In late September, while working at the Organization and Inspection Department of the Ha Tinh Provincial Youth Union, 22-year-old Le Thi Nguyet received notification that she was the valedictorian of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Besides her excellent academic record of 3.91/4, her participation in numerous student union activities and scientific research, the girl from Ha Tinh received an offer to stay and work at the university. Wanting to contribute to her hometown, Nguyet decided to stay in Ha Tinh.
Le Thi Nguyet, 22 years old, valedictorian of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Twice awarded the title of valedictorian.
Four years ago, Nguyet enrolled in the Social Work program, Faculty of Sociology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, hoping to gain experience, learn, and contribute to the community. The girl from Ha Tinh achieved 28.5 points in the C00 subject combination, becoming the top-scoring student in the program.
From the very beginning of her university years, Nguyệt was diligent and focused on her studies. She learned from the experience of senior students in her major.
In the general knowledge section, most subjects have essay-based exams. Nguyệt learned from experience that achieving high scores is both correct and sufficient. Especially in subjects with a large amount of knowledge, such as World History of Civilization, General Logic, and Marxist-Leninist Philosophy, students need thorough research and investment of effort. To make studying less strenuous and more effective, Nguyệt listens to lectures and takes notes on the main points concisely and easily remembered.
At home, Nguyệt reread the textbook and compared it to her class notes to see if she missed any points or made any mistakes, then corrected them immediately. Nguyệt used the Pomodoro method, also known as the "tomato" method.
For subjects with extensive content and multiple sections, Nguyệt will compile materials and create outlines for each part. Then she will break down the content into smaller sections and study them progressively.
According to the Pomodoro method, Nguyet focuses on studying each topic for 30 minutes, then takes a break (listening to music or doing yoga) for about 10 minutes, before continuing with the next section.
This method helped Nguyet make the most of her time, allowing her to access a lot of knowledge in a short period without feeling tired or stressed. "When we break down the content to study, it helps develop logical thinking and a higher level of application skills," the top-scoring student shared.
During the exam, Nguyệt tried to write clearly by frequently using line breaks, presenting her ideas coherently, and including many practical examples to support her arguments, giving her answers more depth.
Received a perfect score of 10 for the graduation thesis.
In addition to her outstanding academic achievements, Nguyet also won many top prizes in scientific research. The valedictorian had two research papers at the Ministry of Education and Training level. Among them, she won a third prize with her paper: "Applying individual social work to equip autistic children with self-care skills."
The female student also won third prize in the 2019 "Student Scientific Research - Euréka" award at the city level, organized by the Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union.
Nguyệt holds positions such as Secretary of the Youth Union branch, Deputy Class Leader for Academics of the K62 Social Work class, Member of the Executive Committee of the Sociology Faculty's Youth Union, member of the WEPASS Academic and Scientific Research Support Committee (under the Youth Union of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities); volunteer of the Humanities Blood Donation Team, Hanoi City Youth Blood Donation Movement Association.
Thanks to her efforts in academics and extracurricular activities, Nguyet was awarded the title of "Outstanding Student at the Central Level" in 2020, and "Outstanding Student at the National University of Hanoi" in 2020 and 2021.
Le Thi Nguyet received the "Excellent Student" award at the national level for the 2019-2021 academic year.
To maintain her academic achievements, research performance, and participation in student union activities, Nguyet expressed that there were times when she felt pressured and stressed. The valedictorian tried to arrange her schedule to participate in extracurricular activities on weekends to have time for studying and research. She shared that there were times when she had to stay up late due to work, but she gradually got used to it.
In December 2020, she received a perfect score of 10 for her graduation thesis: "Application of individual psychological counseling in social work to support children who have been sexually abused." For this topic, Nguyệt spent over 6 months researching practical applications and real-world scenarios. Nguyệt completed her training program in 3.5 years (one semester ahead of schedule).
As her homeroom teacher, Dr. Mai Tuyet Hanh from the Sociology Department commented that Nguyet was a student with excellent academic achievements, arguably the highest among all the courses she had mentored. In addition, Nguyet actively participated in student union activities and scientific research.
Observing the activities of her student at the Organizing and Inspection Department of the Ha Tinh Provincial Youth Union, the female lecturer noticed that Nguyet had applied her professional knowledge and leveraged the strengths of the Social Work field in her work.
