At age 18, Giàu’s happiness at being accepted into university was mixed with the possibility of giving up on her dream.
Ngọc Giàu grew up in a family of four children in a small village in Bình Định Province. All four siblings were diligent students and went on to pursue tertiary education. For their parents, supporting all of their children through university was a daunting financial challenge.
In 2022, it was Giàu’s turn. Her strong academic results earned her offers from leading universities in Hồ Chí Minh City, while one of her older brothers was already at university. Despite being proud of their daughter, her parents were concerned about the financial burden and the prospect of her living alone in the city, so they suggested that she give up her place.
After much consideration, Giàu decided that she still wanted to try her best, pursue her chosen field of study, and see how far she could go. She persuaded her parents to give her a chance, promising to work hard and find financial support to ease the burden on her family.
And Giàu nailed it.
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Last summer, Giàu graduated early from the HCMC University of Technology and Engineering with an outstanding academic record. Reflecting on this milestone, she shared:
“This achievement did not only come from my own efforts, but also from the opportunities and support I was fortunate to receive during my university journey.”
That support came from her family, friends, and teachers. She also received support from saigonchildren through the Scholarship Programme, in partnership with U-GO. Giàu calls the programme her “second family”, a place that has given her opportunities to unlock her potential and helped nurture the confidence she needed to pursue her dreams.

“The me from three years ago must be proud of who I am today.”
What makes us happiest is not only seeing what Giàu has achieved, but witnessing the person she has become along the way. When we first met her, she was very different from who she is today.
Giàu was one of four students from Vietnam selected to become a U-GO Ambassador at the U-GO Conference held in Đà Nẵng. When she applied, she did not expect to be selected because she was not confident in her English proficiency. But her attitude, determination, and clear plan for the future convinced the selection panel to give her a chance.
The opportunity motivated her to work hard on her English from the moment she received the news until the day she set off. The trip also gave her many memorable “firsts”: her first time travelling by plane, staying at a large hotel, and communicating and working directly with people from different countries. All of these experiences helped her become more confident in communication.
Giàu’s journey with saigonchildren had started even earlier. In 2023, she attended the Vietnam Girls’ Summit as part of saigonchildren’s PowHERful initiative. She remembers “sitting in the hall with excitement, curiosity, yet feeling overwhelmed by the scale of the event.”

Three years later, Giàu returned to PowHERful; but this time, she was no longer simply an audience member. She became one of 50 STEM-inspiring girls, directly guiding secondary school students in building STEM models, encouraging them to explore STEM, and cheering them on to believe in themselves.
Not long after that, Giàu took another step forward. She joined our digital literacy project for students in Tri Tôn, An Giang, as a volunteer class monitor. Over the course of a week, Giàu and other former scholarship recipients shared practical knowledge with students, from finding and sorting information and creating strong passwords to identifying fake and authentic news and writing emails.
Giàu came to share what she knew. And when she returned home, she realised she had gained a lot, too.


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Looking back on the journey she has taken, what Giàu values most is perhaps this:
“When I look back at who I was back then, I think the biggest change is that I have become more confident. I have more aspirations and a stronger desire to challenge myself, to visit new places, have new experiences, make friends, and learn. I have dared to step outside my comfort zone, without feeling shy or worrying that I’m not good enough or talented enough.”
That change has been shaped year by year, through each new school year, every time Giàu tried something new, the people she met, and the skills she learned. Above all, it has come from her own efforts to make the most of the opportunities that came her way.