VietNamNet Bridge - With her appearance, 19-year-old girl Tran Thi Dieu Lien seems quiet and shy unlike many other students who study overseas. 

 


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Tran Dieu Lien

 

Lien, who was an English major at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted in HCM City, one of the most presgious schools in Vietnam, has been admitted to Harvard University with a scholarship of $302,920 for four years of study.

The dream of the girl whose parents are untrained workers has come true.

Lien began dreaming of studying abroad when she was at Tran Dai Nghia School. At that time, she first heard about A*Star scholarship granted by the Singaporean government.

 With her appearance, 19-year-old girl Tran Thi Dieu Lien seems quiet and shy unlike many other students who study overseas. 
However, her efforts were not enough to allow her obtain the scholarship.

But she never gave up. At general school, Lien had many achievements in learning and scientific research. These included fourth prize at Intel ISEF (The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair) with work on a board to display braille for the blind.

Lien said she spent money to buy junk and scrap iron to make new things and satisfy her passion. She said that she is very likely to follow a technical major at Harvard.

She also took part in many extracurricular charity activities when she was at general school. 

For many years, Lien taught children at orphanages.

“This was simply because teaching is the work I love,” she explained. “I believe that by teaching, one can change many things in someone’s life."

“I love the sense that I can change other people’s minds and I can help change the ways people make choices for themselves,” she said.

Born into a family with limited financial capability, Lien understands that everything in her life will depend on her capability and efforts. 

Lien said she feels lucky as she has parents who always respected her decisions and let her determine her way in life. 

She said that her case shows that a family’s financial capability does not always determine whether someone can study at US universities.


Ngoc Thuy