VinUni students and the community service journey to the next generations

“We might come to YCM in many different ways, but every member starts their journey with the purpose of giving back to the community.”

“I am really happy and feel like this is the right choice to apply for YCM.”

“Thanks to YCM, I am more certain of my future direction!”

“YCM’s activities bring people to different levels of emotions…”

Those are the sharings of VinUni students, high school students, and mentors after joining Young Change Maker (YCM), an organization run by VinUni students with the mission of accompanying high school students across the country in their self-directed career journey.

The origin of Young Change Maker

According to Nhat Minh, Project Director of YCM, the project ideas have been developing since the first cohort of VinUni, under the guidance of the President’s Office. Experiencing many changes in the organization structure, the YCM project has now grown and continues its journey of spreading, creating change when reaching more than 14,000 students. For our participants, community service is not only about traditional charity events when you come to some places and send out gifts, but rather providing sustainable solutions for beneficiaries.

“The project focuses on the impact of changing the mindset and skills so that the students themselves will be able to make decisions and improve their problems.”, shared Nhat Minh – Project Director.

Community service spirit and the willingness to support younger generation from VinUnians

“I used to be a high school student, experienced confusion and struggles when choosing a career prior to higher education gate. Therefore, as a senior with a few years ahead, I want to share with the students about the real experiences of university life and the working world so that they can learn more about their preferred professions in a more comprehensive approach”, said Thanh Hang, Product Lead.

That’s one of the many reasons why VinUni students decided to join Young Change Makers despite their extremely busy study schedules. They are not only talented but also full of empathy, bringing together meaningful activities for students in the classrooms. Ms. Pham Hong Hanh (Miley), who has been with YCM members for a long time, also commented:

“My impression of YCM is that they are very serious, responsible for their work to deliver high-quality products. Despite the pressure of studying and the deadline, the students always completed on time; and I once even received the product via email from them at 3 am. It’s an example of ‘glory for those who meet the deadlines’”.

Instead of going out for the weekend, or simply enjoying it at home, the students chose to participate in community activities to bring laughter, joy, and positive values to others.

Together with the students to go through the fork in their road

Have you ever heard about the trips of VinUni students to multiple school sites to host career orientation sessions for high school students from YCM? That is also one of the most exciting activities of the project that students and YCM members remember the most.

Thanh Hang shared her most memorable experience was the trip to Mu Cang Chai, where Hang had the opportunity to talk and understand more about the students in the Northwest area.

An event  of YCM at Thai Nguyen Province

“There was a student who shared his dream when he said that he wanted to be a peacemaker because his family often quarreled, and he thought that every child deserves to live in a happy family. I feel the importance of orienting the future direction because each child has beautiful dreams and aspirations, but they need someone to guide them to make it easier to pursue. Those trips make me think a lot and give me more motivation to continue with Mentornity.”

Not only Mu Cang Chai, but YCM also organizes many trips to other places. Van Khanh, a 3rd-year Medical Doctor student, and currently a Product Lead of YCM, also shared: “Last year, YCM just had a trip to Thai Nguyen, and this time, my position is no longer in the class sharing about the topic. Instead, I went around the classes, watching VinUni students give lectures. At that time, I saw their enthusiasm, the enthusiasm that the core team had while building the first lesson plans. It is the enthusiasm when contributing to the community, working with children, sharing, and making a change. And our core team that day sat down to look back on the whole journey of the past 1 year. That trip was a very beautiful and satisfying reward for our efforts.”

During these trips, YCM has helped many young people better understand their career orientation. Tien Minh, a student of Greenfield High School feels very meaningful after attending the program organized by YCM: “Before knowing Mentornity, I wondered a lot about orienting myself in the field of Economics or Engineering. Through 2 conversations with 2 mentors from 2 different industries, I have more information to compare, and evaluate my capacity as well as better prepare for my choice next year. I am also inspired a lot about training myself and gaining experience from those seniors.”

Although there are difficulties, it does not hamper the student spirit

When working together, the members also inevitably have disagreements and obstacles, especially with a large organization like YCM. One of Nhat Minh’s concerns in the Core team is “how to harmonize the colors, working spirit, and different perspectives to effectively work and contribute together. At such times, we will share, listen and understand each other’s views, concerns, and worries.” Everyone understands that the community service spirit should be the heart of all our works. Therefore, the members also try to have a certain degree of sympathy for each other’s work, so that in the end, they can bring out the best product for the community.

The joy at the end of the day of tireless journeys

Upholding the spirit of empathy, YCM members have worked hard to bring out the most thoughtful products to the community. Until now, they have spread the spirit and self-directed career orientation mindset to more than 14,000 young people, go through 14 stops and via multiple channels. Continuing its mission, YCM promises to bring many more meaningful activities in the near future. Please stay tuned and look forward to their journey ahead!

Young Change Maker Core team, Academic Year 2022-2023