Becoming the “golden boy” of the International Chemistry Olympiad, Hung’s initial passion and choice was not Chemistry but English. During his primary school years, Hung spent a lot of time on this favorite foreign language, and soon became fluent in communication, reading additional documents in English to supplement his studies. In grades 6 and 7, Hung set a goal of studying English well to participate in the provincial excellent student competition at the end of his grade.

Nguyen Huu Tien Hung and the Vietnamese team won the Gold Medal at the International Chemistry Olympiad

Since 8th grade, Hung switched to Biology to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. However, during his studies, when he was introduced to Chemistry, the male student was attracted by the fascinating chemical reactions, from simple to complex.

Hung often watches YouTube videos explaining phenomena in life, about common diseases, from Ted-ed videos, simple explanations about pathogens and disease progression, then learns more about immune mechanisms through the Osmosis from Elsevier channel.

Those videos drew Hung into Chemistry without him realizing it. With the encouragement of his sister, also a Chemistry major at Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted, Hung changed his focus to studying Chemistry.

At the beginning of grade 9, Hung joined the school's provincial Chemistry competition team. As the latest student to join the team (other students joined the Chemistry team from grade 8 - PV), Hung had to work extra hard. To catch up with his friends, every day, after the team class, Hung borrowed his friends' notebooks to take notes, studied previous knowledge on his own, and asked his teachers and friends for guidance on things he didn't understand. At the same time, the male student actively read documents online, especially English documents, as well as diligently performed Chemical reactions.

Hung read Chemistry books taught at universities in England and America. Among them, Organic Chemistry by David Klein helped Hung grasp the basic knowledge of organic chemistry. As for Chemistry knowledge, Hung distilled it from many different sources and learning channels.

With that tireless effort, Nguyen Huu Tien Hung excellently won first prize in the provincial Chemistry competition for excellent students in grade 9, to the surprise of his teachers and friends.

Although he started later and slower, with perseverance, persistence and a spirit of self-study, Hung accelerated to the finish line with impressive results. With this achievement, Tien Hung was admitted directly to the 10th grade Chemistry major at Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted and joined the school's excellent student team.

In the early days of joining the Chemistry team of Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted, Hung continued to face challenges when his initial scores in the team were not good, even getting 20/40 points once.

“That score shocked me, and I had to pull myself together, look at everything and study seriously. During that time, I also received active support from teachers and gradually asserted myself,” Hung said.

In grade 11, the excellent male student won the second prize in the National Chemistry Competition and the Gold Medal in the Asian Chemistry Olympiad. This was a springboard to help him gain confidence in his journey to conquer Chemistry to achieve brilliant successes later.

Every day, Hung spends about 3 hours on Chemistry, and balances the rest of his time with other subjects. The male student believes that although he loves Chemistry, he must balance and study all subjects equally, because knowledge from one subject will complement the other.

“If you study well in natural sciences such as Math, Physics, Biology, it will be a great complement to Chemistry. Or being good at English will also help you have the means to explore more foreign documents, broaden your knowledge,” Hung shared, adding that to study well, you need to understand the root cause of the problem, grasp the basic knowledge, and from there you will be able to solve difficult problems.

Hung's principle is to limit staying up late, build a reasonable schedule to balance studying, resting, and comprehensive development. After each stressful study hour, he often listens to music, reads books, and exercises.

With that learning method, in grade 12, Tien Hung continued to win first prize in the national excellent student competition in Chemistry and was one of four members of the Vietnamese team participating in the 2024 International Chemistry Olympiad.

During the "fiery" days of urgently reviewing for the International Chemistry Olympiad team at Hanoi National University of Education, Hung received great joy - being admitted to the Communist Party of Vietnam.

And on June 3, 2024, Hung returned to Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted to attend the Party admission ceremony - one of the memorable milestones of his brilliant youth at the age of 18.

More than 3 weeks after the Party admission ceremony, Hung left for Saudi Arabia to participate in the International Chemistry Olympiad. “Going to the competition not only as a student but also as an 18-year-old Party member gave me a feeling of excitement, joy, worry, pride, and a sense of responsibility to do my best in this competition,” Hung said.

The International Chemistry Olympiad exam has two parts, including a 4.5-hour theoretical test and a 1.5-hour practical test, of which the theoretical test is worth 60 points and the practical test is worth 40 points.

Each test is evaluated independently, the total score of each part is the final result of the candidate. Although he encountered difficult questions, remembering the teacher's instructions, Hung calmly read each question carefully, solving the easy questions first, the difficult ones later, and making sure he did it well. With great effort and concentration, he still had about 15 minutes left to check his work.

Although I was quite confident in my work, I couldn't help but feel nervous because the results of the International Chemistry Olympiad were kept secret until the last minute and announced at the awards ceremony on the night of July 29, 2024 (Vietnam time).

Hung burst into happiness and joy when he heard his name announced as the winner of the Gold Medal at the 2024 International Chemistry Olympiad, with the highest score of the Vietnamese delegation and ranked 17th in the world. The outstanding achievement of the young man from Quan Ho homeland contributed to the Vietnamese delegation ranking 2nd in the world (tied with the US) after China.

“Until now, I still feel proud and happy when I hold the Vietnamese flag up on the podium to receive the Gold Medal at the International Chemistry Olympiad. How proud I am when the two words Vietnam are shouted out in the international Olympic arena. That is a joy and also a great motivation for me not to rest on my laurels but to continue to strive and strive to achieve more outstanding achievements, contributing to making my homeland and country famous,” said Tien Hung.

Hung is currently a first-year student at Hanoi Medical University. Despite having the opportunity to study abroad, the "golden boy" of Chemistry chose to "land" at this dream school, to pursue the goal of becoming a good doctor, curing and saving people.

“I want to study in the country to build a solid foundation of knowledge. Later, if I have the opportunity, I will study abroad to expand and improve my knowledge, skills, and relationships, but the ultimate goal is still to return to the country to contribute and develop the country's medicine,” Hung shared.

With his tireless efforts and many outstanding achievements, Hung is one of the outstanding young faces in the top 19 nominations for the Outstanding Young Vietnamese Faces Award 2024.

Impressive achievements of Nguyen Huu Tien Hung:

- Gold Medal of International Chemistry Olympiad 2024.

- Second Class Labor Medal.

- Gold Medal of Asian Chemistry Olympiad 2023.

- First Prize in the National Chemistry Competition for Excellent Students (grade 12).

- First Prize in the Bac Ninh Province Chemistry Competition for Excellent Students in Grade 9.

- Second Prize in the National Chemistry Competition for Excellent Students (grade 11).

- Admitted to become a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam while still a 12th grade student.

Content: Luu Trinh | Graphics: Kieu Tu

Source: https://tienphong.vn/tam-huy-chuong-cua-su-no-luc-ben-bi-post1722715.tpo