{Humanistic Impression Contest - Institute of Journalism and Communication} "My second home"

I came to the Faculty of Journalism (Hanoi University of Science), now the Institute of Journalism and Communication (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) as a stroke of luck, a destiny that I always remember and cherish.

At that time, I was a 22-year-old girl who had just graduated from the Faculty of Literature. I was lucky to have a thesis advisor, Professor Ha Minh Duc, who was also the Head of the Faculty of Journalism. He asked, "Do you want to work at the Faculty of Journalism?". I couldn't believe my ears, so I timidly asked, "Is that true, Teacher?". He said, "The Faculty of Journalism has just been established and is still lacking office staff. If you want to work at the Faculty of Journalism, bring your application to me." Then, looking at my surprised face, he smiled very gently and said, "But the Faculty is very poor." Just a little bit more and I would have jumped up and shouted out loud thanks to him.
 

For several days, I prepared a short introduction for myself to practice over and over again so that I wouldn't be nervous or stumble when I met the teachers.

That morning I arrived at the school very early, went to the 4th floor of building A, extremely nervous. The hallway was quiet, all the rooms were locked, no one had arrived yet. I stood close to the stairs, waiting. Suddenly a deep voice rang out behind me, "Who are you waiting to see?". I turned around. A tall, dark-skinned man wearing a fedora, a friendly smile. "Hello, teacher. Today, I was asked by teacher Duc to wait for office work assignment at the department." The teacher said "Ah" and smiled brightly, "So this is the new office staff of the department. You wait a bit, it's still early, no one has arrived yet." Then he searched in his black briefcase, I guessed he was looking for the room key, but probably couldn't find it. At that moment, from afar came the sound of someone clearing their throat, a short and stout figure appeared with a bright smile and the words "Hello, Chief, do you have an early guest?", then the teacher looked at me, his eyes also seemed to have a smile. The tall teacher replied "This is the new office staff that the Master called". A smile, literally a smile, bloomed on the short teacher's face, and was accompanied by a humorous "Ah". Then I learned that the tall teacher was Mr. Do Chinh, the short and stout teacher was Mr. Pham Dinh Lan. The two teachers told me to go into the room and wait, I timidly found a place to sit down, my heart beating rapidly. Only a moment later, the other teachers appeared one after another. Each teacher looked at me with surprised eyes but always with amiable smiles, and it was Mr. Do Chinh who spoke for me, introducing me to everyone. The room was filled with laughter, jokes, and questions, making me feel that the teachers considered each other as a family. A moment later, I saw Mr. Pham Dinh Lan look into the room and say, "You're here." Everyone pulled up chairs and sat down. Mr. Ha Minh Duc appeared. He saw me right away and said, "Hey, this girl, you came early but didn't make tea for the teachers." Then he turned to everyone and said cheerfully, "This girl wants to work in the office. She looks good, but I don't know if she'll last long." Everyone laughed. The teacher looked at me busily making tea and said, "You have to use boiling water to rinse the tea and pour it out once before adding more water. Then the tea will be delicious. Let's have a meeting, guys."
 

So, my first introduction was simpler than I imagined, no need to say all the nice words I had carefully prepared, everyone gave me words of encouragement, support, friendly smiles, and closeness. And I officially entered my “Second Home”.

In the first days of work, I was still clumsy and unfamiliar, but the teachers in the Faculty taught me every little thing. Mr. Trinh Ho Khoa guided me from how to classify books and newspapers, put them in the drawers of the Archives room, to when to bind newspapers into thick volumes for long-term storage. Mr. Pham Dinh Lan showed me how to stamp official documents neatly and according to standards. It seemed simple but it was not simple at all. Many times I stamped upside down or stamped to the left, right, up or down haphazardly. Only after many times of careful consideration and observation did I know how to stamp official documents. I remember that the whole faculty liked to drink tea (but it had to be genuine Thai Nguyen tea). The teachers showed me where to buy the best tea was to meet Ms. Trang in the finance department (University of Natural Sciences). At the beginning of every working day, I made a pot of tea for the teachers to enjoy. Seeing every teacher raising their cup to drink, smacking their lips and nodding, I also imagined that it must be very delicious. The tea she bought was brewed into a golden color, bitter on the tip of the tongue but sweet in the throat. Then how to rinse the tea and cups so that when poured out, both the water and the cups were warm, the tea had to be golden, and had a faint aroma. A pot of tea had to be poured evenly for everyone at once before pouring the second round of water. Then how long did it take for the tea to steep? And how long did it take to replace the teapot? Just like that, I gradually got used to my working environment.

“Morning. I go to the office. Excited.

Turn on the power - the light is on. Turn on the fan - the fan spins.

The air conditioner runs smoothly all day long….”

Those were the first lines in a poem by Mr. Do Chinh. That office space gradually became familiar to me. I quickly learned the job. If someone thinks that the work of an office staff is boring, it is because you do not really love the job and love people. For me, this is the best working environment that I have ever enjoyed. Every day, I can meet and interact with many people. From the Principal to teachers in other departments; from guests coming to the department to contact work to students; from the janitor to the security guard; then the departments and functional offices in the School... everyone is friendly and lovable.

 

Every morning I went to the office, at noon I went home, and in the afternoon I came back. Sometimes, Mr. Pham Dinh Lan or Mr. Dinh Huong passed by the room and saw me busy arranging and cleaning. He shook his head and smiled, "You're so fidgety, so fidgety." At first, I thought he criticized me for being slow and sluggish, but later I realized that the teachers all wanted me to be more active, cheerful, and sociable with everyone.

Time flies, and yet after decades of attachment, I have stayed here, stayed with this group. Having gone through many different job positions, I always remember the advice of the teachers: "In work, never look for compliments but be content with criticism." From the teachers, I have learned a little bit of subtlety in observation, a little bit of politeness in communication, diligence, meticulousness in work, humor, and harmony in the group. Under the roof of this school, I have grown up and matured in my "Second Home" like that.