The bumpy road to university of a Thai female student

10 days after the official enrollment date, Xa Thi Hong Hau (12A1 class student - Provincial Boarding High School for Ethnic Minorities) just came from Lam Dong to Hanoi University of Pharmacy to complete the procedures. Because of this delay, a few days before, Hau called the school's Admissions Committee to request a postponement of the enrollment date. Knowing her situation, the school created conditions for Hau to postpone the enrollment date and did not forget to remind her "try your best to go to university, don't give up".

Xa Thi Hong Hau is a Thai ethnic student, born and raised in Lau village, Thanh Giam commune, Tuong Duong district. 3 years ago, with a rather modest score, Hau was lucky to pass the entrance exam.Boarding High School for Ethnic Minoritiesprovince. In the early days of school, Hau considered herself a "weak and bottom-ranked" student. In a group of students with good academic records, Hau was always an insecure female student with many inferiority complexes about her family background and her academic ability.

Students of Thi Hong Hau Commune while studying at the Provincial Ethnic Minority Boarding School. Photo: NVCC

Hau's progress began at the end of 10th grade when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out and Hau had to study online at home, instead of studying at school. This may sound paradoxical, but Hau has his own reasons to explain this: In class, there are many good students, so he is afraid to speak up and express himself in front of a crowd for fear of making mistakes. But when studying online, he boldly expressed his opinions.

Having gained confidence, Hau began to improve his studies from grade 11. To overcome his limitations, Hau often watched and did his homework in advance. Therefore, when he went to class, if the teacher had to teach a new lesson, he was no longer confused. In grade 12, while many of his classmates bought online learning packages, Hau mainly studied with teachers in class and "watched" for free online learning hours to study more because he had no money. Hau's efforts and hard work paid off when he scored nearly 26 points in the High School Graduation Exam and, combined with the priority points, he had many opportunities to be admitted to universities. Hau also boldly registered his first choice at Hanoi University of Pharmacy.

Difficulty in getting to the lecture hall

That was also Hau's dream school during his 3 years of high school, but instead of being happy, Hau was worried about "where to get money to go to university". Knowing his future, in early August, right after getting his high school graduation exam results, Hau was introduced by a close friend to work in Hanoi with the promise of "easy work, high salary". Unexpectedly, that was a trap that almost made him become a scammer and a multi-level marketer.

Telling more about this, Hau said: I was introduced by a friend to a boarding house in Hanoi and was asked to deposit 300,000 VND as a deposit for a job. There, there were many people working under the direction of a woman who was quite old. When she met me, this woman also said "don't go to university because after graduating you will only be an employee. But if you follow me, you will be the boss"...

Thi Hong Hau commune has enrolled in Hanoi University of Pharmacy. Photo: Van Anh

It sounds good, but looking at the scene of the boarding house and the people working there, Hau was skeptical about this company. When he looked it up online, he immediately read that this was a fraudulent multi-level marketing company. Fearing that many people would be in the same situation as him, Hau joined his group of friends to inform everyone to be careful. Unexpectedly, his close friend also read this information and took a screenshot and sent it to other people in the boarding house... From then on, Hau was strictly managed by the leader and restricted from using his phone. During the difficult time, Hau still tried to contact his family and then his sister from Lam Dong came to pick him up. The deposit to apply for a job at the company could not be recovered.

Being scammed the first time he set foot in Hanoi also made Hau more discouraged about his future. Following his sister to Lam Dong, Hau continued to receive advice not to go to university because he did not have money to study. Knowing that her family was in difficult circumstances (Hau's sister worked for hire), Hau followed her to work at a garden in Lam Dong. After that, she worked at a restaurant, the salary for a day's work was about 200,000 VND.

The time Hau went to Lam Dong was also when universities began to announce results and Hau knew that he had passed the entrance exam to Hanoi University of Pharmacy. Both happy and worried, Hau still worked every day to reassure his family. But at night, the desire to go to school urged him again. During those days filled with worries, he boldly texted teacher Nguyen Thi Kieu Hoa - Principal of the Provincial Boarding Ethnic High School to tell her about his situation and expressed his desire to go to university and asked for help from his teachers.

Xa Thi Hong Hau has enrolled at Hanoi University of Pharmacy but the conditions are still difficult.

Receiving messages from Hau and many other students, teacher Kieu Hoa had many emotions, because she loved her students but also did not know where to look for a large sum of money to send them to university. However, in times of difficulty, she often sent messages of encouragement to Hau to reassure him and try to prepare for university admission. At the same time, she also contacted benefactors and asked the local government to come to Hau's house in Tuong Duong to persuade Hau's parents to let Hau go to school. Hau himself, although knowing that going to university was extremely difficult, never blamed his parents, because he knew his family was poor, with a thatched house and mud walls, and not enough food to eat, where would he get the money to send his children to study in Hanoi. Hau's two older sisters, also because of poverty, had to leave their hometown to go to the South to work, and life was extremely difficult.

Because of her concern and love for her little student, teacher Kieu Hoa and her friends have been trying to convince Hau to enroll in school. Meanwhile, Hau has not been able to complete the contribution of more than 7 million VND and asked the school to delay the payment. Not to mention what Hau's future will be like when she still has many worries about books, living expenses and many other expensive expenses. Recently, through the group of artisans and the connection of some volunteers, Hau has also received help with tuition and some other expenses. However, in the current situation, her upcoming journey is still very difficult...

After going through the first days of school, being arduous and having received much love, Hau told herself to study hard, not to let down her teachers, family and those who helped her. This female student also plans to work part-time, will constantly strive to study well, get a scholarship to reduce some of the expenses... Her path to university has officially begun but the road ahead is not without difficulties.