for the Olympiad, but thanks to the encouragement of her homeroom teacher and mother, she decided to register to try her hand. After 1 month of reviewing the types of questions, Thanh Thanh confidently participated in the 2019 Math Olympiad at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted (Da Nang). The reward for Thanh's tireless efforts was a full scholarship to the land of the White Birch.

“Until now, I still feel elated when I remember the moment I heard that I won the scholarship. Because this is the first time I have achieved such a high result in a competition. For me, winning the scholarship is a turning point that helps me become more confident to be able to overcome my own comfort zone,” Thanh Thanh confided.

Nguyen Thi Nhu Quynh: "Love for Russia helps me determined to win a scholarship"

Nguyen Thi Nhu Quynh and her father. Photo: NVCC

The third outstanding student who won a full scholarship to study abroad in Russia is a little more special than the other two: Nguyen Thi Nhu Quynh (2001). Quynh is not a student majoring in Russian but majoring in Physics at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted.

Talking about the decision to find and apply for a scholarship to study in Russia instead of other countries, Quynh said the reason was simple: she loves Russia very much. Since childhood, Quynh has lived with her grandfather, who received a scholarship to study in the Soviet Union. Listening to his stories and memories of studying abroad made Quynh love this vast country located between Europe and Asia even more. Not only her grandfather, Quynh's father, a Physics teacher, also loves Russia very much.

“My father often told me about Russia’s achievements in Physics even though he had never been here. My grandfather and father were the two people who passed on the love for Russia to me. When I heard about the 2019 Mathematical Olympiad at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted (Da Nang) with the prize of a full scholarship, I immediately registered,” Quynh confided.

From the time she learned about the contest until the time of the competition, Quynh said she only had about 2 months to review. Although she did not have much time, with the mindset of "hard work makes luck", student Nhu Quynh surpassed many other students to win a scholarship to study in the land of the White Birch. "When I received the email from the Organizing Committee, I was extremely happy and immediately told my grandfather and parents. My grandfather was very happy and although my father did not say much, I know he was very proud of me," Quynh recalled.

Currently, Quynh is urgently learning Russian to prepare for her journey of discovery and study in Russia next semester. “I know I will have to try very hard, but I believe that as long as I work hard, luck will smile on me. I believe I can do it,” Quynh confided.

The Russian Language, Physics, Mathematics and Informatics Olympiads are jointly organized annually by the Russian Federal Cooperation Agency, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training, the Union of Leading Technical Universities of Russia, and the Russian Center for Science and Culture.