This school has given me dreams!

Associate Professor Vu Thi Phung, on behalf of generations of teachers, shared her thoughts and feelings about the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. (Photo: Thanh Long)

Today I am deeply honored and moved to have been allowed by the Organizing Committee, the teachers, and the staff of the entire school to represent and speak at the opening ceremony of the new academic year 2014-2015.

Standing on this platform looking down at the auditorium, I felt a little "envious" of the K59 freshmen, because they not only received a warm welcome from the university and faculty on their enrollment day, guidance, and essential information during the orientation week, but also got to attend a truly solemn and meaningful opening ceremony for the academic year.

The reason I'm expressing a little "envy" towards you all is because I recall my time in university (in 1976). At that time, the country had just emerged from war, and many things needed to be prioritized, so we didn't have a common opening ceremony, and upon graduation, there wasn't a formal graduation ceremony with fancy caps and gowns like the students do now.

But for us, it was just a minor setback, and compared to the generations before me, the generation of my teachers—many of whom are also present in this hall—that setback pales in comparison to the days of studying during the war, in evacuation areas. I'm sure back then (in 1976), my teachers' generation also thought: students nowadays are so lucky!

And suddenly, I realized that those somewhat "envious" remarks from the older generation to the younger generation were actually a source of joy because they showed the upward development of society in general, and of higher education and our university in particular.

Although there are many differences between the past and the present, there is one constant that has remained almost unchanged -It is a source of pride for the school and gratitude for the generations of faculty and staff that resonates in the hearts of generations of students.

Today, at this opening ceremony, I would like to speak about that sacred thing through my own ordinary story. Nearly 40 years ago, from a frail, sickly student, the daughter of a poor farming family in Thai Binh province, I, like someone "deaf to danger," dared to register for the entrance exam to Hanoi University, the predecessor of today's University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Thanks to an exam free from corruption, I stepped from the fields to Hanoi and became a student of the History Faculty. From a country student, at 17 years old, everything was strange to me in the city. I was guided and instructed by the teachers and staff of the university, helped by friends and colleagues, and four years later, at the age of 21, I became a lecturer and staff member of the university. Nearly 40 years of studying and working at the university, I have held many roles: student, lecturer, and administrator; I have been taught by many respected teachers; and I have shared knowledge with countless generations of students. Having traveled to all the provinces and cities in the country and flown to several countries around the world, I feel incredibly lucky and happy. Sometimes, when I reflect, I feel like everything that has happened to me is a dream, but that dream is real!

And I wondered: could I have achieved all those dreamlike things if I hadn't chosen this school, if I hadn't had these teachers, these friends, these wonderful generations of students from the former Hanoi University and the current University of Social Sciences and Humanities?

And dear K59 students, whatever your reasons for coming to the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, I want to reiterate once again that: for me, it was a dream come true, but my story is also a common story of many people – those who enter the university with so much apprehension and leave it to enter life with such pride and gratitude.

I've expressed my gratitude to my teachers, colleagues, and students many times. But my teachers told me that even with a good school, good teachers, and a good environment, if you don't put in the effort, and your husband and children don't help and share household chores, will you still be so fortunate?

Thank you once again, my teachers, for helping me reflect on what I've overcome: from the arduous student years during the subsidy era, to the days of working tirelessly after graduation even without knowing when I would receive my salary; from the days of bringing my young child to teach in distant provinces, eating dry bread to save money for photographing materials for my thesis, to the sleepless nights spent working on topics and papers that had deadlines...

But above all, for me, the former Hanoi University and the current University of Social Sciences and Humanities remain the places where I grew up, contributed to the common cause, and received much joy and happiness. Every time I travel to distant places and meet friends and former students, we proudly call each other "Hanoi University people" and now "Humanities people."

On the occasion of the opening of the new academic year, I would like to once again express my gratitude to the teachers; I would like to share my appreciation with the staff and administrators for their dedication in handling numerous tasks; and I would like to congratulate the postgraduate students, graduate students, and undergraduate students of all cohorts on their efforts, successes, and the plans they are still striving to accomplish.

To the first-year students in particular, I congratulate you not only for passing a difficult university entrance exam, but also for becoming new students of Vietnam's number one university in the field of social sciences and humanities - a university whose brand is associated with the names of famous professors, a university thatHis greatest asset and value lies in his exceptional intellectual prowess and rare humanistic qualities.Students, please strive your best in your studies and training at such a school, so that in the future you can contribute to society and achieve things you've always dreamed of!

                                                          Hanoi, September 12, 2014

(Excerpt from the speech of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Thi Phung - Head of the Department of Office Management, Faculty of Archival Studies and Office Management - at the Opening Ceremony of the 2014-2015 academic year of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities).