From the “Study Just to Get By” Decision to a Comprehensive Excellence Commendation on University Graduation Day

The wobbly age of 18 and the milestone named “study just to get by”

Trần Gia Thanh Phụng (class TC2207) admits that in high school she was not an excellent student. At the age of 18, standing before the threshold of choosing a school, Phụng fell into crisis and once kindled the intention to ask her parents for a “gap year” (temporarily pausing study for a year) to find her direction again.

However, that decision had to be set aside when she accidentally saw the busy figure of her parents running around looking for schools, worrying about every aspect for their daughter’s future. That image made Phụng heartbroken and she decided to step into the HUFLIT lecture hall. Nevertheless, the mindset of the first-year student at that time was still only resignation:

“My goal at that time was extremely simple: study ‘just to get by’, get the degree and graduate would be enough. I once thought that university was only a procedural stopover to complete my obligation to the family”.

The turning point named “coincidence”

And then, the turning point of her life came from a “coincidence”. Like many students busy chasing the evaluation criteria, Phụng participated in a movement activity with the sole purpose: accumulating training points.

But it was that very afternoon, when she accidentally witnessed the awarding ceremony for excellent students, seeing the senior brothers and sisters radiant on the honour podium, a heart-piercing feeling suddenly came. “Why did I choose to live a faint life, while my parents toiled their whole life for me to be able to stand here?” – That awakening question completely changed the trajectory of Thanh Phụng’s 4 years of university.

From a student going to school just to “get by”, Phụng began to throw herself into study. She realised that she truly loved numbers, loved the class hours at the Faculty of Economics – Finance. The dedicated guidance of the teachers not only taught her about financial indices or risk management but also taught her how to “manage” her own life, helping the once-directionless student find her passion and her self-worth again.

“This degree is written with the youth of mother and father”

The most emotionally bursting touch point of the ceremony was the moment Thanh Phụng directed her eyes towards the stands – where her parents were quietly and proudly looking at their little daughter who had now grown up. In a choked voice, the new Finance Banking graduate sent the deepest gratitude to her parents:

“There were days I felt tired with the pile of dry specialised assignments, but then I suddenly remembered my father’s calloused hands, the nights my mother lay awake worrying about tuition. I realised that this degree not only prints my name, but it is written with the sweat, tears and even the youth of my parents”.

The achievement of standing on the honour podium today was cherishingly placed by Phụng into her parents’ hands as an apology for the stubbornness of youth, and as the most sincere thanks for the family’s limitless tolerance. Although the study results were sometimes not good, her parents never created pressure, and it is that unconditional love that is the greatest strength for her to look at herself and change. “Mum, Dad, today the child who once intended to ‘study just to get by’ has grown up”.

The starting point is not as important as the moment of deciding to change

Closing the brilliantly emotional speech, Thanh Phụng did not forget to convey a strong message to her peers – the new Bachelors of the 2022 course, those who are also standing before a brand-new page.

As a person who once struggled to find her direction, Phụng affirmed: “How your starting point is does not matter; what matters is the moment you decide to change. Don’t let the past define your future… Whether you were once an excellent student or once struggled with difficulties, today, success does not only lie in the degree we hold in our hands, it lies in the mettle to complete what we have started”.

Trần Gia Thanh Phụng’s university journey has officially closed, but the train named career and ambition has only just begun to depart. From the wobbly “gap year” intention to the inspiring speech on the Graduation podium, Phụng’s story is the most vivid proof for the message: It is never too late to stop living a faint life and start becoming the most brilliant version of yourself.