First prize: Where the sky is bright

For us students from remote areas, where learning conditions and economic circumstances are very difficult, becoming a student at a large and prestigious university is a great dream and a source of pride for our families. The goal of achieving admission wasn't just mine, but shared by countless other young people throughout our high school years. Every time we heard stories from our teachers about their university life, we all listened intently, each picturing a joyful and proud scene of becoming a university student. Because university is where we can access new knowledge, learn new and more scientific ways of working, hone essential skills for future work and life, and cultivate ourselves, learn from the civilized society outside, and return to serve our homeland.

Humanities, huh!

That day, when I brought home my university application and asked my dad about it, I heard him talk about the University of Social Sciences and Humanities for the first time. It took me quite a while to remember the name "University of Social Sciences and Humanities" clearly, to the point that when my older brother brought home his results and said, "He got into the National University," I even argued with him. It wasn't until I enrolled that I realized: Yes, I got into the University of Social Sciences and Humanities! The words "university student" felt so close now, and I felt so proud! But even so, back when I took the university entrance exam three years ago, the most exciting and enjoyable thing was seeing the tall buildings and the cars driving on the wide, beautiful streets that I saw on TV every evening. It was also so I could brag to my friends, to satisfy my desire to show off to them, "I've been to the capital!" It didn't need to be anything too grand; for people like me, that was enough to make me very proud.

After starting university, I suddenly realized how strangely captivating this new school was. Questions like, "Where do the Hmong people come from?", "Why live in the high mountains instead of the lowlands?", "Why are there Hmong people living in America – a place half a world away?",... had piqued my curiosity for a long time. It was as if we were destined to meet; through studying and reading History, I found the answers I was looking for. The Humanities gave me the solutions to my unclear questions, and I loved the Humanities even more! But now I have the answers, how do I know if they are correct or not? Associate Professor, Doctor of Science, People's Teacher Hoang Van Khoan – a teacher we always respect – gave me an insight: "University is about self-learning, and the method lies in each subject." That's absolutely true. In the History department, "The Historical Process of Vietnam" showed me that the events I was unsure about did indeed occur in history. Studying "Fundamentals of Vietnamese Culture" and "Ethnicity and Ethnic Policies" helped me distinguish and identify events belonging to my own ethnic group from others. Archaeology taught me how to find answers "from within the earth"; to uncover the very way of life, culture, psychology of ethnic groups, and many other elements existing within those communities... One thing led to another, and from those small, unclear questions of the past, I suddenly developed an irresistible passion for researching my own ethnic culture and history. My classmates often say to each other, "Now research has become a passion, a love." That's what they say, but doing science isn't easy. You have to learn how to properly and appropriately utilize materials, how to cite sources, how to title your research topic, and of course, the most difficult thing is the attitude towards the research problem – how to eliminate subjective opinions in your paper and present the issue as objectively as possible. Studying to do research also requires learning how to present research results, so you have to dive headfirst into learning additional soft skills: computer skills, presentation skills, public speaking, etc. Along with that, the teaching and learning methods at the Faculty of Humanities demand a high level of self-discipline and dynamism from each student. I remember staying up all night every time I had to register for courses, and then paying tuition fees through a bank card I'd never used before. Studying in a new environment meant encountering completely new things; but then time passed, and it seems like only yesterday I was a third-year student, with three years of memories at the Faculty of Humanities and countless experiences of city life. All of that is enough to give me fond memories to cherish and to dream about.

At the Faculty of Humanities, we history students are often nicknamed "professors" by our friends because we're always busy with the library's bookshelves, sometimes even accumulating three or four bookshelves full. But that's precisely our pride, the value we feel as graduates in History. Thanks to the dedicated teaching, guidance, and support of our faculty members, our love for scientific research has grown stronger. Every year, we enthusiastically welcome the student research season with the most interesting, "hot," and elaborate research topics. We even create our own "homegrown" playgrounds, forming small research groups of a few members with shared passions. We organize presentations for each other and even take each other to Co Loa Citadel, searching for the only remaining traditional earthen house to satisfy our curiosity. And so we started from the Faculty of Humanities and returned to it as if it were our home!

Humanism in my mind!

That's simply where I found my passion. For me, the past three years have been amazing; it's been a time when I've lived out my passion under the roof of this time-worn school. The Humanities within me will remain, and will last forever...