Putting off the planned trans-Viet tour, Le Cong Toan, a student of the TH School, takes advantage of summer free days to learn English, discover technological apps and study the American culture.

Three years ago, Toan, who left Ha Tinh for Hanoi to follow high education, could not imagine that he could land in Washington and study in a US university one day.

Toan said he obtained the scholarship with his great efforts and the support and consultancy of a senior in the school.

He applied for the scholarship to Whitman School on the last day of 2018, just several hours before the deadline. On January 18, he received a letter to offer financial support of up to $66, 650 per annum for four years.

Later, six other schools invited Toan to study at their schools with different financial support levels, but Toan decided to study information technology at Whitman.

He believes that besides his good learning records, he got the nod from the members of the schools’ board of management thanks to his essay.

The essay, with more than 600 words, began with the cry for wares at night in Hanoi. The student retraced the memory about his difficult but beautiful days he spent with the grandmother.

Toan’s parents left Vietnam for a foreign country where they worked as export laborers when he was small. The grandmother took the responsibility of taking care for Toan and his siblings.

His childhood was happy with the grandmother’s unconditional love which helped the grandchildren forget about difficulties.

Toan’s grandmother was a vendor. She sold fruits, vegetables and chewing gum.

The boy once went peddling to help the grandmother. He saw people staring at him. He felt ashamed, but he plucked up courage and tried to sell goods. The experience made him understand that it is never simple work to make money.

Toan participates in many organizations, from the clubs in his schools to social organizations. He is now a member of Econkids, an organization founded by Hanoi’s students to educate children how to use money in a more effective and responsible way.

Commenting about Vietnam’s education, Toan said he wants the schools in Vietnam to change the teaching method.

“It’s necessary to change the way schools teach many subjects, including history, English and physical exercises. It’d be better to give more practical knowledge. For me, statistics probability in A level program is the most useful subject of mathematics,” he said. 

Le Ha

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