Mr Thanh Son Chung (pictured above) graduated with a Bachelor of General Studies (Science) in the Faculty of Science and Health at a ceremony in Sydney on Wednesday 11 September.

Thirty-four year-old Thanh said he feels incredibly honoured to receive a University Medal from Charles Sturt University and thinks it is one of the greatest achievements in his academic endeavours.

An Undergraduate University Medal is awarded by the University to students who complete the requirements and achieve a grade point average (GPA) of 6.75 or higher.

Thanh hopes to become a rural General Practitioner (GP) because there is a big shortage of GPs in regional and remote Australia.

“I did not intend to get the University Medal, I just tried my hardest to get the best GPA possible as the medical school admissions process is very competitive,” Thanh said.

“Undoubtedly, my performance in my Charles Sturt University degree will help a lot in achieving that, and now that I have been awarded a University Medal, I feel that I should give something back to the community.

“I can see myself as a medical practitioner in some very remote communities, as the place that I was born - Gia Lai province, in Vietnam’s Central Highlands - was really remote as well. Becoming a doctor is not just my long-term dream, but it comes from my mom’s unfulfilled dream as well.”

Thanh’s aspiration and motivation to become a doctor is twofold.

“I almost died as a kid due to a life-threating infection after a trip to the mountains with my childhood friends and I was saved by the kindness and help from a local doctor, who happened to be visiting my house at the time,” Thanh said. “He was a friend of my dad, and that incident has inspired me to be a doctor since I was a kid.”

Secondly, Thanh’s mother’s dream in her younger days was to become a doctor, but that was scuppered by the Vietnam War.

“On the day that she was supposed to go for an entrance exam at a local medical school in the 1970s, the town was bombed and she had to be evacuated far away from the town. She eventually missed the chance and went to a teaching school instead.”

Both of Thanh’s parents (pictured left with Thanh) have bachelor’s degrees in teaching, and they met at a local school after the Vietnam War ended.

“They completed their degrees in very hard circumstances, so that really inspired me to follow their paths,” he said.

Thanh said due to other personal life commitments, he could only try to achieve his dream now after a decade. He now is applying to postgraduate medical programs, and he says having a good grade point average from a bachelor’s degree is very important.

“The Bachelor of General Studies at Charles Sturt University is a generic degree in which we can tailor our studies based on what we are interested in, and not follow any predefined pattern. I really love that factor because not every student’s needs are the same,” he said.

Thanh said the Bachelor of General Studies (Science) allowed him to have a broad selection of study units, which can be beneficial if a student wants to have exposure to the breadth of different types of science.

“Charles Sturt University was the only university in the country to offer such a flexible program,” he said. “I was originally offered a Bachelor of Science at another university, but I turned it down for the Charles Sturt course, and looking back I am very happy that I did.

“Throughout my Bachelor of General Studies I felt very supported by all the University’s staff, and every time I reached out to staff for help the response was always positive and welcoming.

“I could not have received the University Medal if not for the support I received and I am beyond grateful for that.”

Thanh said the path to one’s dream can be long and arduous, but we can do it if there is perseverance.

“Not every kid knows what they want to do right after high school and if one does, he or she might not achieve it the first time,” he said.

“It took me through many hardships to get to this point, and I believe with hard work and perseverance, one can achieve his or her dream. It is never too late.”