Phạm Hoàng Minh Khuê

From the obsession to be the best to self-acceptance

In everyone’s eyes, I was a different version of success.

To some, I was the ‘Scholarship hunter’, the girl with twelve admission letters from universities around the world. To others, I was the ‘Passionate Ambassador’, proudly representing BUV at events both on and off campus. And to many, I was the ‘academic weapon’, the student who spent entire semesters planning every assignment, writing spotless essays, and reading dozens of pages just to secure a spot on the Dean’s List, all while battling the quiet obsession of having to be number one.

But in my own eyes, I kept asking myself: who am I, really?

I received scholarships from both VinUni and BUV. Both universities offered international exposure, visionary education, and the ambition to nurture young leaders. Yet I chose BUV, not just for its reputation, but because something about this place felt different. It felt like somewhere I truly wanted to belong. Two years have passed, and not once have I regretted that decision.

At BUV, I didn’t just gain knowledge. I was heard by caring lecturers, supported by friends who stood by me, and encouraged by a community that turned my ideas into reality.

But the journey wasn’t easy. I knew myself well enough to choose the right path, yet I somehow lost sight of that the moment I entered BUV. I thought I had to be the best, that my scholarship was proof of my worth.

I packed my schedule with back-to-back classes and meetings. My notes were flawless, every page filled with precision. I read entire chapters without knowing what I was reading. I pushed my teammates hard with long feedback messages, endless voice notes, and red marks covering our drafts. On the outside, I appeared calm, in control. Inside, I was lost. My first group project at BUV ended with a score of only 55 out of 100.

Still, I kept going. I joined two student marketing competitions: Z Marketer and Marketing Arena, only to face failure again. For the first time, I questioned not just my major, but myself: Am I really meant for marketing?

Failure after failure, but I had no choice but to move forward. I threw myself into extracurricular activities: joining the Student Ambassador team, the Event Club, and later, BUV Local Buddy. At first, these choices seemed random, spontaneous even. But looking back, they were the first threads that tied me to BUV, to its people, and to the students I would later have the privilege to guide and grow alongside.

The second semester was when everything began to change. I found my ‘dream team’ - five girls who shared the same goals, determination, and sense of purpose. For the first time, learning no longer felt suffocating.

We planned together, divided tasks, tracked our progress, and constantly updated deadlines and responsibilities. I used to believe that sheer discipline was the key to success. But after that first semester, I learned that true leadership also means flexibility, finding balance between firmness and empathy, and adapting to whatever life throws your way.

When a teammate got sick or something unexpected happened, instead of panicking, I learned to adjust: rescheduling meetings, shifting timelines, reorganizing priorities. That shift in mindset changed everything. Our group not only met every deadline but even submitted our final project ahead of schedule, with calm and confidence.

Together, we overcame every challenge and ended the semester with the highest score in the entire cohort - an achievement I once thought impossible. I was also named to the Dean’s List, recognized among the top 5% of students with the highest GPA of the year.

Fueled by that realization, I decided to return to Z Marketer — the very stage where I had once failed. I went back to the long nights of research, reading every article I could find, and asking friends from different fields to uncover the right marketing insights. For twenty relentless days, my team and I tore our plan apart and rebuilt it over and over, refining every sentence through countless hours of practice.

In the Final Round, every second demanded absolute focus and perfect teamwork. When the MC announced our team as the Champion, time seemed to freeze for a moment, and then burst into pure joy. In that instant, all the doubt, failure, and perseverance finally made sense.

Since then, I have never stopped writing the next chapters of my story.

As a Student Ambassador, I joined every event I could, eventually earning the title of Top 1 Excellent Ambassador of Gen 7. I stayed with the Event Club for two years, taking part in more than ten major events, learning how to manage the Front of House, and earning the trust of both lecturers and peers. I was also invited to join the core team of Melodic Mosaic, the first and only English musical at BUV, where I managed operations even while studying abroad, later organizing an event that brought together over 150 attendees. Beyond that, I became a tutor, a representative, and an ambassador for several programs and influential figures, each role deepening my understanding of leadership, collaboration, and service.

With the guidance and support of the International Office, I spent six transformative months on an exchange program in the United Kingdom, an experience that completely changed the way I saw the world. Upon returning, my friends and I from the exchange cohort proposed the idea of establishing a new international collaboration program.

The goal was simple yet meaningful: to help future generations of BUV students gain broader perspectives, receive guidance, and find the courage to step confidently into the wider world. After more than a month of revisions, our proposal was approved. In that moment, I felt something powerful, that every idea, every aspiration I had nurtured, had been heard, supported, and brought to life in such a short time.

With every step, my journey has continued to expand. Yet even as I achieved more, I realized there would always be people more talented than me. I learned that comparison does not define one’s worth. The sleepless nights, the tears, the moments of courage after each failure — those are the true materials that make up my story.

When a high school student once reached out asking me to be her mentor, I realized I had become someone capable of inspiring others.

My two years at BUV are not defined by awards or titles, but by the people who have walked beside me through every chapter. The friends at Event Club who kept me going even when the budget was running out. The friends at Melodic Mosaic and TEDxBUV who gave me a second chance after failure. The friends who encouraged me to keep playing basketball when I felt I couldn’t take another step. And the ones who still smile through piles of deadlines, radiating positivity no matter how heavy the day feels. They are the ones who helped shape in me the Lionhearted spirit — the brave and compassionate heart that keeps me moving forward.

If it weren’t for BUV, I might never have found the courage to tell this story — nor the chance to become the version of myself I am today: someone who has been inspired, and now hopes to inspire others in return.

My time here is proof that when you believe in yourself, keep striving, and have a community that walks beside you, failure is never the end, it becomes the stepping stone to rise higher.

Above all, I have learned that rankings do not define a person. What truly matters is understanding what you genuinely want, and having the faith to follow your own journey with conviction.