Dear Karen and all members of Lifestart Foundation,
My name is Le Thi Ngoc Hanh and I am a Year 9 student at Le Ngoc Gia Secondary School. I feel very honoured to have been selected as a recipient of the Lifestart Foundation scholarship and am writing this letter to express my sincere gratitude to you for awarding it to me, and to share more about my family and current life. I hope that through this letter, you will better understand my circumstances.
My family has five members: my father, my two elder sisters, myself and my younger brother. Over two years ago, my mother passed away suddenly, which was a great loss for our family. Since then, our lives have become even more difficult. My father is a construction worker in our local area and works very hard every day to support the family. My eldest sister works as a sales assistant and my second sister is currently a fourth-year student at the University of Economics – University of Danang. My younger brother is in Year 6 at Le Ngoc Gia Secondary School.
At the moment, I am preparing for my second semester exams, which fall during the harvest season. The weather is very hot and seeing my father working long hours in construction and then rushing home to tend to the farm makes me understand how hard he works. My grandfather lives nearby, but he has been seriously ill since he had a stroke two months ago. He is partially paralysed and unable to speak, so he needs constant care from the family. This has added more pressure on my father, which motivates me to try even harder in my studies.
My academic results are currently very good and I am ranked first in my class. My favourite subjects are Maths and Natural Science. Maths helps me develop logical thinking and problem-solving skills, while Natural Science helps me better understand the world around us.
At school, I always try to focus in class, listen carefully to my teachers and ask questions whenever I do not understand something. I am careful to take notes and actively participate in lessons. I also get along well with my classmates, helping them when they have difficulties with their studies. Furthermore, I always take part in school activities such as camps, training sessions and team activities, as well as school campaigns and events.
I am currently taking extra classes in Maths, English, Physics and Chemistry with teachers near my home. Because of my family situation, my teachers kindly support me by not charging any fees, which motivates me to work even harder. After school, I usually spend more than three hours studying at home, completing homework, reviewing lessons, reading books and practising for the upcoming entrance exam to high school.
At present, I am focusing on preparing for the Year 10 entrance exam, a very important one for me. I am trying to manage my time well and revise key subjects such as Maths, Literature and English. In addition to school lessons, I study by myself at home, practise exercises and work on past exam papers to strengthen my knowledge and skills. Although I sometimes feel pressure, the encouragement from my family, teachers and in particular, the support from you has motivated me to keep trying; your scholarship is a great source of encouragement for me to do my best in the upcoming exam.
In my free time, I help my family with household chores such as cooking, washing dishes and doing laundry. During the harvest season, I also help with farm work such as sorting beans and drying crops.
In the future, I hope to become a Maths teacher because I have a strong passion for this subject. I would like to share knowledge with students and help them understand and enjoy Maths more. Seeing students improve and achieve good results would bring me great happiness and motivation.
When I attended the scholarship interview, I initially felt quite nervous because it was an important opportunity for me. However, as the interview progressed, I became more confident and tried to express my thoughts honestly. When I found out that I had been awarded the scholarship, I felt delighted and proud that my efforts had been recognised, as were my family who continue to encourage me to study hard and make the most of this opportunity.
After receiving the scholarship, I felt extremely happy and deeply grateful for this extremely meaningful gift. It is not only recognition of the effort I’ve put into my studies but also a strong source of encouragement, motivating me to continue striving and achieve even better results in the future. In addition, it helps ease the financial burden of my education on the family. With this support, I feel more at ease to focus on my studies and motivated to continue working hard to achieve stronger academic outcomes.
Once again, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of you for your generous support. Your help has made my educational journey more secure and given me hope for the future and I thank all the staff and members of Lifestart Foundation for giving me this valuable opportunity. I wish you and your families good health, happiness and peace.
Yours sincerely,
Le Thi Ngoc Hanh