The male student in the photo is Nguyen Hoang Anh (born in 1998, from Quang Ngai).

Sharing with VietNamNet, Hoang Anh said that he had just graduated with a master's degree in Economics and Law from Thu Dau Mot University (Binh Duong). His mother from his hometown in Quang Ngai came to Binh Duong to congratulate him on this special holiday.

Talking about the act of putting on the master's gown and kneeling to his mother on the day he received his master's degree, Hoang Anh expressed: "I grew up without the care and love of my father. My mother is the one who worked hard and sacrificed to raise me, thanks to her I have this degree. And my mother is the happiest thing in the world, so I knelt down to thank her for her great sacrifice and to leave beautiful memories with her. When I knelt down, my mother didn't say anything. She looked down at me. I know she was very happy inside."

Carrying noodles to raise children

Hoang Anh's mother is Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Chung (62 years old). She has been selling noodles at Quan Lat market (Duc Chanh commune, Mo Duc district, Quang Ngai) for more than 40 years. In Hoang Anh's eyes, his mother is a gentle and honest person. Her life has gone through countless hardships to raise her two children.

Hoang Anh said that this was the first time his mother had taken 3 days off from the market to attend his graduation ceremony. From elementary school to high school, his mother had never attended a parent-teacher meeting for him, even when she was sick, because she had to go to the market to sell noodles to earn money.

“Every day, my mother only sleeps a few hours. During the day, she sells noodles at the market, comes home at night to soak rice, and wakes up at 1am to grind and make noodles in time for the market. I don’t know how many times my mother borrowed money for me to pay for school fees and then paid in installments, and how many times the piglets had to be sold. My mother worked day and night, selling each kilo of noodles. Even in storms, my mother still tried to sell on the street because she was afraid I wouldn’t have money to study…”, Hoang Anh said.

Although her family is poor, Ms. Chung has never refused her children's request for money for school fees or books because she always wants her children to study well and have a good education so that life will be less miserable.

“Before, my mother did not dare to miss a market day because she was afraid that her children would go hungry and not have money to pay for school, but when I told her to attend my master's graduation ceremony, she was excited and prepared beautiful clothes and shoes to attend because she had been looking forward to this day for a long time. My mother always asked when I would graduate? My mother kept looking forward to it. When I finished university, the Covid-19 pandemic prevented the school from holding a graduation ceremony. It was only when I finished my master's degree that my mother attended,” Hoang Anh shared.

Thank you mom not only by kneeling

In grade 10, Hoang Anh failed the entrance exam to public high school and had to choose to study at the Center for Continuing Education and Vocational Guidance in Mo Duc district.

“When I failed the high school entrance exam, I told my mother, but she didn’t know if there was any school for me to attend. Later, I was introduced to a continuing education center. During the three years of high school, my mother didn’t know where my school was, but she always encouraged me to study hard, always trying to make sure I didn’t lack money to go to school,” Hoang Anh recalled.

Although his house is more than 10 km from school, Hoang Anh has been bullied by his friends but he still goes to school regularly and is determined to study.

“In 10th grade, for the first time, I received a 600,000 VND scholarship to encourage my studies. I was able to receive it before the flag-raising ceremony. From that moment on, I told myself that I would study hard and one day I would succeed,” Hoang Anh recalled.

After graduating from high school, Hoang Anh passed the entrance exam to Thu Dau Mot University, majoring in Economic Law. After that, he continued to study for a master's degree.

Feeling sorry for his mother's hard work, during his time studying, Hoang Anh worked many extra jobs and tried to win scholarships to have money to cover living expenses.

Hoang Anh is one of 9 Vietnamese students selected by the international organization P2A to go to Malaysia University of Technology and BINUS University Indonesia to participate in the exchange of study and work experiences between students and lecturers from Southeast Asian countries. In addition, Hoang Anh is also the Panasonic scholarship ambassador in 2023.

Currently, Hoang Anh is teaching at 2 secondary schools in Binh Duong. Hoang Anh wishes to teach at Thu Dau Mot School, but because the school has no recruitment plan, he is still waiting for an opportunity.

After the photo became famous on social media, Hoang Anh said his mother was very happy because many people congratulated "Mrs. Chung's son, who sells noodles, on becoming a master."

Hoang Anh himself also received many congratulations and support. Besides, there were also negative comments.

“I don’t care too much about those comments. Maybe because people haven’t been in my situation, they don’t fully understand my gratitude for my mother. My act of kneeling down to my mother comes from my deep gratitude towards her,” Hoang Anh said.

Hoang Anh shared that he now has a job and earns money so he sends money home every month to help his mother make her life less difficult. Besides, he is applying to study for a doctorate.

“Studying further is also my mother’s wish, so I am currently completing my doctoral application. After finishing my studies, I will probably return to my hometown to teach to take care of my mother because she lives alone and doesn’t want to go far, she just wants to live in her homeland,” Hoang Anh said.