VietNamNet Bridge – Le Phuoc Thiet, an 84-year-old man from the central province of Quang Nam, has become well known for his university attendance, but few know of his generosity and kindness.

With “young” clothes, the 84-year-old student Le Phuoc Thiet (middle with his classmates at Duy Tan University in Da Nang. VNS Photo Nguyen Ha

Thiet, who has completed his first year in a master’s degree programme in business management at Duy Tan University in Da Nang, gave up his assigned dorm room to one of his fellow students.

To encourage local students to finish high school, Thiet has offered scholarships to 100 poor students from the city’s Dai Loc District.

At the university, Thiet asked his much younger classmates and teacher to refrain from calling him Bac (Vietnamese for fathers’ elder brother), to which they readily agreed.

Thiet and his family moved to the US when he was a young child. In the US, he received his bachelor’s degree at the age of 69.

After returning to Viet Nam in 2013, he enrolled in the university in Da Nang, where he is a model student. If he is absent from class, he calls lecturers to ask about what he does not understand.

“My effort to attend university is to set an example for our descendants,” Thiet said.  

VNS