Mai Hoa: Journey from economics student to VNTM 2025 Champion

Overcoming many challenges in a journey that lasted for many months, Lai Mai Hoa, a female student majoring in Economics with an impressive height of 1.84m, officially became the Champion of Vietnam's Next Top Model season 9. Instead of bursting into emotions, her coronation moment was quite calm, a sign of maturity and determination for the long road ahead.

Mai Hoa shared: "For me, the Champion title is the result of a journey of overcoming myself. At that moment, I could only smile and feel relieved, as if I had just laid the first brick for the long road ahead."

Journey to conquer the highest throne

Despite her height and physique advantages, Mai Hoa admitted that she had a rough start. Entering the house with 14 other excellent contestants initially made her feel insecure and somewhat withdrawn.

"In the first episodes, I was quite 'nervous' because I felt I still had a lot to learn. The lack of confidence and the stressful work pace made it take me a while to adapt," she recalled. However, it was the frank comments from the judges that helped her gradually regain her form. Mai Hoa said she carefully recorded all comments to reflect on and change after each challenge.

Turning point from the judge's reminder

The real turning point for Mai Hoa came when she received a reminder from the judges: “Physical appearance is not enough, models must know how to tell stories with their eyes and body.” This statement awakened her, making her start to find ways to connect emotions with the lens and convey messages through each pose.

The photo shoot on the sand dunes was the most memorable moment, marking Mai Hoa's transformation. "For the first time, I truly relaxed, immersed myself in nature to 'live' in each frame. I knew what I needed to do to have the best expression and create photos with a story," she shared.

Career orientation: Intellectual model and future plans

As a student at the University of Economics - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Mai Hoa hopes to build the image of a knowledgeable and confident model. She plans to develop her studies and modeling career in parallel, believing that economic knowledge will support her professional fashion path.

Temporarily put aside beauty contests

In response to the encouragement about participating in beauty pageants, Mai Hoa said that she currently has no such intention. "There will be a suitable time for every journey. For now, I want to devote all my time and passion to developing my modeling career, proving that the Champion title is completely worthy," she affirmed.

Conquer the international stage

The trip to Paris with the Top 3 in the program has given Mai Hoa valuable experiences when interacting with the world's fashion capital and working with international crews. As the new Champion, she aims to make more efforts to perfect her skills, ready to conquer the big catwalks.

"I hope to leave a stronger impression as a professional model from Vietnam," Mai Hoa expressed her determination.