Le Thanh Trung, Valedictorian of the graduation period of April, 2018

Graduating ahead of the schedule with excellent achievements in academic and training program, Le Thanh Trung, new bachelor from the Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics was valedictorian of the graduation period of April, 2018. The following is the exchange made between Thanh Trung and the STDT Communication (STDTC) of Ton Duc Thang University on Trung’s learning processes.

STDTC: Congratulate Trung on graduating from university and finishing your study at TDTU. How is your feeling, especially when you were the valedictorian of this graduation period?

Thanh Trung: I’m very happy and proud of the achievements which have partly contributed to my great gratitude to my parents and lecturers. Now, I feel a little bit sad because I am going to leave this university, so I will not have opportunity to meet my lecturers, my friends with many other things that have been familiar to me for nearly four years.

STDTC: Why did you choose Mathematics as your major at TDTU? It is said that Mathematics- Statistics is a dry field of study and difficult for us to find a job. What’s your thinking of this view?

Thanh Trung: Mathematics and discipline were two important reasons for me to choose TDTU. Apparently, Mathematics is just numbers and dry mathematical formulas, but there are many wonders inside it. The truth is that you can completely apply these seemingly dry things into the colorful world where you are free to express your imagination. I really like a saying of Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philipp Cantor that "The essence of mathematics lies in its freedom."

In terms of employment, I think that job opportunities are mainly dependent on us as well as our attitudes during studying and working. If you live, study and work hard, you will find a good and appropriate job. There are many employment opportunities relating mathematics in the current 4.0 industrial revolution.

STDTC: Not only graduated with outstanding result and grade point average of 9.57, Trung also achieved excellent training point with 99/100 and graduated ahead of the schedule. How could Trung achieve so many achievements at the same time?

Thanh Trung: I effectively applied Frank Oppenheimer's saying that "The best way to learn is to teach." Therefore, I often organized group studies and helped other students in learning because it was also a good way for me to learn effectively and save my time. The effective way when studying in university is group learning.  In my group, there were also a lot of good students who graduated with outstanding result and ahead of schedule. In addition, I always highly focused on listening to the lecturers and tried to understand all lectures during my classes, so I saved time to participate in extracurricular activities to fulfill the role of a monitor, a member of Executive Board of Faculty student Association. Thus, I recognized that making an effort in every lesson will help us spend more time doing other things.

TDTU: How did the study and training at TDTU help you be more mature?

Thanh Trung: TDTU provide students with the best conditions to study and practice so that students are able to fully develop themselves. The lecturers and staff here always take care of students. I felt very lucky to learn at TDTU.

STDTC: Do you want to say something to your lecturers, family and friends?

Thanh Trung: Firstly I would like to send my gratitude to my family who are always beside me to back me up every time: "Thank you for everything you did for me, I love you so much!" Next, I would like to send my deepest and sincere thanks to the Presidential Board, lecturers and all the staffs of TDTU who always devoted themselves to the students’ development. I wish TDTU strong and sustainable development. Besides, I would like to send my thankfulness to the lecturers of Faculty of Mathematics and Statistic and Faculty of Information Technology for conveying the precious knowledge with their most devotion and enthusiasm. In particular, I would like to thank Ms. Minh Huyen, Assistant to the President, I hope that she can read my though now because for me, she is like "good mother" of TDTU. Her interest makes students feel the spirit of lecturer’s love and mother’s love. I would like to wish her prosperous health to continue to lead the generations of students after my generation. I also want to send gratitude to Mr. Nguyen Anh, thank "master" for always patiently guiding me to study and research mathematics. He is the best teacher I have ever known and I feel extremely lucky to study with him. Finally, I would like to thank my classmates, thank "Du Muc team" for standing side by side with me over the past 4 years. The memories of my student life with you are the most beautiful memories of my life. I wish you all success on your chosen path.

STDTC: What is your future orientation?

Thanh Trung: In the near future, my goal is to continue to study the Master’s program and maybe Ph.D. program if I have a chance. Then, I will work in the field of Mathematics because I have great passion for Mathematics.

STDTC: What is your living maxim? Do you have any advices for students who are still studying, especially high school students who are nurturing the desire to study in Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics at TDTU?

Thanh Trung: My living maxim is: "Pursue the passion, success will follow you." It is also my advice for other students, especially high school students in making a decision to choose the field of study. The path to pursue your passion will have different difficulties, but try to always aim at the destination because of your passion.

STDTC: Thank Trung! Wish you good health and hope you will fulfill your ambition in a short time and remember to always be proud of being a TDTU student.