The valedictorian of the QH-2006-X cohort at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities this year is Dang Hoang Ngan - one of the outstanding students in the French-language Clinical Psychology major. With a GPA of 3.78/4, equivalent to 9.45/10, Hoang Ngan has become the valedictorian with the highest graduation score ever achieved by the University.In real life, Hoang Ngan is friendly and approachable, with a gentle and captivating way of speaking. One easily gets the feeling that Psychology is a perfect fit for her personality and inherent qualities. Ngan says: "I like learning French – a disciplined, precise, yet elegant and gentle language – hoping that through foreign languages, I can broaden my knowledge and understanding of other cultures, enriching my own experiences." After three years of excellent studies at the French-specialized High School, University of Foreign Languages (VNU), French became the bridge that led Ngan to university and another love: Psychology. Jokingly describing herself as someone who prefers a quiet life, Ngan believes she's not suited to overly competitive and demanding jobs. The world she's passionate about exploring is the human soul, with its subtle emotions and psychological breakdowns and deviations. Ngan says: "As society develops, the spiritual world of human beings becomes increasingly complex." Despite increased material wealth, people seem to feel less and less happy. Understanding others, and in turn, understanding oneself, finding joy, love, and balance in life – that is Ngan's future career aspiration: to become a psychologist. Speaking about her studies, Hoang Ngan shared that she was very fortunate to study in a good environment, in a class full of ambitious students, with enthusiastic teachers and engaging teaching methods. Ngan's class has 11 students, studying their major in both French and Vietnamese, with both Vietnamese and foreign teachers. Classes are always lively because the teachers encourage a lot of exchange and discussion on specific professional issues. Because of this, Ngan became familiar with proactive presentation skills, critical thinking, teamwork, and many other important skills that have helped her become more confident and mature. In her studies, Ngan prioritizes listening attentively to lectures, because "listening and understanding lead to better retention." Good foreign language skills are an advantage, allowing her to research specialized materials and stay updated on the latest scientific information in her field. Despite a demanding curriculum and high competition for advancement, the learning spirit in class is very high. "How to excel in studies? There's only one secret: you must love your field of study and your future career," Ngan says. "With passion, you can achieve anything. Putting in your best effort means you'll never regret it."
Learning must go hand in hand with practice, and this is especially true for students in social sciences: either proactively seek out work, or you will struggle with abstract, hard-to-understand theoretical frameworks. Furthermore, Clinical Psychology is a field that demands high practical skills and focuses on studying individual cases. During her studies, Hoang Ngan had the opportunity to interact with many individuals, especially children with psychological disorders, beginning to understand, research, and propose therapeutic measures to help those with disorders adapt to normal life. Lessons from textbooks were applied to become effective solutions in practice. This further deepened Hoang Ngan's awareness of the role and professional responsibility of future psychologists – those who use their knowledge, dedication, and compassion to heal the emotional wounds of their fellow human beings. Ngan's graduation thesis on "The Mental Structure of Aggressive Children," based on a specific case study, was rated excellent and received the only perfect score of 10 from the thesis evaluation committee. Dr. Tran Thu Huong, Ngan's homeroom teacher, commented: "Ngan is intelligent, sensitive, hardworking, and possesses many qualities to become a clinical psychologist, both in research and practice. Furthermore, Ngan's French is excellent. Ngan truly deserves her achievements and will go far in her career." This September, Ngan will receive a scholarship from the Association of Francophone Universities (AUF) to become a postgraduate student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis (France). Once again, her French language skills and love for psychology have given Ngan the opportunity to expand her knowledge in a new learning environment and bring her closer to her dream.
