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 chance 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 me, "Do you want to work at the Faculty of Journalism?". I couldn't believe my ears, so I timidly asked, "Is that true, Professor?". He said, "The Faculty of Journalism has just been established and is still lacking office staff. If you want to work there, bring your application to me." Then, looking at my surprised face, he smiled very gently and said, "But the Faculty is very poor." I almost jumped up and shouted my 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 introduced myself to the teachers.
That morning I arrived at the school very early, went to the 4th floor of building A, and was extremely nervous. The hallway was quiet, all the rooms were locked, no one had arrived yet. I stood by the stairs, waiting expectantly. 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, with 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, someone cleared his 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 their 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 us a pot of tea.” Then he turned to everyone and said cheerfully, “She wants to work in the office. She looks good, but I don’t know if she’ll last long.” Everyone laughed. He looked at me busily making tea and said, “You have to pour out boiling water to rinse the tea and then add 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, 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 Documentation Room, to when to bind the 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 them skewed to the left, right, up or down randomly. It took many times of careful consideration and observation for me to 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 I bought from her was brewed into a golden liquid, bitter on the tip of my tongue but sweet in my throat. Then how to rinse the tea and the 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 out evenly for everyone 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 power is on. Turn on the fan - the fan spins.
The air conditioner runs smoothly all day long….”
Those are 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 worker is boring, it is because you do not really love the job and 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 visitors to the department for work to students; from the janitor to the security guard; and then the departments and functional offices in the School... everyone is friendly and lovable.
Every morning I go to the office, go home at noon, and come back in the afternoon. Occasionally, Mr. Pham Dinh Lan or Mr. Dinh Huong would pass by the room and see me busy arranging and cleaning. He would shake his head and smile, "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 collective. Having gone through many different job positions, I always remember the advice of my teachers: "In work, never look for compliments but be content with criticism." I have learned from my teachers a little bit of subtlety in observation, a little bit of politeness in communication, diligence, meticulousness in work, humor, and harmony in the collective. Under the roof of this school, I have grown up and matured in my "Second Home" like that.
Source:Nguyen Thi Thuan
