Vietnamese male student wins 7 billion scholarship with essay about lottery ticket sellers

Long returned to his childhood with the memory of catching the eyes of a girl selling lottery tickets in front of the school gate to write an essay to send to New York University, Abu Dhabi campus.

Nguyen Hoang Long (grade 12 Chemistry, Gifted High School - Ho Chi Minh City National University) has just been awarded a scholarship of 78,000 USD per year for 4 years of study (equivalent to nearly 7 billion VND) by New York University, Abu Dhabi branch in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"The thing that troubled me the most during this scholarship hunting process was finding the most convincing topic for my essay. I came up with dozens of ideas, drafted many times, and then decided to transform into a primary school boy who had memories of a poor girl selling lottery tickets in front of the school gate," Long said about the time he applied for the scholarship in the middle of last year.

Nguyen Hoang Long is preparing for the second semester and national high school exams before his study abroad trip at the end of this year. Photo: Manh Tung.

At the beginning of the essay, Long talked about the feeling of dizziness and heart pounding every time he saw the ragged lottery ticket seller standing in the cold rain. The girl was skinny, her hair was loose, wandering around the streets of Saigon but her eyes were as bright as flowers.

"It's not that I feel sorry for them, but for my own helplessness," Long wrote. In his innocent thoughts, the boy once hoped that his small savings could help poor people like her replace their old, tattered clothes.

In his 600-word essay, Long focuses on experiencing life through the eyes. He believes that eyes are a pair of colored mirrors that are shattered after each experience, or meeting someone. The broken pieces can then rearrange themselves into a mosaic of different colors.

Long described his mother's eyes as hazel, with jet-black irises and gray rims - always reminding him of distant planets. Then he discovered that his eyes resembled his mother's and felt happy to connect with her world.

However, the boy found it difficult to connect with poor people like the lottery ticket girl through his eyes. "Every time I saw a poor person, I immediately turned away to avoid my own guilt. I felt as if I had an infectious disease, as if there was a parasite wriggling under my skin," Long expressed in his essay.

Then one day, the boy mustered up the courage to walk up to her, took a deep breath and smiled. They chatted happily with joy in their eyes. The elementary school boy felt like he was connected to a strange world.

Long believes that no matter what circumstances we grow up in, how bitter or indifferent the world around us is, each person is faced with a decision: either endure that painful gaze and still be able to turn away, or take a deep breath, with courage and love to reach out to those in need.

"I choose the second way, when I look into those eyes and all the other eyes I will meet for the rest of my life," Long concluded his essay.

The chemistry student confided that the impression of the ticket seller's eyes made him live more slowly, wanting to share with the difficult circumstances around him. Long participated in many charity programs of different organizations, traveling to many places such as Ly Son, Sa Pa, Da Nang, Dong Nai.

Nguyen Hoang Long (third from right) on a charity trip in the West. Photo: HL

His joy is teaching English and Math to poor children, repainting old schools and building new playgrounds for them. These experiences were shared by Long in his introduction to New York University.

At the same time, the male student also took the SAT, ACT, TOEFL exams... with good results to complete the scholarship application. Although he is a student majoring in Chemistry, Long's best subject is English. "I mainly self-study by reading many books to improve my vocabulary, grammar and expression," Long said.

According to Long's research, New York University pays much attention to the candidate's ability, education and social activities. Therefore, he believes that instead of participating in many social activities in a "show-off" manner to make their record look better, scholarship "hunters" should focus on the quality of each activity.

"Every time I participate in an activity, I try to talk more with people to understand life better and have empathy," the male student said.

Long's father is a doctor, his mother is a housewife, and the family has two brothers. Following the example of his older brother - who studied at a Gifted High School and won a scholarship to New York University - Long started his scholarship hunting campaign in the middle of last year. He sent his application to 17 universities, mainly in the US, and was accepted by more than half of them.

In February, Long was sponsored by New York University to visit its Abu Dhabi campus in the UAE. He experienced the excellent facilities there and talked with professors and students from all over the world.

"Since 6th grade, when I saw my brother preparing to study abroad, I nurtured this dream and now it has come true," he smiled.

Long visited New York University, Abu Dhabi campus in the UAE. Photo: HL

Upon hearing the news that her son won a scholarship to an American university, Ms. Duong Thi Huynh Nhu (Long's mother) said she was "both happy and a little sad" but quite reassured about Long's upcoming study abroad trip.

"Long is a quiet child, quite independent in thinking. His academic performance since childhood has not been outstanding compared to his peers," she commented.

Mrs. Nhu shared that with each milestone at the end of the year, her youngest son had a breakthrough that she previously did not have much faith in.

"When Long was in 5th grade, I was very worried. I didn't know how he passed the entrance exam to Tran Dai Nghia High School, but in the end, he did. Then at the end of middle school, I also saw little hope that he would get into the Gifted High School, but in the end, he got good grades," Mrs. Nhu said, adding that what she was most proud of about her son was his independence and maturity.

According to VNE