The orphaned boy was accepted into two prestigious universities simultaneously.

(Baonghean)Despite his impoverished family background and the early death of his father, Nguyen Huu Tuan from Hamlet 6, Quynh Van (Quynh Luu district) overcame difficulties to pass the entrance exams for two universities simultaneously with the same score of 26.

Small, thin, with an intelligent face and a calm manner of speaking—these were our first impressions when we met Nguyen Huu Tuan (Class 12 A1, Quynh Luu 2 High School).

As the fourth child in a family of six siblings from a farming background, Tuan's family faced immense hardship. When Tuan was in seventh grade, tragedy struck: his father contracted liver disease and was hospitalized for months before passing away. His father's death plunged Tuan and his mother and siblings into even greater poverty and hardship. His three older siblings, having just finished ninth grade, had to drop out of school and go south to work as laborers.

Tuan helps his mother with household chores.

For the past two years, due to hard work, Mrs. Luan (Tuan's mother) has often been ill. Besides farming, Mrs. Luan usually goes to the market to sell goods, and sometimes works as a bricklayer to earn money to support her children. Feeling sorry for his mother's hardship, Tuan vowed to study hard and escape poverty. Since his older siblings went to work far away, in addition to school, Tuan often helps his mother with farming, housework, and tutoring his youngest sister. On Sundays, Tuan also works as a bricklayer to earn money for extra books and supplies. Throughout his 12 years of schooling, Tuan has always been an excellent and outstanding student. Not only that, he also won second prize in the provincial-level Chemistry competition for 12th graders and third prize in the provincial-level Physics Olympiad for 11th graders.

Dreaming of becoming a doctor, Tuan applied to the Military Medical Academy and Hanoi University of Pharmacy. When the results came out, Tuan and his mother were overjoyed, shedding tears of happiness because he was accepted into both schools. However, Tuan will attend the Military Medical Academy because the government will cover his tuition and living expenses, thus easing his mother's burden. "Luckily he got into a military school; if he had gotten into another school, he would probably have had to drop out. With my health issues, it would be difficult for me to support him through university," Mrs. Luan explained.

With the start of the school year fast approaching, Tuan shared: "I will try my best to study well so that I can graduate with honors, because in a military environment, I can't work part-time."

Duy Ngoi