Born with severe visual impairment, Dong Thi Hai Yen has defied expectations to earn admission offers from seven of the world's leading universities.
Dong Thi Hai Yen, born in 2000 in Lang Giang, Bac Giang Province, has been admitted to master's programmes at seven of the world's leading universities, including Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, Columbia, Yale, Brown and Johns Hopkins.
Among the offers she received are a full scholarship from Oxford University and a financial support package worth nearly VND4 billion (US$154,000) over two years from Yale University.
Leaving home at seven with only a family photograph
Visually impaired student Dong Thi Hai Yen has received admission offers from several of the world's leading universities. Photo: Courtesy of the subject
Born with a congenital visual impairment, Yen underwent seven surgeries before she was one month old. Despite those efforts, vision in her left eye remains limited to just 0.5 out of 10, while her right eye has completely lost sight.
At the age of five and a half, she began attending a school for children with disabilities in Bac Giang. Two years later, following advice from a member of the provincial blind association, her father made the difficult decision to send her to a shelter for visually impaired children in Ho Chi Minh City.
"That decision was not easy, but my father always believed it was the best thing for me. His faith became the motivation that carried me forward," Yen said.
At seven years old, she learned to live away from home, carrying with her only a family photograph and the unconditional love of her parents. She spent a year receiving individual tutoring from nuns at the shelter before joining mainstream education in the third grade.
While her classmates needed only two textbooks for each subject, Yen had to use nine or ten Braille volumes. Yet the greatest challenge was not academic.
"In seventh grade, I wanted to quit school because I was teased by classmates and felt insecure about my appearance," she recalled.
However, she soon realised that without education she might have to depend on others for the rest of her life.
"I believed education was the path that would allow people with disabilities to take control of their own lives," she said.
From then on, Yen set clear goals for herself and consistently achieved outstanding academic results throughout her school years.
Beyond the classroom, she won more than 50 domestic and international sports medals, including a silver medal at the 2015 ASEAN Para Games and a gold medal at the 2017 Asian Youth Para Games.
The road to the world's leading universities
Yen hopes to pursue advanced research in mental health. Photo: Courtesy of the subject
In 2018, Yen enrolled in the Social Work programme at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City. After two years, she realised the environment was not fully aligned with her academic ambitions and decided to pursue a different path.
In 2020, she was admitted to Fulbright University Vietnam.
The transition proved challenging. Language barriers and a completely different learning approach left her under constant pressure.
"The students around me were incredibly talented and spoke English fluently. At the time, I could only understand about 10 per cent of what my professors were saying," she said.
At the end of her first semester, Yen received the first D grade of her life. Instead of giving up, she doubled down on her efforts. She recorded lectures to replay later and sought help from the university's academic support centre to improve her study skills.
Gradually, her hard work paid off.
In 2024, she graduated with distinction in both Psychology and Vietnamese Studies and received the university's Honour distinction, placing her among the top 20 per cent of students academically.
Research, service and a vision for the future
Hai Yen attends international conferences as part of her academic and advocacy work. Photo: Courtesy of the subject
Following graduation, Yen spent two years working while preparing applications for graduate study abroad. Her long-term goal is to become a university lecturer and pursue advanced research in mental health.
In her applications to leading universities, she chose not to focus on personal achievements. Instead, she centred her essays on a broader question: who she wanted to become and how she hoped to contribute to society.
She highlighted research projects she had participated in, including a collaboration with Harvard University examining overthinking among LGBTQI+ adolescents and studies exploring the impact of mental health on unemployment among people with disabilities in Vietnam and the United States.
In 2021, Yen co-founded a therapeutic massage spa project that creates employment opportunities for people with disabilities. She also helped establish The VIP Companion, an organisation that provides training in skills such as AI applications and CV writing for visually impaired individuals.
Yen hopes to become a university lecturer after completing her master's and doctoral studies. Photo: Courtesy of the subject
During interviews with admissions committees, Yen consistently emphasised that visual impairment was not a barrier.
"Limitations come from a lack of effort, not from eyesight," she told interviewers.
Supported by a strong academic record, extensive research experience and six recommendation letters from professors and international researchers, Yen eventually received admission offers from seven prestigious universities.
After careful consideration, she chose Yale University because its programme best matched her interests in public health and mental health research, despite the need to cover part of her living expenses independently.
Looking back, Yen believes her achievements are the result of the love and support she received from her parents, the nuns who cared for her, teachers and friends who encouraged her throughout her journey.
This August, she will leave for the United States to begin the next chapter of her education.
Challenges undoubtedly lie ahead, but Yen remains optimistic. She compares her eyes to a small window that lets in only a little light.
"A large window can welcome a great deal of sunlight. My window only lets in a little light, but I believe I have never been limited in my ability to search for light," she said.
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