Nghe An's valedictorian left Pharmacy school to return to his hometown to study pedagogy

When learning is no longer a motivation

Dau Dang Thien used to be one of the excellent students of Thanh Chuong 1 High School when he was atNational High School Graduation ExamIn 2016, he scored 27.6 points and was "next" to the students with high scores who were recognized by the province. With that score, Thien confidently registered for the Automation major at the University of Technology - the school he always dreamed of. But because of a small mistake in the application process, Thien had to give up his dream because his family's economic conditions at that time were not enough for him to study a major under a foreign training program.

Dau Dang Thien was a student at Hanoi University of Pharmacy for 3 years. Photo: MH

With 27.6 points, Thien also registered his wish to enter a teacher training school because his parents were teachers and Thien simply thought that he would continue the family tradition. But with a fairly high score, many people thought that studying teacher training would be a "regret". The 18-year-old male student who had just left high school and had not yet decided on his career decided to enroll in Hanoi University of Pharmacy with the very simple thought "first Medicine, second Pharmacy".

Receiving the admission notice, Thien went to Hanoi with the excitement of a new student. But then the new learning environment, new learning methods and a new career made Thien gradually lose his initial excitement. Talking about this, Thien shared: When I was in high school, I was quite diligent and hardworking but quite passive in studying. Meanwhile, in university, students have to be proactive and have to promote self-study. This was my first difficulty in the university lecture hall.

However, this difficulty was not the main reason why Thien decided to drop out of Pharmacy school because with just a little effort, Thien could still complete the subjects. What he was most worried about was that he had no motivation in this environment. From the end of the second year, he began to ask himself why he pursued Pharmacy, was it the field that he loved? In the third year, he continued to struggle with this question and forced himself to find the answer. He realized that if he did not have passion, he should not continue to try because if he persisted, he might "lose his way".

Without passion and motivation, learning will become difficult. Photo: MH

That was also the time when Thien decided to take a leave of absence and withdraw his application from the Pharmacy School. But to return, Thien also encountered many difficulties because his family, friends, and teachers all wanted Thien to stay in Hanoi and get a university degree... The road was almost at the end because Thien would graduate in just two years...

Valedictorian because he didn't want to be a failure

Giving up Pharmacy School, Thien returned to his hometown and decided to spend a year studying for the exam. Before his decision, Thien's family respected his opinion but also set a "limit", giving Thien a final choice. Personally, Thien, because he had chosen pedagogy, thought it would not be too difficult for him to pass the exam, especially since he had a good foundation since grade 12.

But because "I wanted to do something outstanding to prove that I was valuable and not a failed Pharmacy student", Thien threw himself into studying. And meeting his old teachers from high school years, being instructed and guided by them wholeheartedly gave him the inspiration to review. This was also when he clearly realized his path with the dream of becoming a teacher, standing on the podium to impart knowledge to students.

With his efforts in studying, Thien achieved valedictorian status in the 2020 High School Graduation Exam of Nghe An province. Photo: MH

After nearly a year of studying for the high school graduation exam and with diligence and hard work, it seems that no exam is too difficult to make Thien falter. Therefore, even though he is an independent candidate, having interrupted for 4 years, he still enters the exam.High School Graduation Exam 2020Compared to other young candidates, Thien was still very confident. On the day the exam results were announced, Thien was not surprised because he achieved quite high results with Chemistry 10, Math 9.6 and Physics 9.75. This was also the candidate with the highest score in block A in the province (if including independent candidates) and ranked 11th in the country.

Talking about his journey to take 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 (question 30 and question 48) because I didn't read the question carefully. In Physics, I also got an easy question, question 18, after because I had a sleepless night because I didn't do well in Math.

With 29.35 points (not including priority points), Thien once again has many opportunities to enter the top universities in the country. But this time, instead of listening to everyone, Thien listens to himself and does not allow himself to make the same mistake again: Since registering his wishes, he has chosen UniversityPedagogyHanoi or selectVinh University. Therefore, when the results came out, I only considered which school and which faculty to study to suit my abilities. In the end, I chose to study in Vinh because it was close to home, convenient for me and I also thought this environment was suitable for me.

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

Becoming a new student of the Institute of Natural Pedagogy, Dau Dang Thien is currently one of the oldest students of this school year. Looking back on the past time, Thien knows that many people think he is a bit "weird" because his choice is not like the majority. Thien also regrets that if in high school, Thien had had the experience, had shared with his parents and teachers to express his wishes, he would not have missed many years to realize his passion.

At this time, Thien also knows that compared to his friends, he is slower, and he may not be rich in the future if he is simply a teacher. But for him, even though he is "slow", he believes that he is not "lost" and if he has determination, success is still waiting for him ahead./.