Vietnamese female student receives US President's certificate of merit four times

Le Ngoc Tuong Van (born 1995) – a student at Harvard University, has an impressive record of having received scholarships from 7 prestigious universities in the US and received 4 certificates of merit from President Obama. In particular, Van also founded community projects that attracted many young people to participate.

Vietnamese students on IM Venture's cross-Vietnam journey experience and explore their homeland. Photo: NVCC.

Shine in a foreign land

In the Vietnamese international student community, Le Ngoc Tuong Van is a prominent face for her determination and dynamism. Van had a dream of studying abroad early on and convinced her parents to let her and her brother go to the US in 2007. In the first days in a foreign country, 12-year-old Van with limited English skills had to face language and cultural barriers... and constant homesickness. "I was very sad and shocked when I couldn't talk to anyone, didn't understand what people were talking about around me," she shared. However, the biggest difficulty for Van was living independently. "I had to find information myself instead of having my parents worry and guide me before. Instead of listening to teachings, I had to find my own lessons," she said.

Determined to overcome difficulties, Van constantly strived to study and get used to an independent life. Instead of going to centers, she went online to find test papers, practice doing exercises and borrow books from the library to look up and supplement her knowledge. During her years from grade 7 to 12, Van continuously achieved the title of "excellent all-round student"; was honored to receive certificates of merit from US President Obama three times, and certificates of merit from the Governor of Florida. Notably, Van completed her high school program with impressive scores (graduation score of 3.93/4; SAT score of 2,310/2,400 and TOEFL score of 118/120) and was awarded full scholarships by 7 prestigious universities in the US: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Emory University, University of California at Berkeley. In addition, Van "pocketed" many first prizes in regional and national social argumentative essay writing competitions; second prizes in team math competitions; Second prize in the contest of remembering the most pi digits and the contest of proving mathematical formulas.

In addition, Tuong Van actively participated in extracurricular activities and received many awards, such as: Medal from President Obama in grade 12; Outstanding Volunteer title from HandsOn Jacksonville; received a number of scholarships (including a scholarship worth 10,000 USD from Nordstrom, 2,000 USD from Discus Award, and 1,000 USD from Asian American Alliance).

Le Ngoc Tuong Van

Talking about the secret to success, Van believes that the most important factor is participating in extracurricular activities. “Extracurricular activities are a great learning opportunity to discover one's own abilities, interests and values; at the same time, have a better sense of the community and equip oneself with skills for work and life.” In the university environment, Van continues to assert herself by actively participating in many extracurricular activities. She is currently the Head of the Organizing Committee of the Intercollegiate Business Convention. Each year, the conference has more than 1,200 delegates from more than 40 countries attending; attracting many prestigious companies in the US such as McKinsey, BCG, Goldman Sachs, Airbnb, etc.

Van introduced: “I manage a team of 4 members whose task is to research and invite more than 100 guests who are successful business and corporate leaders in the world. She is also the manager of the WECode computer science conference at Harvard University, for female students majoring in information technology. In addition, she also participates in dance classes, pottery classes, and ballet classes at school.

Members participating in the IM Venture cross-Vietnam journey in Thap Cham, Phan Rang. Photo: NVCC.

Journey to learn about the country's roots

Le Ngoc Tuong Van is the founder of two projects with many activities towards the country's roots, attracting many young people to participate. That is IM Venture - organizing cross-Vietnam trips so that Vietnamese students around the world have the opportunity to understand and connect more with the Fatherland. That is Students to Service - an online channel with more than 11,000 members, connecting young people with extracurricular activities in the country to create opportunities for them to learn more necessary life skills, become more active and contribute more to society.

Van said that the idea of ​​​​IM Venture, Students to Service... came from experiences in the US. "If in 2007, I felt confused by the new things that America brought, then after 7 years of living here, I am confused again when I feel that I am gradually moving away from Vietnam. This urges me to find a way to reconnect with the Fatherland, to learn about the people, customs, and language that I do not understand clearly," Van said.

The IM Venture project is now in its third year. Van said that the project's cross-Vietnam journeys always start from Ho Chi Minh City and end in Hanoi, but the itinerary and activities are changed and diversified according to each year's theme. This year, IM Venture 2016 has been launched, with 6 trips and 2 themes: "Into the Wild" - exploring the nature of the mountains and forests in Vinh Cuu, Son Tra peninsula, Bach Ma National Park, Ngu Ho, cycling around Bong Lai village in Phong Nha and many other locations; "Made in Vietnam" - experiencing the life on the river and floating markets in the Mekong Delta, visiting Tra Que vegetable village in Hoi An, learning how to make mussel rice and visiting other ancient places in the ancient capital of Hue.

Along with experiential and discovery activities, IM Venture integrates seminars and lectures sharing experiences and skills from predecessors. Through that, IM Venture contributes to changing the awareness of many young people about the value of their homeland, their own value, as well as developing soft skills needed in modern society. Through the IM Venture journey, Nguyen Le Hien Khanh (3rd year student, University of East Anglia) shared: “Before, I thought that if I had a choice, I would definitely spend money to travel abroad. But after 10 days of participating in IM Venture, I felt the urge to dedicate my youth and do something for Vietnam. I also want to return to the places I have visited because they still arouse a lot of curiosity and interest.”

Startup Connection

Studying Economics and Statistics (Harvard University) and participating in many business and career orientation activities, Tuong Van is striving to realize her dream of starting a company, becoming a successful entrepreneur, and contributing to the country. "In the future, I want to return to Vietnam to start a business, open a startup company when I feel I have enough ability and passion for an idea," Van said. She also said that this summer she will intern at Morgan Stanley (New York) as a member of the consulting team on company development plans for the CEO.

Regarding business activities, Van is in charge of the content of the startup conference at Harvard University - providing information about many industries and fields; at the same time introducing students to learn and intern at successful startups. Van is also a member of the Smart Woman Securities Club's investment team to manage and invest a portfolio worth more than 20,000 USD and teach a club about stock investment. Together with the Women in Business Club, she participates in organizing field trips to help young people learn more about industries at companies in Shanghai, New York, and Boston. In addition, she is a teaching assistant and teaches a statistics class for the school with Mr. Michael Parzen (STAT 139 - Statistical Sleuthing through Linear Methods).

According to Tien Phong