Valedictorian of Oriental Studies “Strive for your passion”

Follow your dreams

Born and raised in Binh Xuyen, Vinh Phuc - a land with a tradition of learning, Tran Ngoc Anh soon inherited the quintessence of that tradition and became a good and studious student. In secondary school, Ngoc Anh passed the entrance exam to the district's specialized school and participated in many major district and provincial exams. Continuing, in high school, Ngoc Anh studied at Vinh Phuc specialized school - a school that gathered "bright stars" of the districts. For all 3 years, Ngoc Anh was selected to compete in the provincial excellent student competition and won third prize in the National Literature subject in grade 12.

Becoming a Humanities student was Ngoc Anh’s dream when she was a student. She was determined to register for the Oriental Studies department because of her interest and curiosity. Ngoc Anh shared: “Learning about the faculties of Humanities, I was very impressed with the Oriental Faculty. Being an extrovert, I wanted to explore the cultures of countries around the world. Moreover, I also like watching movies and listening to Korean music, so I decided to take the Oriental Faculty entrance exam and tried to get a high score in the first semester of the first year to fulfill my wish to study Korean major.”.

Ngoc Anh's most memorable memory at the University of Humanities was singing in the Eastern Night choir - an event that takes place every two years: "At that time, I felt extremely moved. The love for the faculty and the school surged in my heart. Above all, I felt proud to be a student of the Oriental Faculty. I told myself to strive for my passion., Ngoc Anh confided.

The principal awarded a bachelor's degree to Tran Ngoc Anh.

Impressive achievements

As a pretty, studious and confident student, Ngoc Anh has “reaped” many great achievements in her studies as well as training. During her 4 years of study, Ngoc Anh was honored to receive the Lotte Scholarship 3 times; once received a Scholarship from the Bank of Korea. For all 4 consecutive years, she received the regular scholarship of the school along with certificates of merit from the President and VNU and the title of Outstanding Young Face at the school level. In the third year, with her utmost efforts, Ngoc Anh became one of two students selected to go to Korea to exchange with students of Seoul National University (SNU) for a week. Ngoc Anh shared: “Although the trip was not long, it gave me a profound experience of Korean life, people and culture. Things that I had only seen on TV, books and newspapers now appeared fully before my eyes. I got to listen to lectures about the society here, visit the forbidden palaces, shopping malls, museums... An interesting thing was that we got to know Russian students who also came to exchange with SNU. After the trip, I gained more knowledge and expanded my relationships.”. At the end of year 4, Ngoc Anh excelled and became the valedictorian of the Oriental Studies major with a total score of 3.71.

In training, Ngoc Anh is also very active. When she was a second-year student, she joined the Thang Long Cultural and Historical Propaganda Club of the school organized by the Hanoi Youth Union. With extensive knowledge and good foreign language skills, Ngoc Anh confidently asserted herself in front of domestic and international guests.By joining the club, I not only gain deeper knowledge of the country's culture and history, but also improve my foreign language skills, pursue my favorite job and assert myself.", Ngoc Anh expressed.

Good learning method

To achieve such success, Ngoc Anh also has her own methods. According to her, first of all, we must know how to allocate time reasonably, balancing between studying and working so as not to affect learning results. For students, self-study is extremely important. Sharing the secret to learning foreign languages, Ngoc Anh openly said: “In my opinion, learning a foreign language should start with listening and speaking. When learning vocabulary, you should learn phrases and put them into context. To improve your communication skills, I often create opportunities to interact with native speakers. Watching movies and listening to music are also good ways to learn. With foreign languages, diligence and hard work are important factors. Every day, you should spend at least an hour studying to absorb faster.”.

During her college years, in order to study Korean effectively, Ngoc Anh started working part-time very early. She worked as a Vietnamese tutor for Koreans and interned at Korean agencies.

Grasping the increasingly strong integration trend of the country, Ngoc Anh realized that having an additional foreign language was a necessity. She has strived hard to achieve the achievements she has today.