Parents are illiterate, son travels 600km to graduate as university valedictorian

Recently, the Ha Nhi ethnic boy was honored as one of the 12 valedictorians graduating from the Academy of Public Administration and Management in 2025.

"If I quit school to work in the fields, life will always be difficult like this."

In 4 years of study with 51 courses and 127 credits, Sung Thanh Xuan (student of the Faculty of Archives and Office Management, course 21) achieved a cumulative average score of 3.3/4.0; in which his graduation internship and graduation thesis both achieved A+. The male student not only graduated with a good degree but also became the valedictorian of his major.

W-Thanh Xuan Horn photo in article.JPG.jpg

Sung Thanh Xuan (Ha Nhi ethnic group, student of the Academy of Public Administration and Management) became the valedictorian of the Office Management major. Photo: Thanh Hung.

“Before going to Hanoi to study, I had determined to try hard and be determined, but becoming valedictorian was something I never expected,” Xuan said about her achievements.

Born and raised in Go Cu village, Mu Ca commune, Muong Te district (Lai Chau province), Xuan shared that her parents were illiterate, the family's economy was difficult, they only relied on farming. Her brother dropped out of school after 10th grade, and went to work on the fields with his parents. In her generation, Xuan was the only one in the whole village who went to university. If we count more broadly in the whole Mu Ca commune, there is only one more person.

“Since the day I started school, my parents have never been to Hanoi. Their lives revolve around the village,” Xuan said.

Because of that, during the 4 years of school, Xuan had to be independent in everything from daily life to studying.

“At first, I also planned not to go to school and stay home to help my parents with farming because of our difficult family situation. But my grandfather encouraged me to continue studying. I still remember what he told me at that time: I had to go to school so that I could help my family in the future. If I dropped out of school now to work on the farm, life would be difficult forever,” Xuan said.

2. Valedictorian.jpg

Thanh Xuan Horn (third from right) was honored as one of the 12 valedictorians graduating from the Academy of Public Administration and Management in 2025.

Determined to go to Hanoi to study, in the early days, Xuan encountered countless difficulties. In the first semesters, because she did not know how to study, her grades were not very high, even getting C's.

Bought the first computer, parents will pay off the loan by June 2025

In high school in the countryside, I only occasionally had access to computers; but when I entered university, it was during the Covid-19 period, when I had to study online. At that time, Xuan's family had to rely on the local installment loan support policy to buy a computer for me. "My first computer cost 13 million VND and I still use it until now. At first, I only knew how to open the Zoom application, finish studying, then turn it off, not knowing what else to do. It was not until June this year that my parents were able to pay off the installment loan," Xuan said.

At the end of the first year, seeing that the results were not very positive, even declining, Xuan reminded herself to try harder and adjust her study methods. In class, Xuan focused on listening to the teachers' lectures, and at home, she focused on self-studying. "I didn't prepare until the exam, I made an outline right from the beginning of the subject and supplemented it as I went along. Whatever the teachers emphasized, I took notes. I also read more articles and scientific journals to apply to my major. Before the exams, I almost stayed up many nights reading articles to add vivid evidence to my essay," Xuan said.

The biggest difficulty that always haunts me is financial issues. “My parents’ income is not stable every month, but depends on the bumper crop and fields. Only in favorable months can the family have money to send, so I have to learn to spend frugally,” Xuan said.

The most difficult subject for Xuan was English. “For people from the highlands like us, there are not many opportunities to be exposed to English. I had to study day and night. There were even days when the library closed after office hours, I sat on the balcony of the library and studied until 7pm before returning to my room. Luckily, I got a C in all three English subjects,” Xuan said.

Thanh Xuan Horn became one of the 12 graduating valedictorians.

With determination and effort, in the following semesters, Xuan's results gradually improved and in the final semester, she achieved a perfect score of 4.0/4.0.

During his four years at university, the male student also had three faculty-level scientific research projects. In his second year, his research project won an Encouragement Prize; in his third year, it won a Second Prize and in his final year, it won a First Prize. He also participated with his supervisor in two articles published in the State Management Journal.

Now, Xuan's skills have also improved and enhanced a lot. Xuan said that during her university years, what she learned the most was perseverance and facing challenges. "There were things that sometimes seemed impossible, but with my best efforts and perseverance, I finally did it," Xuan said.

Talking about his future plans, Xuan said that after graduation, he wants to return to work and contribute his knowledge to develop his hometown, which still has many difficulties. However, in the current context of mergers, Xuan said that job opportunities will be much more difficult. Therefore, he may temporarily look for an administrative job in Hanoi to improve his skills and experience, while waiting for job opportunities in his hometown.

“Just graduated, I realized that the job might not have a high salary, but the more important thing is to hone my skills and abilities,” Xuan said.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/bo-me-khong-biet-chu-con-trai-vuot-hanh-trinh-600km-tot-nghiep-thu-khoa-dai-hoc-2420391.html