Proud to be HUFLITers #07 | M.A. Tran My Uyen – A lectern where a teacher wishes only to “watch her children grow up”

Defining “a good teacher”

Looking back more than 30 years, when she first stepped up to the lectern, Ms My Uyen carried all the enthusiasm of youth. Her idea of “a good lecturer” at the time was very simple: give everything to deliver the best possible lectures and pass on the greatest possible volume of knowledge to students. Teach one lesson thoroughly, and the job was done.

But the real turning point came in 2007, when she officially joined the HUFLIT family. There she heard a sentence she will probably never forget for the rest of her life. It came from Distinguished Teacher Huynh The Cuoc, Chairman of the HUFLIT Founding Council: “I come to campus every day not to work, but to see my children study and grow up.”

A single short sentence completely redirected her professional compass. She realised with a start that education is not about filling an empty bucket with an enormous body of knowledge. A teacher’s duty does not end when the bell rings; it lies in accompanying and guiding students so as to “see the children grow up” with one’s own eyes.

The “Head – Heart – Hand” philosophy and a lesson in “Kindness” born from a packet of rice paper on a summer afternoon

From that awakening, Ms My Uyen distilled a teaching philosophy built around three H’s: Head (knowledge) – Heart – Hand (action).

The Head is the foundation, but with knowledge alone a person becomes unfeeling. Education only comes alive when the teacher uses the Heart to understand and the Hand to act for their students. And one more “H” – HUFLIT – is the environment, the harbour that nurtures those three H’s so they can take root and grow. Her personal philosophy merges with the University’s core cultural values: Kindness and Learning.

At HUFLIT, kindness is not something written on paper; it is gathered from real, warm stories. That kindness began one afternoon in 2010, when she happened to find Ngoc – a student of the Faculty – tucked behind the fish pond by the rock garden, hurriedly chewing a dry packet of rice paper. Pained by the sight, she gently scolded: “Eating a packet of rice paper at this hour – how will you have room for lunch?”. Ngoc jumped, looked up at her, then answered shyly and softly: “Ma’am… this is my lunch”.

That timid, honest answer struck the heart of a teacher like a jolt. In that moment she stood frozen, her nose stinging, overwhelmed by feeling. It was the anguish of realising that she had just eaten her fill while her student was getting through the day’s hunger on a frugal packet of rice paper.

That ache would not let her sit still. The urging of the Hand became a call to action, rallying the Faculty’s teachers to join forces. And so the “Fund for students overcoming hardship” was formally established from that painfully bright afternoon, gathered from the hearts of those who hold the chalk at the lectern.

The fund was not built on enormous sponsorships, but on the carefully gathered, voluntary compassion of teachers who were “not rich in money, but boundless in feeling”. It supported lives such as the young woman working part-time at the shop across from the University, who borrowed tuition money from the fund and repaid it in small instalments of 10,000 or 15,000 dong a month. That utterly determined love of learning is what kept Ms Uyen here, because she knows that at HUFLIT, no one is left behind because of poverty.

The sweet fruit of growing up

By choosing to “come to campus to watch the children grow up”, what Ms My Uyen receives in return is the sweet fruit of gratitude passed on.

The seeds watered with understanding all those years ago have grown into tall trees. The fruit of education is measured not only by students becoming skilled professionals, but also by their integrity and compassion. The Ngoc of today is successful and living in Japan. And Thuy – a former student who once received support from the fund – on seeing younger students struggling through the Covid-19 pandemic, sent nearly 20 million dong from Australia to help juniors she had never met. The circle of kindness has closed, and in doing so has opened new, wider circles of its own.

HUFLIT – “A home that anchors human warmth”

For Ms My Uyen, HUFLIT is not merely a place to teach but a family, a place where she received complete shelter through the upheavals of her life. She still remembers the final four months beside her late husband: how she set aside every other concern to stay with him and care for her life partner in every small way until his very last moment.

Through those difficult days, her colleagues at the University quietly took on and shared her work so that she could fulfil that duty completely. The words of Distinguished Teacher Huynh The Cuoc on the day of the farewell: “Go in peace; you have left us a wife and children, and we will care for them” touched the very depths of her heart.

That sincere promise was not only a comfort; it became a sacred bond, anchoring her to this shared home with all her gratitude and a sense of belonging as deep as blood.

Across more than three decades at the lectern, Ms My Uyen has passed on not only knowledge but also seeds of kindness sown in every generation. Pages of course material may fade with time, but the legacy of a devoted teacher will remain, continuing to blossom in the growth of every HUFLITer.

And in this HUFLIT home, that flame of love is still being passed on, like a promise that on the journey towards your future, you will never have to walk alone.