Do Gia Bao, class 7G0, Newton Secondary and High School, received the news that he won first prize in the city's excellent student competition in Information Technology on March 7. Last year, Gia Bao took the exam to advance to a higher level and won second prize.

The male student commented that this year's exam was similar to previous years. Some questions were a little more difficult but not beyond the knowledge he had learned. Of the 5 questions on the exam, he had difficulty with question number 4 because of the new format, Bao rarely encountered it so he was not familiar with the algorithm. The last question took a lot of time, the male student found a way to solve it but the presentation was not satisfactory, only about 70%.

According to Bao, questions 4 and 5 are always difficult, so he chooses his strength and doesn't put pressure on himself if he hasn't done them completely.

"After leaving the exam room, I was satisfied with what I had done," Bao said, adding that his result was 17.25 points, close to his expected score.

Compared to last year, Bao increased by more than 3 points, from second prize to first prize. Bao acknowledged that the reason was that he had allocated his time and had a more reasonable test-taking strategy. Last year, Bao spread out his work so he didn't have enough time for all 5 tests. This year, he decided to quickly finish the easy tests to move on to the difficult ones. In addition, for the more difficult tests, he only did the first ideas.

Bao has had a talent for Math since he was a child. Since elementary school, he has participated in many national and international competitions. Because of his solid Math foundation, when he started studying Computer Science in grade 3, he quickly caught on and found his passion for this subject.

Bao believes that unlike other subjects, Informatics is difficult to predict and has time pressure, helping him practice thinking and perseverance. In grade 4, Bao participated in youth Informatics competitions from school to city level. Inspired and trained by teachers, Bao increasingly loves this subject.

According to Bao, to study IT well, you need a foundation in Math, a desire to learn and a high level of concentration.

"This subject requires a lot of work with computers. If I get distracted by other things like playing games or using social networks, it will be difficult for me to focus on studying," Bao explained.

During his studies, Bao searched for English resources online. At first, he found it difficult because he encountered many technical terms, but with his curiosity and desire to learn, Bao found every way to understand. When encountering difficult algorithms, he read and coded many times to know how to apply them.

"I guess the meaning, if it's too difficult I use Google Translate or ask for help from teachers," Bao shared. Every day, the male student usually spends 2-3 hours doing exercises on sites with good IT practice resources. When focusing on exams, he never sleeps before 11pm.

Thanks to his ability to self-study, when studying on the same team as his older siblings, Bao did not spend much time filling in the gaps in his knowledge. For the parts he did not understand, he looked them up online and researched, and in about a week he was able to catch up.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Linh, homeroom teacher of class 7G0, was not surprised by Bao's achievements. The male student studied both the Vietnamese and international programs, but both completed well and were excellent in all aspects. Bao's monthly test scores were often the highest in the class, and he always scored 10 points in Math. The male student won gold medals in many Math competitions such as IMC, SASMO, AMO...

"Bao is a talent of 7G0. Currently, Bao is a top performer in both the Math and IT teams at school," said Ms. Linh.

Bao said that in addition to focusing on IT to participate in many other domestic and international competitions, he plans to take the Math exam next school year.

"Math is the foundation for IT. If I'm not good at Math, my IT will be somewhat weaker," Bao admitted.

The male student believes that with Computer Science, the important thing is to study on your own, because if you only rely on guidance, it will be difficult to progress. In addition, self-awareness, discipline, and passion are equally important.

"You must always have passion for IT to go far. Otherwise, after achieving your high score, you will no longer want to strive," Bao said.

Dawn