Among the “Cheveners” who studied for a master’s degree for one year (2022-2023) in the United Kingdom, Nguyen Thanh Vinh’s confessions immediately attracted and motivated me to learn regarding this guy.
Vinh is one of 19 outstanding faces of Vietnam to win the prestigious Chevening Scholarship of the British Government, studying Special Education at the University of Exeter.
“From someone who thought I had to finish my studies when I finished middle school, I overcame every obstacle to become who I am today with countless challenges, but along with so many real lessons. precious… I find that sometimes the thorns on the road are not really due to anyone’s own will, it’s just the result of a lack of understanding between me, a blind learner, and the teacher. ” – Vinh experienced.
1. Vinh said that since he was 6 years old, he had been away from his family, from Long An to Ho Chi Minh City to study boarding at Nguyen Dinh Chieu Special High School. Lacking support from his family, Vinh’s teenage years were turbulent. Vinh resists and becomes one of the toughest students in the school.
In 9th grade, Vinh almost got expelled. The 28-year-old boy confided: “Not being able to go to school for me at that time was no different from all sources of happiness being cut off. I immediately texted the principal, begged him, promised to study well. Teacher. I didn’t reply to messages, but I was able to continue studying.”
Going to high school with Vinh is a precious gift. Therefore, Vinh is determined to change. Although studying with friends who are not blind, Vinh still caught up, even being among the top students in the class.
“I never lost faith in myself, always believed that I had the ability, just didn’t or didn’t promote. That was also the main reason why I chose to study education” – he expressed.
Up to grade 12, with the dream of continuing his education, Vinh decided to study more. Exam preparation with Vinh is like taking a very long leap – a student of a continuing education center is studying with many good friends from top schools. Alone on the road from Nguyen Dinh Chieu School to the exam center, sometimes doubting himself, but once decided, Vinh always tries his best.
Normally, blind students will be considered for admission to some majors such as psychology, special education… However, because of his interest in English since childhood because he was always curious to learn regarding the world, Vinh wanted to study. English language department. Vinh had a dossier of “knocking” at each university, but nowhere wanted to receive it. Finally, at Tan Tao University, Vinh met Vice Principal Tran Xuan Thao.
Vinh recalled: “I assured him that if I was accepted into the school, I would not be a burden to the school because I had skills to overcome difficulties in the process of going to school with my non-blind friends. After that, the school organized my own exam board and I was accepted to study English, just as I wanted.”
2. Vinh’s learning path received the support of many teachers and friends. One of the “gentlemen” that he always mentions with respect is Ms. Jade – Australian, working at RMIT University.
When Vinh studied at Tan Tao University for 2 years, Ms. Jade said that RMIT was opening 100% scholarships for disadvantaged students. Vinh tried his luck and got accepted, majoring in public relations.
Nguyen Thanh Vinh and friends at the University of Exeter – England (Photo provided by the character)
He explained: “I wanted to study communication because I realized that when I was in high school, I had a lot of difficulties because I mightn’t find a common voice with my teachers, not because I didn’t have the ability. Communication awareness can close the distance between a person with a disability and those around them, thereby shortening the distance with different objects in society.
According to Vinh, RMIT has helped him grow up thinking. After graduating, Vinh worked for Ivy Prep Education Organization and then moved back to work at Tan Tao University. In 2019, Vinh decided to take a 2-year break from work to apply for a scholarship to study abroad. “I studied media to do education and that’s when I started to want to shift my focus so that I have more direct experience in this field,” he explained.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, making Vinh’s plan to apply for a scholarship to study abroad almost drifted away. 2020 is an extremely difficult year for Vinh, he has to spend on savings, even sometimes only 200,000 VND in his account.
“The difficulty reveals the wisdom”, Vinh finds ways to set up an online English class and then receives document translation, research… Vinh also founded the ScriVi group, gathering blind friends to do “removal of tapes” – Listen to the recording and type it back into text.
3. Chevening is one of the most difficult scholarships to get, each year only more than 10 Vietnamese people are accepted. Having a special affection for England, when she learned that one of her favorite lecturers at RMIT, Ms. Nguyen Hong Hai Dang, had won this prestigious scholarship, Vinh strived even harder.
Vinh prepared his application very early, spent 6 months writing 4 required essays. In August 2021, Chevening just received the application, but he has been preparing since April. During this time, Ms. Jude supported Vinh a lot. There is an essay Vinh wrote 6 times to complete, she is still patient with each draft.
Through rigorous selection rounds, Vinh’s dream came true. Currently, he is studying and researching at the University of Exeter. Vinh really wants following studying abroad to be able to promote the development of the Mentorship Project – self-development with a companion to guide, for people with disabilities in Vietnam.
Working in the field of education, Vinh aspires to be a bridge for students with disabilities, more broadly, for students with special needs, with supportive resources in school and in the society, to enhance self-advocacy. … “Helping others makes me feel “already”, doing something meaningful is new” – he confided.
With the next milestone named Chevening in his personal development journey, Vinh feels that all the past hardships and hardships are extremely worth it. He would like to remind everyone who is striving day by day to overcome difficulties, especially to those of you who feel that learning is gradually slipping out of hand due to many challenges due to your disability, that you should listen to yourself.
“Only I can understand what I want, and I will only be happy following a difficult journey if I have tried to pursue my dreams from the bottom of my heart, not anyone else’s. The path to each Meaningful milestones will have a lot of thorns and challenges, but overcome each obstacle, don’t let your imagination of those seemingly insurmountable challenges make you falter” – Vinh contemplation .