Phan School Valedictorian 2018: Rising from failure

Nguyen Viet Anh - Valedictorian of Biology (student of Le Mao Secondary School, Vinh City)

Nguyen Viet Anh still studies hard even though he already knows the results of his entrance exam to Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted.Photo: Chu Thanh

Nguyen Viet Anh started learning Biology in 6th grade, but it was not until 8th grade that he fell in love with it and focused more on it. “The more I study, the more interesting I find Biology, making me curious to learn more, especially the lessons on cell structure and the laws of genetics…” said the 16-year-old student.

Thanks to his talent and passion, Viet Anh was selected to be part of the Biology team of Le Mao Secondary School. Teachers also had high expectations for him, especially after Viet Anh ranked second in the city's excellent student competition.

However, due to his subjectivity and easy score loss, Viet Anh failed the provincial excellent student exam. “When I heard the news, I was really sad and disappointed. Disappointed because of my own subjectivity and sad because I had failed my teachers’ efforts,” Viet Anh confided.

Being a cheerful boy and always trusted and supported by his parents, Viet Anh quickly regained his spirit of studying. And it was thanks to the failure in the excellent student exam that helped Viet Anh realize his weaknesses so that he could focus on learning the basic knowledge in the textbooks before studying more advanced subjects.

Besides, Viet Anh also diligently goes online to order more books and participates in study groups related to Biology.

Taking the entrance exam to a specialized school, Viet Anh said that because he did not put too much emphasis on passing at all costs, he took the exam with a relaxed mindset. “I was extremely surprised when I learned that I got 9 points in my specialized subject and became the valedictorian of my specialized Biology class. Because after the exam, I re-graded my test and thought I only got about 7 or 8 points,” Viet Anh shared.

The valedictorian of the Biology class said that in the future he will try to study harder to become a doctor to help people like his father - his idol.

Hoang Thi Viet Hang - Valedictorian of Mathematics and Information Technology (student of Dang Thai Mai Secondary School, Vinh City)

Hoang Thi Viet Hang - Valedictorian of Mathematics and Information Technology and her parents.Photo: Chu Thanh

Although she considers herself a quiet person, when she heard that she was one of the top students in the Math and Information Technology class, Hoang Thi Viet Hang shouted loudly. It is not difficult to understand the joy of the female student born in 2003 when she achieved the top result in a class where the majority of men were students.

Loving Math since childhood, Viet Hang confided that her love was partly passed down from her mother - her Math teacher "who shaped and taught her the first math operations".

Loving to solve math problems, Hang can sit for hours to find solutions to difficult problems in math magazines. And she has received many big and small prizes from math competitions in the math magazine for children.

Because of her love for math, Hang once had a short period of disappointment because she did not win the provincial prize for her favorite subject. “I lost confidence in myself, but thanks to my parents and teachers’ encouragement, my mood gradually improved. So when I found out I was the valedictorian of the Math-IT class, I couldn’t hold back my emotions and screamed,” Hang explained.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Hoa, Hang’s former math teacher, commented that Hang is an approachable girl who often helps her friends, so she is loved by her friends and teachers. In terms of academic performance, Hang is not only intelligent but also very hard-working; she often takes the initiative to ask questions about lessons she does not understand, Ms. Le Hoa said.

Tran Thi Thuy Dung - Valedictorian of History (student of Dang Thai Mai Secondary School, Vinh City)

Tran Thi Thuy Dung (middle) takes a photo with her teacher and classmates. Photo: NVCC

Thuy Dung said that her talent for History was discovered by her teacher at the beginning of 8th grade. Initially, Dung was on the Literature team and then her teacher encouraged and advised her to study History to fully develop her abilities and talents.

Although she started school late, Thuy Dung quickly caught up with her friends and won the Encouragement Prize in the provincial excellent student competition. Thuy Dung said, “For many people, the Encouragement Prize is not high, but for me, it is a great encouragement because I have not studied much. It is also because I only won the Encouragement Prize that motivates me to be more determined and try to achieve the highest results in the entrance exam to Phan School.”

Sharing her secret to learning History, Thuy Dung said that to easily remember events, she often summarizes the lesson, writes a word related to the event on paper and then develops it. In addition, Thuy Dung often studies in groups with a friend to test each other. "We each study a part and then test each other. Whoever doesn't know will be punished. This way of studying not only helps to easily remember the lesson but also helps us progress together," Thuy Dung confided.