Male student passed the 10th grade entrance exam at Nghe An Province Ethnic Boarding High School

This achievement of Thai Tu not only makes his family and school proud but also gives more confidence to many highland students on their journey to conquer knowledge.

On a scorching summer afternoon, we went to the dormitory for staff and teachers of Thach Giam Town Secondary School to meet the new valedictorian of the provincial Ethnic Boarding High School, Do Duc Thai Tu. The cramped room in the old dormitory has been home to Tu and her three children for many years.

Thai Tu said his father passed away when he was in 4th grade. His mother was a librarian at Thach Giam Town Secondary School. Her salary was small but she always tried her best to support her and her brother's education. Understanding her mother's hardships, he promised himself to study well and be successful so as not to let down his parents.

From grade 6 to grade 9, Thai Tu was an excellent student. Almost every year, he won first and second prizes in Math and English at the district and provincial levels. In grade 9, he also won first prize in Natural Science at the provincial level.

In the 10th grade entrance exam, Do Duc Thai Tu - a student of Thach Giam town Secondary School - excelled and became the valedictorian of Nghe An province's Ethnic Boarding High School, with impressive scores: Math 9, Literature 8.75 and English 9.25.

It is known that Thai Tu is passionate about natural sciences. When asked what is the secret to helping him achieve high scores, Tu said: "I always create for myself a way of learning by thinking instead of passively receiving knowledge. As for English, I try to grasp new words in class, only review them at home, and at the same time, actively participate in forums on social networks and make friends with foreigners who have the same interests to chat, thereby helping me to improve my speaking and writing skills."

Thai Tu shared that his dream is to become a natural science teacher and return to his village to help children study better. He believes that teaching is an honorable profession, a profession that is honored by the whole society, and therefore when choosing this profession, each person must cultivate many skills and perfect their knowledge base.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh - Math teacher at Thach Giam town secondary school said: “Tu is gentle, polite, hard-working, strong-willed and very eager to learn. He studies all subjects well, but excels most in natural sciences. When I learned that he was admitted to the provincial boarding high school for ethnic minorities as valedictorian, I was extremely happy. That achievement is a worthy reward for his efforts.”