(VNF) – Like many of her peers, Hanh Phan, a teen girl in Nghi Xuan district, Ha Tinh province used to be a smartphone addict. Fortunately, she later realized the negative impact of the addiction and was determined to get rid of it. Hanh even made use of her past experience with smartphone addiction to successfully convince 13 universities in US to admit her with scholarships of great value.

This summer, Hanh just graduated from the Highschool for the Gifted under the Vinh university (Nghe An province) and is accepted by 13 American universities. More to mention, all of those universities request to offer Hanh scholarships, of which some worths VND 1 billion/year.

Phan Thi Hanh is offered scholarship to study in 13 US universities. (source: DT News)

Talking about her experience in pursuing scholarships in US, Hanh said, apart from excellent academic record, proficient English and impressive extra-curriculum activities profile, she paid vast attention to work on US colleges’ sample entrance exams, conducting detailed research on prospective schools, putting efforts in writing dedicated scholarships essay.

“When I was informed that I had got the scholarships, I was very delighted, especially when I received the notification letter from Depauw University, my dream school, I was speechless.”

Hanh recalled, while her eyes lit up with gratification feeling.

Being offered scholarships from 13 universities in US, Hanh decided to study in Depauw University, despite the scholarship granted by the institution was not the largest in terms of value (USD 36,000 per year). Explaining about the decision, Hanh said: "After thinking carefully about my 13 options, I finally decided to pursue Computer Science major in Depauw University, because it is the most appropriate choice for me, which suits the future career path I have planned for myself."

The scholarship will cover 80% of the tuition fee, and the rest will be financed by the student. In addition to my family’s support, I am planning to seek a part time job while studying in US to pay for part of my living expense there,” Hanh said.

Hanh (L) was once a smartphone addictor, and had successfully got rid of it. (source: DT News)

Computer Science was Hanh’s childhood dream. While some say that this field is not for women, Hanh only smiled while saying: “I think women can do whatever men can do, and we even can do it better, if we have enough passion and willpower.”

Looking at Hanh's success, many cannot imagine that Hanh used to be a smartphone addict, who spent most of her time playing with the device, despite the information she received was sometimes “unnecessary” or even “rubbish.” Luckily, Hanh soon became aware of the problem, and found her way to get rid of it.

Essay on the impact of smartphone on the youngsters was the highlight of her university application cover letter.

“I relied on the experiences of my own and other people's, and included in the essay my tips on staying away from smartphone overuse. For instance, I forced myself to put my smartphone in the closet, and set a limited amount of usage time, like I only use it for one hour a day. At the beginning, it was very uncomfortable without smartphone...”

Besides limiting the time playing with smartphone, Hanh spents more time on offline communication. Earlier, Hanh and her friend used to stick to his/her phone in every gathering, "but nowadays, they have put the smartphone aside, and take time to interact with one another instead, ” Hanh said.

Many people think that computer science is not for women, but Hanh believes as long as you have enough passion and willpower, women still can do it well. (source: DT News)

Hanh is thinking about developing an app which enables smartphone users to reduce usage time while increasing the efficiency.

“It will help users set a limit for the time spending on smartphone, so they can lessen the reliance on it. With this kind of filter, the users will be able to stay away from junk information, hence saving more space for more useful ones."

At the moment, Hanh is still working on the prototype of this app, which she expects to be completed in later years: “I hope that I can bring it to the real world during the time studying in Depauw University.”

To prepare for the overseas study journey, besides picking up programming language, the young girl is taking time to learn about US culture, in order to deal with cultural shock she might bump into in the future.

As an independent, self-reliance girl who spents years living away from home during highschool time, Hanh is confident that she will easily integrate with the new environment - where she will make her dream come true./.

( Translated by P.Y )