"I call Humanities a private pride"

• Where do you work?
• I work at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
• So… did it cost you a lot of money to go there?
• I don't lose money applying for a job.

This is a conversation that I have repeated many times, especially after meeting my husband's relatives (because: my family and friends all know that my family is poor, and we don't have money to "run errands"). Behind each answer, I always feel a deep pride and gratitude towards the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

I was born and raised in a farming family in Thanh Thuy district, Phu Tho province. The day I got in the car to Hanoi to take the university entrance exam, I was still wondering: “Dad! Which university should I take the exam for? Humanities or Pedagogy I? Studying Pedagogy will not require tuition, but studying Humanities has a high-quality system - you will study according to a separate training program and have a special scholarship, Dad”… Perhaps, my parents both understood that I was also worried about the economic burden they had to bear when sending me to university. The day I received the notice of admission to the Humanities, my parents were very happy but also worried a lot. Tuition, accommodation, books… and then will there be a series of other expenses such as: failure fee, subject fee, November 20 fee… like in the stories of parents’ friends whose children study at other universities?

I became a K50 student of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. After studying and experiencing it myself, I realized that this is a highly academic and humane environment. We students learn for real, take real exams, and the exam results reflect each person's true academic ability. After 4 years of university, 3 years of graduate school, and now being a PhD student at the University, I still feel very lucky to be a student of the teachers of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. The teachers always teach enthusiastically, help me open the door of knowledge, instill in me a love of science, and most of all, let me feel humanity. The teachers always give students a true teacher-student relationship. Maybe somewhere else, degrees can be bought with money, points can be exchanged for material gifts; but, at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, I have never seen that happen.

I believe that I am destined for this school. I graduated from university in June 2009 and returned to work at the school in October 2010. Once again, I silently thank the impartiality of the teachers in the Faculty of Philosophy, the School Board of Directors, the Organization and Personnel Department and other functional departments. Because if it were not for that impartiality, perhaps a poor bachelor from a rural area like me would never have realized my dream of becoming a university lecturer. And even happier is that I am a lecturer at the beloved School of Humanities.

I am so proud and grateful – University of Social Sciences and Humanities!