The Foundation has selected Ms. Uyen to be the 2023 Valedictorian Scholarship recipient. Her academic accomplishments thus far have been very impressive. Her involvements in extracurricular activities and philanthropic works are equally outstanding. Considering both in the backdrop of a financially challenged family, we truly believe that Ms. Uyen has the foundation and determination to successfully complete her Masters degree and positively contribute to society. We hope the modest scholarship money will help ease her transition in France and her story be an inspiration for many other students.

Ms. Uyen's Scholarship Essay

I am Uyen Nguyen, a 27-year-old Vietnamese young woman who always exert effort to advance. I am the only child in the family. My father passed away when I was only a little kid at primary school. Because certain family members of the father did not want us to stay at their home, my mother and I had to rely on one another to survive. Currently, I have been the family's main provider of income.

My father died of lung cancer when I was 8 years old after a protracted period of medication and suffering. My mother had no employment at the time since she spent her entire working week at home caring for my father, which left my family on the verge of financial ruin. My mother and I have always tried to maintain optimism even though things had gotten too difficult for us. We also put a lot of effort into building our new life without my father. We went back to stay in my grandmother's little attic at her house. My mother worked at my aunt's hair salon to cover living expenses. Magically, my mother could still provide me with full education and caring with the meager income she made from that work. She firmly thought that the best way to eradicate poverty is through education, and it was her priority. That served as a fantastic source of motivation and fortitude for me. She was like a spark in the dark to lead me through all burdensome circumstances and hopelessness. That is when the situation gets awful, if you constantly think optimistically and do your best, hoping for a better life, the entire world will support you.

By passing the entrance test at Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted, one of the two most renowned specialized institutions in Ho Chi Minh City, I consistently demonstrated my aptitude for learning. Then, I studied at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, the most prestigious engineering institution in Vietnam. I traveled more than 60 miles between two campuses each day at that time in order to attend all the courses from 6:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

During my four years as a student, I built a friendship with two pupils, and I tutored them every day, save Sunday. At the same time, I helped a friend's mother conduct an English class for local kids on weekends. Because I did not have many options to study English in centers or supplementary classes as a youngster, I sympathized the conditions of these children very well and felt driven to do something to support them. We only charge a moderate price to cover the costs of running the classroom because most of the children come from low-income families.

Besides all the efforts to study at school and earn finances, I never forget to enhance my professional experiences. I joined the Microsoft apprenticeship program to improve my soft skills and build networks for a year and a half. In addition, I had high concern about children, especially orphans, so I joined the UNICEF Wearable for goods in 2015 with a project named Guard Band and my team is proudly the finalist representing Vietnam on the final round. Finally, I challenged myself to participate in the Shine Hackathon for Windows 10, which was a high coding competition, and fortunately, my team won the first prize. My tiny accomplishments have been built from long-term attempts, high discipline, and an eagerness to learn.

After graduating from university, I began my first employment at an English center system, advising and assisting students and parents on their path to mastering the language, primarily English. This employment has provided me with a steady income, which has allowed me to save and plan for my master's degree studies. Because my profession is in the service business, I worked from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday through Sunday, including weekends. During the covid epidemic, my industry was severely affected, and my income also decreased significantly. I started thinking about my plan to go for studying master's degree which I've been planning for a long time but haven't started yet because I didn’t think it was the right time and I was not ready financially either.

After all, with the determination and desire to escape poverty, to be able to give my mother and myself a better life, I decided to prepare a master's study abroad application. I chose France because it is one of the top-quality educations in the world. In addition, tuition fees are more reasonable than in some English-speaking countries and the government also has a lot of support for international students. After work, I prepared myself for the TOEIC English test and achieved a score of 960/990 which is equivalent to the C1 level. Furthermore, I registered for a French course in a public center to be readily integrated into an abroad living. Fortunately, through unremitting efforts, after an interview and being assessed, I was successfully qualified to become a master's student in Data Science at IMT Atlantique in 2023 which is ranked top 5th in Computer science in France and 150th in the world.

About the financial aspect, my saving can cover the first year's tuition fee and a part of life expenses. Besides, during my studies, I plan to work part-time to gain experience and at the same time have an income to cover accommodation costs and get saving for the 2nd year's tuition fee. Despite the diminution of the tuition fees offered by the school, the full cost of 8600 euros is really out of reach of my hand. I accepted all the risks of resigning from my current job, giving up everything in Vietnam to follow a thorny road to change my family’s life.

For all of the aforementioned reasons, I am eager to apply for the Valedictorian scholarship. This prize not only provides financial assistance for my master's student life, but it also serves as motivation for me to take the next step. I've never sought a philanthropic scholarship in my life since I feel there are many individuals who need them more than I do. However, this time I truly need aid from society to make my studies ambition come reality.