"I call the Humanities my personal pride."

• Where do you work?
• I work at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
• So… did it cost you a lot of money to get in there?
• I didn't have to pay anything to get the job.

This is a conversation I've repeated many times, especially after meeting my husband's family (because my family and friends all know that my family is poor and doesn't have the money to "bribe" my way into getting a job). Behind each of those answers, a deep sense of pride and gratitude towards the University of Social Sciences and Humanities always wells up inside me.

I was born and raised in a farming family in Thanh Thuy district, Phu Tho province. On the day I boarded the bus to Hanoi to take the university entrance exam, I was still wondering: “Dad, which university should I apply to? Humanities or Education I? Education I won’t have to pay tuition, but Humanities has a high-quality program – I’ll study according to a separate curriculum and receive special scholarships…” Perhaps my parents understood that I was also worried about the financial burden they would have to bear sending me to university. When I received my acceptance letter to the University of Humanities, my parents were overjoyed but also very worried. There were tuition fees, accommodation fees, textbooks… and would there be a whole host of other expenses like: fees to prevent failing, fees for final exams, fees for Teachers' Day… like in the stories from their friends whose children attended other universities?

I became a student in the K50 cohort at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. After starting my studies and experiencing it firsthand, I realized that this is a highly academic and humane environment. We students learn genuinely, take real exams, and the results accurately reflect each individual's true academic ability. Through four years of undergraduate studies, three years of graduate studies, and now as a doctoral candidate at the University, I still feel incredibly fortunate to have been a student of the professors at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. They have always been enthusiastic in their teaching, helping me open the door to knowledge, instilling in me a love for science, and most importantly, making me feel the warmth of human connection. They always show genuine teacher-student affection. Perhaps elsewhere degrees are bought with money, and grades are exchanged for material gifts; but at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, I have never seen that happen.

I believe I am destined to be at this university. Graduating in June 2009, I joined the university in October 2010. Once again, I am deeply grateful for the impartiality of the professors in the Philosophy Department, the University's Board of Directors, the Human Resources Department, and other functional departments. Without their impartiality, a graduate from a poor provincial background like myself would probably never have been able to realize my dream of becoming a university lecturer. And even more gratifying is that I am now a lecturer at the beloved University of Humanities.

I am so proud and grateful to the University of Social Sciences and Humanities!