Teacher Gets Third College Degree at 70

Portrait of teacher Huynh Thi Thu, a freshman for the third time at the age of 66, and by the age of 70, with three university degrees, many people admire her - Photo: DANG TUYET

Ms. Thu is a former teacher at Cao Huu Lau Secondary School, Cao Lanh City, Dong Thap Province, with two university degrees in Vietnamese-Chinese pedagogy and a bachelor's degree in English pedagogy. In August 2022, Ms. Thu received her third university degree at the age of 70, making many people admire her spirit of pursuing education.

Teacher explores learning many languages

In 1973, after graduating from Can Tho University, Ms. Thu chose to work in Vinh Long province with the plan to return to Can Tho to continue her bachelor's degree in literature, but due to the changes of the times, after a few months of studying, the program had to stop, leaving her dream of studying literature unfinished.

In 1990, she returned to teach at Kim Hong School, Dong Thap Province (now Kim Hong Secondary School) to take care of her parents. In 1997, she continued to earn a bachelor's degree in English pedagogy at Dong Thap University.

Local awards for Ms. Huynh Thi Thu fill her house - proof of lifelong learning - Photo: DANG TUYET

She then moved to Pham Huu Lau Secondary School to work until her retirement. Because she loved her job and school, her youth passed by and she has never been married.

"Back then, going to school was very difficult. On rainy days, I had to roll up my ao dai and carry my bicycle on muddy roads. To read newspapers, I had to register at the library to buy them. New knowledge had to come from books. Even though I didn't have a family, I had a meaningful life from studying and teaching," Ms. Thu said.

66 years old in the lecture hall

In 2007, Ms. Thu retired under the regime. Many years of being attached to the school, to the students and taking care of her parents helped her have a spiritual support and live optimistically.

Every morning she goes to the park to exercise with a group of elderly friends in the neighborhood, and when she comes home she hangs around with her grandchildren. Now that her parents are gone, her spiritual support is gone, the desire to return to school urges her more than ever.

Ms. Thu now uses her phone proficiently to read books online and look up information - Photo: DANG TUYET

"At the beginning of the 2018 school year, I went to exercise and saw Dong Thap University announcing enrollment for the work-study program. I applied to study Chinese language. The school did not mind my age and accepted my application right away," Ms. Thu said.

After several decades, returning to the lecture hall to sit with young people, with lecturers who were once my students, that awkward atmosphere passed very quickly.

"When I started school, I bought the latest, thick Chinese dictionary and carried it into class. Some students came to me and said, 'We rarely look up dictionaries these days. It's a waste of time. They're all on our smartphones,'" Ms. Thu recalled her first time going to class at the age of 66.

So, through the quick "popularization" of her classmates, Ms. Thu immediately bought a smartphone with social networking applications, created a group to exchange lessons, went online to look up information, look up dictionaries, watch cải lương... and especially studied online during the epidemic.

"Studying alongside helps me satisfy my passion for language research, and most of all, I get to integrate into the flow of the new, progressive, and integrated era. So, you are still young and have adequate learning conditions, so keep studying. When I was in school, I found that I was not familiar with using laptops and phones, so I want to study for an additional IT certificate in the near future," Ms. Thu added.

Ms. Huynh Thi Thu has received many certificates of merit from the People's Committee of Cao Lanh City for her contribution to building a learning society - Photo: DANG TUYET

On the occasion of Cao Lanh city being recognized as a "Learning City" under the UNESCO network, Ms. Huynh Thi Thu was awarded a certificate of merit by the Cao Lanh City People's Committee for her contribution to building a learning society.

According to Tuoi Tre