Two "heroes" bring glory to Nghe An land of learning

(Baonghean) -The Vietnamese team of excellent students participating in the 54th International Mathematical Olympiad 2013 (IMO 2013) held in Colombia from July 18 to 28, 2013 included 6 excellent students selected by the Ministry of Education and Training through many rounds of competition. Among them, Nghe An was honored to have 2 students: Vo Anh Duc, Ha Tinh High School for the Gifted, and Dinh Le Cong, Vinh University High School for the Gifted. As a result, Vo Anh Duc won the Gold Medal and Dinh Le Cong won the Silver Medal in Mathematics.

Leaders of Ha Tinh province congratulated Vo Anh Duc (right) and Dinh Le Cong (left).

Joyfully welcome the "hero"

Hearing the news of Vo Anh Duc's return from Colombia, on the afternoon of August 1, the provincial leaders, the Department of Education and Training of Ha Tinh, along with many teachers, friends and relatives were present at Vinh Airport to welcome and present flowers to Vo Anh Duc, a student of Math 1K20, Ha Tinh Specialized High School, who had just won a Gold Medal at the International Math Olympiad with a score of 34/42. The whole city of Ha Tinh was buzzing about the fact that a son had brought glory to his hometown. In the joy of his parents, teachers and friends after his resounding success, Duc has been surrounded by everyone's admiration these past few days.

Vo Anh Duc, born on July 8, 1995, now living in Tran Phu ward, Ha Tinh city, is the second son in the family. Duc's father, Vo Ngoc Son, is currently the Director of Ha Tinh Vehicle Inspection Company, his mother is Nguyen Thi Hay, from Quang Xuong district, Thanh Hoa province. Duc's parents met when they were working in Dak Lak province. Duc's older brother was a former student majoring in Mathematics at Ha Tinh High School for the Gifted, and is currently a student at the Border Guard Academy.

Talking about Duc, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hay, Duc's mother, said that Duc was born in Dak Lak, attended primary school at Vo Thi Sau Primary School, Buon Ma Thuot City, until the end of grade 3, then moved to his hometown in Ha Tinh. In grade 5, Duc won the Silver Medal in the National Math Competition for Children. In 2010, he won the First Prize in Math of the province, Second Prize in the National Math Competition on Handheld Calculators in 2010 (grade 9). In grade 10, Duc took the entrance exam to the specialized Math class of Ha Tinh Specialized High School with a high score. During his time studying here, Duc won the Second Prize in National Math for grade 12 in the 2011-2012 school year while he was in grade 11. In the national excellent student selection exam in the 2012-2013 school year, Duc won the Second Prize in Math. With his long list of achievements and special thinking, Vo Anh Duc surpassed 42 other candidates in the selection team to be included in the 6-person team participating in the 2013 International Mathematical Olympiad. Ms. Hay shared: Duc often studies very late at night and self-study foreign languages ​​to read documents in English. Studying foreign languages ​​well is also an advantage for Duc to apply when participating in online Math forums with international friends, learning many interesting Math problems.

To have time to take care of her children's studies, Ms. Hay quit her business. During her studies in Hanoi, she always accompanied Duc on every trip to Hanoi to study. It was her mother's love, dedication and encouragement that helped Duc on his path to study to achieve high results. In addition to his passion for Math, Duc also loves social subjects, especially History. Duc has a solid knowledge of history and dynasties in Vietnam through the ages. After returning from the exam, Duc will choose to study information technology at Hanoi University of Science and Technology and will study abroad if he has the opportunity, Ms. Hay said.

Proud of Vinh University

Returning from this year's International Mathematical Olympiad, the Vietnamese team ranked seventh overall with 3 Gold Medals and 3 Silver Medals. Among the 3 Silver Medal winners was Dinh Le Cong. In response to this outstanding achievement, on the morning of August 2, Vinh University held a ceremony to honor Dinh Le Cong and received a Certificate of Merit from the People's Committee of Nghe An province for his outstanding results from the world's largest intellectual arena.

Dinh Le Cong was born on February 4, 1995 in a family where both parents work in the education sector. His father, Dr. Dinh The Dinh, is currently the Head of the Department of Political Education at Vinh University, and his mother, Le Thi Kim Oanh, is a teacher at Bac Hong Secondary School, Hong Linh Town, Ha Tinh Province. The initial advantages that created a passion for learning came from a family of teachers. Ms. Le Thi Kim Oanh said: While studying at primary school in his maternal hometown, Cong showed his passion for Math with impressive scores and many high prizes in district and provincial excellent student competitions. When he reached secondary school, studying at the school where his mother worked, Cong had the opportunity to develop his passion and achieved first prize in Math in the Ha Tinh provincial excellent student competition in grade 9.

In high school, Cong decided to take the exam and passed the entrance exam to Vinh University High School for the Gifted. An intelligent and dynamic student, Cong was elected as the class monitor of the Math class for three consecutive years with excellent academic results. Ms. Le Thi Kim Oanh, Cong's mother, said: For Cong, Math must come from a true passion and a high level of self-study. In addition to studying at school, Cong also arranges time to research on his own through books, the internet... Dinh Le Cong shared: "Everyone says that Math majors are often dry and inactive, but for me, that concept is completely different. It's not just sitting for hours to "plow" to be of quality, but true quality must be demonstrated by how effective the time spent is."

In addition to the intense hours of studying Math numbers, Cong also enthusiastically participates in sports activities organized by the school and class. In particular, Cong is also talented as a MC with a very "charming" voice and face. More specifically, before winning the Silver Medal at the International Math Olympiad in 2013, Cong won the First Prize in Mathematics in the National Excellent Student Competition for the 2012-2013 school year. The future is ahead, hopefully with his passion and talent, Dinh Le Cong will continue to achieve high achievements in studying and contributing to the country, bringing glory to his homeland.

Minh Thu - Thanh Chau