The story of a Nghe An male student who won 4 medals at the regional and international Informatics Olympiad

Not afraid of challenges

In mid-August, Truong Van Quoc Bao (12A1 student of Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted) just brought home a Silver Medal from the International Olympiad in Informatics. In 2 years of study, this is the second time Bao has brought home this precious medal for Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted and the provincial education sector. Previously, Bao also won a Gold Medal for 2 consecutive years at the Asia-Pacific Olympiad in Informatics. This result also contributed to the Vietnamese team ranking 9th out of 89 countries and territories.

Talking about the Silver Medal this year, Bao said he was quite satisfied with this result because he finally brought achievements to the country. However, for his teachers and friends, Bao's Silver Medal brought with it many regrets.

The joy of teachers and students of Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted on the day of welcoming student Truong Van Quoc Bao, who won the Silver Medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics. Photo: My Ha

Previously, after winning Gold and Silver medals at the regional and international Olympic competitions in grade 11, Bao had two choices. One was to be specially selected for the second round to select the national team to participate in the 2022 competitions. The second, easier choice was to be satisfied with the results achieved and enter a light grade 12 year because he would be exempted from the high school graduation exams and be directly admitted to university.

But because of his passion for IT and the desire to once again bring glory to the school, Bao chose the difficult path of continuing to take part in the 2022 exams.

Choosing this path, Bao also determined to try his best. Therefore, right after participating in the Asian Informatics Olympiad, Truong Van Quoc Bao won the Gold Medal and was the Top scorer of the Vietnamese Team. Before coming to the International Informatics Olympiad, he was also the Top scorer of the Vietnamese International Team thanks to having the highest score in the qualifying round to select the team.

This favorable start helped Bao gain more confidence when he entered the official exam. As expected, on the first day of the exam, after 5 hours of taking the test, Bao became the candidate with the highest score of the Vietnam Team with 225/300 points, much higher than the second candidate. However, on the last day of the exam, due to an unfortunate incident, Bao's result did not meet expectations.

Truong Van Quoc Bao and the head teacher of the IT Team. Photo: My Ha

Teacher Cao Thi Lan Thanh - Vice Principal of Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted and also the head of the school's IT Team shared: When we learned about Bao's results, all the teachers and team members were surprised because with Bao's ability, he could have done even better. However, I believe that this will be an experience for Bao to grow further in the upcoming journey. As for me, I feel really lucky to have met a student like Bao in my teaching career.

Pressure and competition

In addition to 4 Gold and Silver Medals, Bao also has a rich collection of awards, having won First Prize in the National Excellent Student Competition, First Prize in the Young Informatics Competition, Second Prize in the National Young Informatics Competition, Gold Medal in the Excellent Informatics Competition for Coastal Students and First Prize in the Student Informatics Olympiad for high school students.

Participating in these competitions and continuously achieving high prizes is also a way for Truong Van Quoc Bao to challenge himself and gain more experience. Bao also said: I like the feeling of winning and therefore, in all the competitions I have participated in, I have tried my best, turning pressure into motivation to try.

Although he is new to Computer Science, Truong Van Quoc Bao has brought home many achievements for himself and his school in many regional and international competitions. Photo: My Ha

Truong Van Quoc Bao is the youngest son in a family of 3 sisters and the only son. Bao's mother said that because Bao was born quite far from his 2 older sisters, when Bao was born, he received a lot of love and care from his family.

Growing up in a fairly favorable environment, Bao did not rely on it. On the contrary, from a young age, Bao showed intelligence, a love of learning, and a talent for natural subjects. What makes Bao different from many of his peers is that he finds learning a joy. Therefore, since primary school, just for Math, Bao's mother had to ask for him to study with 3 different teachers "if any teacher did not teach advanced or taught too easy, Bao would ask his mother to change teachers" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, Bao's mother, recounted.

Not only is Bao studious, he also likes to participate in competitions. Therefore, since his junior high school years, Bao won the first prize for excellent students in Vinh city and continuously participated in many competitions to show his abilities.

In 2021, Truong Van Quoc Bao (second from right) was awarded the Third Class Labor Medal after winning a Silver Medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics. In the photo: President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and former Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan presented the Labor Medal and took a souvenir photo with students who won international prizes. Photo: GDTĐ

During the 12 years of high school, my mother was the one who accompanied Bao through many competitions and witnessed all the pressures, difficulties and hardships that Bao had to overcome. Even at the International Olympiad in Informatics, she was the first person to see Bao's tears after the second day of the exam when Bao learned that he did not do as expected.

Staying by her son’s side for months of studying for the exam in Hanoi, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Van added: “Although Bao did not say it, he was under a lot of pressure for this exam. After the first day of the exam, Bao had a headache and was stressed, and the family had to invite a doctor to come and examine him to relieve some of his stress. Perhaps because of that, Bao was not in the best shape on the last day of the exam.”

Having gone through many exams, there may be successes or failures, but for Bao, each exam has its own meaning and is an opportunity for him to experience his own limits. For example, when taking the entrance exam to Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, being a good student in Math, Bao will take the exam for the Math specialized class. But in an unexpected turn, Bao listened to the advice of his mother and teachers, he registered for the IT specialized class and after only a short time studying, he became more and more passionate about exploring this subject.

Talking about the exams that Bao has gone through, the owner of 2 Silver Medals at the International Olympiad in Informatics also said: I think every exam has pressure, but I have turned the pressure into motivation, a goal to strive for myself. More importantly, after each exam, I feel that I have matured a lot, gained experience and know where I stand in the international arena. Not every exam is smooth and easy, so I always prepare myself mentally to do the test more smoothly or to be less sad and regretful"...

Truong Van Quoc Bao and his family at the award ceremony for the student who won the Silver Medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics. Photo: My Ha

With a passion for Information Technology, Bao determined that this would be his future path. Therefore, Bao has currently enrolled in the Computer Science major at the University of Technology - Vietnam National University, Hanoi and he believes that this will be a major that will have "long-term application in the future and I will have many opportunities to develop".

With his own efforts, in 2021, at the age of 17, Truong Van Quoc Bao was also honored to receive the Third Class Labor Medal from the President. That pride will further motivate Bao to reach further and improve himself in his journey to conquer knowledge...