Young soldier and his journey of overcoming difficulties to achieve the 4th highest score in block C nationwide

Notably, in the 2023 High School Graduation Exam, with 28.75 points, Chien was in the top 4 candidates with the highest C block exam scores in the country.

Special candidate

Le Van Chien was born in 2001 and is 22 years old this year. Taking the 2023 High School Graduation Exam at Minh Khai High School (Hanoi), Chien is probably one of the oldest candidates. During the 2 days of the exam, Chien took the exam dressed as a soldier and tried to make himself feel as comfortable as possible, even though he knew he was different from many people.

Sharing his story, Chien said: This is the second time I have taken the High School Graduation Exam and under completely different conditions. However, compared to the previous exam when I had to take 6 subjects, now I only have to take 3 subjects and it is much easier. In addition to Literature, the remaining two subjects are History and Geography. After completing the exam, I was able to grade myself and it was close to the announced results, with Literature score of 9.25, History 10 and Geography 9.5.

With his extremely high score, Chien is in the top 4 candidates with the highest C block score in the country and is equivalent to the C block score of the top student from Nghe An. Of the 3 subjects, Chien said that he was satisfied with History because he got a perfect score. His 9.5 score in Geography was within expectations. However, he felt a bit regretful about his Literature score because "my handwriting is a bit bad. If I had written nicely, I would have gotten a higher score."

With the results achieved, Chien said that he had been relieved of a huge burden. The first person Chien told the good news to was teacher Nguyen Thuy - who used to be his Literature teacher during his high school years at Dang Thuc Hua High School (Thanh Chuong). After that, because he was so happy, Chien called his teachers, his friends, and his acquaintances in his hometown. Chien's comrades, where he was stationed at a unit under the General Department of Technical Weapons, also shared this happiness with him.

Another person Chien wanted to tell was his grandmother, but she had been gone for more than 4 years. Although he could not speak to her directly, Chien knew that in a very far away place, she could smile. "I lived alone with my grandmother since I was little. She did not have a chance to study, she had a hard life, but she always wanted me to have a complete education and go to university. I always tried my best to fulfill her wishes," Chien added.

The will of a young soldier

Many years ago, Le Van Chien was apoor studentonce moved many readers when the article “The poor boy’s faith” was published in Nghe An Newspaper. At that time, Chien was 11 years old, only in 5th grade, skinny, weak, with skinny limbs and dark skin. Chien’s situation was pitiful, when he was only 6 months old, his parents divorced, each living in a different place, leaving Chien with his grandmother who was nearly 80 years old.

Living alone in a small house in Hamlet 2B, Ngoc Son Commune (Thanh Chuong), Chien and his grandmother had some days of hunger and some days of fullness thanks to the crabs and shrimps she caught in the fields. When she was 10 years old, her grandmother became weaker and weaker, Chien became the main laborer. Every day, in addition to going to school, in the afternoon, Chien went out to catch crabs and snails to supply to local restaurants. On days with high "income", Chien brought home about 60,000 VND, on days with low income, he only brought home about 20,000 VND. The life of the two grandmother and grandchild continued to pass in hardship, toil and poverty. During those difficult days, Chien thought many times about quitting school, but every time he felt stuck, his grandmother encouraged him, and the teachers at school shared and supported him.

After 12 years of high school, in addition to the school's Certificates of Merit, Chien was also the valedictorian of the district-level excellent student exam in Geography, and won an Encouragement Prize in Biology. In grade 12, Chien won third prize in the provincial excellent student exam in Geography.

In the 2021 high school graduation exam, Chien also scored 27.5 points in the Literature - History - Geography group and was one of the candidates with the highest score in the C block at Dang Thuc Hua High School. Unfortunately, this score was 1 point lower than the entrance standard score at the Political Officer School.

Putting aside his dream of going to university, Chien joined the army. In addition to his old clothes, his military luggage also included textbooks and all the notebooks he had studied during his 12th grade years at school.

Recalling the time in 2021, Chien added that, at that time, in addition to his first wish not passing, Chien had received notices to enter the University of Culture and Ho Chi Minh City University of Education. However, he knew his situation because at that time, Chien's grandmother had passed away, leaving him alone. When entering university, Chien did not know where to find tuition, food, and accommodation: His goal was a military school because it suited his circumstances. Moreover, he also wanted to train himself to become an officer in the army.

When he joined the army, Chien also left behind many unfinished plans. Among them, there was a Youtube channel with more than 200,000 followers that he built himself during his high school years and had been awarded a silver button. This was also his main source of income after his grandmother passed away and raised him until he finished grade 12. In return, the days in the army and stationed more than 300km away from home were the times when Chien felt most comfortable and happiest because besides training, he seemed to not have to worry about food, clothing, rice, or money.

The rest of the time, Chien devoted all his heart to reviewing for the High School Graduation Exam with the determination to pass the university entrance exam. After two years of persistent review, the happy season came to Chien when atHigh school graduation exam 2023, I was in the top 4 candidates with the highest C block exam scores in the country.

With this result, Chien is aiming to enter the Border Guard Academy and hopes that his dream will come true. Accompanying Chien during the past time, his teachers, friends and teammates were very happy.

Teacher Nguyen Thuy - his literature teacher at Dang Thuc Hua High School, now Vice Principal of Thanh Chuong 3 High School said: When I received his results, besides happiness and love, I also really admired him. Chien is a very determined student. Over the years, despite difficulties, he never gave up his dream and tried to study hard. His determination is a shining example for poor students and I believe that with the will and determination of a young soldier, he will be even more successful in the upcoming journey.