The top student from Nghe An province dropped out of pharmacy school to return home and study pedagogy.

When learning is no longer a motivation

Dau Dang Thien was once one of the outstanding students of Thanh Chuong 1 High School.National High School Graduation ExaminationIn 2016, Thien achieved 27.6 points, "close" to the top-scoring student who received commendation from the province. With that score, Thien confidently applied to the Automation Engineering program at the Polytechnic University - the school he had always dreamed of attending. However, due to a small mistake in his application, Thien had to give up his dream because his family's financial situation at the time was not sufficient for him to pursue a program based on an international curriculum.

Dau Dang Thien was a student at Hanoi University of Pharmacy for three years. Photo: MH

With 27.6 points, Thien initially applied to a teacher training college because both his parents were teachers, and he simply thought he would continue the family tradition. However, with such a high score, many people thought it would be a "waste" to study education. The 18-year-old, who had just left high school and hadn't yet decided on a career path, decided to apply to Hanoi University of Pharmacy with the simple thought, "Medicine comes first, Pharmacy second."

Upon receiving his acceptance letter, Thien went to Hanoi filled with the excitement of a new university student. However, the new learning environment, new learning methods, and a new field of study gradually dampened his initial enthusiasm. Speaking about this, Thien shared: "During high school, I was quite diligent and hardworking, but rather passive in my studies. In contrast, at university, students must be proactive and develop self-learning skills. This was my first challenge in university."

However, this difficulty wasn't the main reason Thien decided to drop out of Pharmacy school, because with a little effort, she could still complete her courses. Her biggest concern was her lack of motivation in this environment. From the end of her second year, she began questioning why she pursued Pharmacy, wondering if it was a field she truly loved. In her third year, she continued to grapple with this question and forced herself to find an answer. She realized that without passion, one shouldn't continue trying because prolonging it might lead to "losing one's way."

Without passion and motivation, learning becomes difficult. Photo: MH

That was also the time when Thien decided to drop out of school and withdraw his application from the Pharmacy school. But returning home was also quite difficult for Thien because his family, friends, and teachers all wanted him to stay in Hanoi and get his university degree… The path was almost there, as Thien was only two years away from graduating…

The top student because they didn't want to be failures.

Giving up on Pharmacy school, Thien returned to his hometown and decided to spend a year preparing for the entrance exam. His family respected his decision but also set a "limit," giving him one last choice. At the time, Thien, having chosen to study education, thought it wouldn't be too difficult to pass, especially since he already had a good foundation from his senior year of high school.

But because he "wanted to do something outstanding to prove his worth, not to be a failed pharmacy student," Thien threw himself back into studying. Reuniting with his old high school teachers and receiving their dedicated guidance and instruction inspired him to study. This was also when he clearly understood his path and his dream of becoming a teacher, standing on the podium to impart knowledge to his students.

Thanks to his hard work and dedication to his studies, Thien achieved the top score in the 2020 high school graduation exam in Nghe An province. Photo: MH

After nearly a year of preparing for the high school graduation exam, and with his diligence and hard work, it seemed that no exam was too difficult to deter Thien. Therefore, despite being a private candidate with a four-year hiatus, he entered the exam with ease.2020 High School Graduation ExamCompared to other younger candidates, Thien remained very confident. On the day the exam results were announced, Thien was not surprised because he achieved quite high scores: Chemistry 10, Mathematics 9.6, and Physics 9.75. He was also the candidate with the highest score in the A-block subjects in the province (including independent candidates) and ranked 11th nationwide.

Recounting his experience taking the 2020 high school graduation exam, Thien said: "I thought I could get a higher score because this year's exam was quite easy. However, I got two easy questions wrong in Math (questions 30 and 48) because I didn't read the questions carefully. In Physics, I also got one easy question, question 18, wrong because I had a sleepless night before due to not doing well on the Math exam."

With 29.35 points (excluding priority points), Thien once again faced numerous opportunities to enter top universities in the country. But this time, instead of listening to others, Thien listened to himself and refused to make the same mistake again: From the moment he registered his preferences, he had already chosen the University.TeacherHanoi or chooseVinh UniversityTherefore, when I received the results, I only considered which school and major would best suit my abilities. Ultimately, I chose to study in Vinh because it's close to home, convenient for me, and I also thought the environment was a good fit for me.

Hien Thien is currently studying Chemistry at the Institute of Natural Sciences Education with the dream of becoming a teacher. Photo: MH

As a freshman at the Institute of Natural Sciences Education, Dau Dang Thien is currently one of the oldest students this academic year. Looking back, Thien knows that many people think he's a bit "unconventional" because his choice is different from the majority. Thien also regrets that if he had had the experience and shared his aspirations with his parents and teachers during high school, he wouldn't have missed so many years in realizing his passion.

At this point, Thien also knew that compared to his peers, he was slower and might not become wealthy if he simply remained a teacher. But for him, even though he was "slow," he believed he wasn't "lost," and with determination, success was still waiting for him ahead.