The O Du boy writes about his dream of becoming a border guard.
Through his thirst for knowledge and efforts to escape poverty, Hai Au, a young man from the O Du Lo ethnic group, made a remarkable leap from an average student to achieving 28 points in the C00 subject combination in the 2024 High School Graduation Exam (Literature: 8.00, History: 9.50, Geography: 9.50), thereby opening the door to university admission.
Lo Hai Au is the youngest of two siblings in a disadvantaged family in Van Mon village, Nga My commune (Tuong Duong district). His parents are farmers, primarily earning their income from hired labor. Besides supporting the two siblings' education, they also care for their 102-year-old great-grandmother and 87-year-old grandmother. Poverty and hardship have plagued them, especially since Au's mother has suffered from chronic illness and underwent gallstone surgery in 2016. In recent years, due to his mother's hepatitis and poor health, Au's older brother had to drop out of school to work and earn money.
At 16, Hai Au entered the provincial boarding school through a direct admission program. Initially, he was very shy and hesitant to interact with his classmates. There, the number of times he visited home each year could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Compared to his classmates, Hai Au's academic performance was only average. "Thinking about my family's circumstances and feeling sorry for my hardworking parents, I constantly strived for academic excellence. I dreamed of entering university; only then could I escape poverty," Hai Au shared.
Knowing her academic abilities, Hai Au was always eager to improve and learn. She never hesitated to ask her teachers and classmates for answers to anything she didn't understand. Every time her teachers corrected her homework, Hai Au would take out her notebook and write down the key points she needed to remember. Not only that, she was the student who stayed up late and woke up early the most in the room to study.
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Hai Au said that, in addition to the kind help and guidance from his homeroom teacher, the student O Du and many other ethnic minority students also receive special attention and support from the school's administration, from meals and sleep to daily learning activities. The teachers at the school always treat the students like their own children, striving to create the best possible learning and living environment.
Ms. Dinh Thi Mung, homeroom teacher of class 12C2 at Nghe An Provincial Ethnic Boarding High School, said: “When the students entered 10th grade, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, and teachers and students had to teach online. It wasn't until 11th grade that we had more opportunities to talk and helped Hai Au clearly define her dreams. Hai Au is a special student from the O Du ethnic group, a region with a low starting point and families that pay little attention to their children's education. However, Hai Au possesses remarkable perseverance and a strong will to learn. She once shared her dream of studying hard to escape poverty in her village.”
“Previously, there were students from the O Du ethnic group in the school who passed the university entrance exam, but their scores weren't very high. This school year, however, three students from the class achieved high results in the high school graduation exam. Among them, Hai Au had the highest university entrance exam score in the C00 subject combination with 28 points, while the other two scored 25 points and 24.5 points respectively,” added Ms. Dinh Thi Mung.
Not only did Hai Au strive to overcome difficulties in her studies, but she also actively participated in extracurricular activities at school. She once represented her school in the Phu Dong Sports Festival at the provincial level. According to Hai Au, the majority of the inhabitants of Van Mon village, Nga My commune (Tuong Duong district) are O Du people. This is one of the smallest ethnic groups in the country. Due to difficult living conditions, after completing or even before finishing high school, many people pack their bags and move to cities or abroad to make a living. Therefore, the number of people attending university is very small. Hai Au's achievement of 28 points on the university entrance exam made the poor O Du village in Van Mon extremely proud. They were overjoyed because it had been a long time since someone had achieved such a high score for university admission.
Currently, Hai Au has returned to her normal life with her family, working in the fields with her parents. She said she will apply to the Border Guard Academy to pursue her dream of becoming a border guard officer, while also easing the financial burden on her family.
