Valedictorian Le Thi Nguyet: Social work helps realize her dream

Not only excellent in studying

Identifying university as a time to improve and develop herself, Nguyet always tries to balance between studying, researching and social activities. With the care and help of teachers and friends, Nguyet has achieved remarkable achievements: cumulative score of 3.91; 10 points for graduation thesis; 7/7 semesters with excellent learning and training results; achieved the title of "5 Good Students" at the Central level in 2020; the title of "5 Good Students" at Hanoi National University in 2019, 2020; 3 times received the Principal's certificate of merit for students with excellent academic results; was a typical young face at the grassroots level in 2020, 2021.

Thanks to her good academic performance, Nguyet has continuously won many scholarships. In addition to the school's academic encouragement scholarships (7/7 semesters received Excellent scholarships), Nguyet was also honored to receive BIDV scholarships, Dao Minh Quang scholarships for top students; 3 times received Dao Minh Quang scholarships for students with excellent academic results, Honda Award scholarships for students with high achievements in scientific research.

Not only that, Nguyet also participates in scientific research with teachers in the Faculty, including a number of topics that won the Third Prize of the "Student Scientific Research" Award at the Ministry level; Third Prize of the "Eureka Student Scientific Research Award 2019" organized by the Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union; First Prize of the "Student Scientific Research" Award at the School level in 2020, 2021. This activity also helps you expand your knowledge, improve your skills and professional expertise, approach many hot issues that need to be solved in society and the industry, and more importantly, have a more practical view of the role and mission of the Social Work industry.

In addition, Nguyet also actively participates in supporting social work centers to improve her knowledge and skills; at the same time, she has the opportunity to approach and understand her clients better, thereby finding the best and most effective solutions and support methods for them. She also enthusiastically participates in activities of the Youth Union and Student Association of the School such as: donating blood, supporting students to pass exams, etc.

Nguyet said that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is a very good learning and training environment, helping to create a solid foundation for you to improve yourself. The Social Work major combines research theory and practical activities, thereby applying theory to practice. “The Social Work major is completely suitable for my goals and desires: To test myself with a major that brings together a lot of knowledge and professional skills, which are psychological counseling, personal intervention, resource mobilization skills, community development and importantly, this is an opportunity for me to support and help vulnerable groups in society”. Nguyet also shared that when she was a high school student, she participated in many activities to support children at SOS Children's Village and really wanted to be able to help the children here in a more professional, systematic and effective way.

Hope to contribute more to the Social Work industry

Until now, Nguyet still remembers clearly the first time she went to the field and started approaching vulnerable subjects at centers for teaching children with autism, motor disabilities or intellectual disabilities. “My only feeling at that time was “helplessness” because I really wanted to help them but did not have enough skills and knowledge to approach and work. However, after that, thanks to the encouragement and help of teachers, I gradually overcame the difficulties,” Nguyet shared.

After more than 9 months of accompanying autistic children, Nguyet's research topic was completed - the first step in finding suitable activities to support autistic people. Nguyet's topic was also recognized and won the Third Prize for Scientific Research at the Ministry level. "This is probably the most meaningful and unforgettable time because it helped me conquer myself, overcome psychological obstacles to complete my goals. The research also helped me understand more deeply the true meaning of the Social Work industry, realize the knowledge and skills needed for a Social Worker. And this is also the first step for my future research topics" - Nguyet said.

After 3.5 years of studying at school and a period of practical work, Nguyet found that in many countries around the world, Social Work has developed into a professional profession, however, in Vietnam, Social Work is only in its early stages of development. In many establishments, social work activities are still part-time, not fully promoting the role and mission of the profession, which is to support individuals, groups and communities in dealing with social issues; working for human happiness and improving social welfare. However, the good news is that the Social Work profession is increasingly receiving attention from the State, society and especially from young people. On March 25, 2010, the Prime Minister issued Decision 32/2010/QD - TTg approving the Project on developing the Social Work profession in Vietnam for the period 2010-2020. In recent years, the number of students applying to study Social Work has increased rapidly.

Nguyet said that currently, she is still constantly trying to learn and improve her professional knowledge to be able to promote and effectively apply the knowledge she has learned in practice to help the disadvantaged in society; to inspire and spread the noble humanitarian mission of the Social Work industry to future students.

Sharing about the future, Nguyet hopes to have the opportunity to study at a higher level, to access many advanced foreign models, and from there, together with the team of social workers across the country, to find better and more effective solutions and support for the disadvantaged in society. In the current period, as a Youth Union officer of Ha Tinh Provincial Youth Union, Nguyet hopes to help more for her subjects, which are union members, disadvantaged youth, those in difficult circumstances or facing other social problems...