Valedictorian of Japanese Studies: College Taught Me How to Accept Myself

Le Thi Thanh Tam was born in 2001 in Son Tay town, Hanoi. With a GPA of 3.66/4.0, she was one of the excellent valedictorians honored at the graduation ceremony in August 2023 of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
The female student majoring in Japanese studies holds a JLPT N2 Japanese language certificate, has received many semesters of academic encouragement scholarships, received the 20th Kova Academic Encouragement Scholarship and the Memorial Foundation Academic Encouragement Scholarship.

Thanh Tam on graduation day in August 2023.

Sharing with the Vietnamese Student Page, Tien Phong newspaper, Thanh Tam said that the title of valedictorian made her very surprised and filled with happiness. Throughout her studies, she set a goal of graduating with honors, but never thought of becoming valedictorian.
Tam's father passed away when she was in secondary school, so her mother tried very hard so that her daughter could continue her education. Therefore, she believes that her mother is the proudest and happiest person with this good news.
Thanks to the title of valedictorian, she was able to sit with her mother in the row of honor in the hall reserved for relatives of valedictorians, to bring her mother up on stage to receive flowers and certificates, and to see her mother's radiant smile.
“I think this is the best thing I have done in the past 20 years for the most wonderful woman in my life,” Thanh Tam said emotionally.

Thanh Tam and her mother (second from left) went on stage to receive their bachelor's degree.

Four years ago, when faced with the big decision of choosing a major and a school, she felt uncertain and hesitated many times. More than liking it, she realized that Japanese studies is a highly applicable field of study and brings many opportunities in the future.
With this major, Thanh Tam not only learned Japanese but also learned more about the culture, country and people of Japan. She participated in many interesting extracurricular activities and was a member of the Hanoi Urasenke Tantokai tea ceremony club.
“I gradually fell in love with my major, wanted to conquer a complex language like Japanese and wanted to understand more about the land of cherry blossoms. I regret that I didn’t have the opportunity to go to Japan during my student years, but this will be a goal to strive for in the future,” she confided.
At the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, general subjects and Japanese studies majors require memorizing a lot of theory. To study well, Thanh Tam believes that the key is to understand and explain the problem from her own perspective. Then, she chooses to write it down, sometimes underlining the main ideas, sometimes in the form of a mind map. She feels that taking notes by hand helps her remember the lesson faster and longer.
When she was a freshman, she had the mistaken idea that she only needed to study her major subjects well and that she did not need to try hard in general theory subjects. As a result, she received a poor score in Marxist-Leninist Philosophy and gradually realized that any subject affected her overall results.
“If we pay attention and take notes, we will discover that all university subjects are useful, whether at one time or another, for this or that purpose. I hope that no one else will make the same unfortunate mistake as me,” Thanh Tam concluded.

An activity of Japanese studies students that Thanh Tam participated in.

Instead of doing her graduation thesis, she chose to study Japanese Literature. Thanks to this subject, she learned about many great and unique works by famous Japanese authors such as MiyaMoto Teru, Kawai Masao, Jiyugaku Akiko, Shimura Fukumi,...
Thanh Tam is particularly impressed with the novel "The Expressive Power of Legs" by Abe Kobo. In the work, the author does not simply talk about "physical" legs, but also recreates "legs" that are expressive and contain many profound meanings in Bunraku (a traditional Japanese theater genre), Kabushiki or in the traditional Sumo wrestling,... Although the legs are the lowest part of the body, in some places they are considered "unnoble", but they are delicate and full of meaning in Yamaguchi's writing. This is the reason why she loves this work.
The valedictorian confided that the thing she learned from her college years that she was most grateful for was how to accept herself. As an introvert, she used to be a bit self-conscious. When she had to live away from home, be independent in everything, start working part-time, and meet many people, she understood that worrying or being too afraid of herself would only make her fall behind. Instead, she accepted to look straight at her weaknesses and improve them to become a better version of herself.
She believes that if you are an introvert, you should not force yourself to become an extrovert to appear more active and lively in the university environment. Regardless of your personality, each person is a unique individual and needs to know how to take advantage of their strengths to become a confident person.

Thanh Tam's favorite saying is "Love the life you live and live the life you love."

“Being a little fat is okay, as long as I eat and live in moderation to stay healthy. After a long day, I often reward myself with something, such as a deep sleep. That is how I welcome new joys, new friends and new opportunities. That is also how I love the life I live and live the life I love,” she emphasized.
Thanh Tam is currently working at the Hanoi office of a Japanese corporation. Her role is to use Japanese to support customers using the company's services. Although she is still confused when she first officially works in an office environment, being able to apply foreign languages ​​in her field and receiving many positive feedbacks from customers is her joy and motivation to go to work every day.
In addition to her bachelor's degree in Japanese Studies, Thanh Tam is studying to achieve the highest level of Japanese language certification, JLPT N1, with the dream of working in Japan.