Youth Union of HNUE High School
To be honest, my journey with the Youth Union of HNUE started completely by chance. At first, I wasn’t even part of the team - I actually missed the deadline to apply. My story began when I had the opportunity to join the 2024 Summer Volunteer Team. I’ve always been someone who loves to roll up my sleeves and do something, especially when it comes to helping others. But, to be fair, at the beginning I was a bit irresponsible. I skipped meetings and often ghosted the group chat. Of course, my team leader eventually called me out - even threatened to kick me off the team. I was terrified. That’s when I decided to change. I started showing up more and taking part in more activities.
I still remember one particular day - the first day of our school’s entrance exam for 10th graders. It was pouring rain, flooding everywhere, and my duty that day was logistics. At our station, there were lots of parents seeking shelter from the rain. I suddenly thought, “Why don’t we get something warm for everyone to drink?” And that’s how the idea of making lemon tea came up :))) Getting the water container wasn’t too hard - we just went to a nearby school, asked the guards there for an empty 19L Lavie bottle, and used the tea we already had. But the hardest part was getting the ice.
Another volunteer and I volunteered to go buy some. We put on our raincoats and headed out on an electric bike - but the road felt endlessly long that day. Our school dorm was in a low-lying area, completely surrounded by water. With no other option, we had to drive through even though the water was up to our waists :)))) It honestly felt like swimming more than riding. After nearly 20 minutes struggling through just 300 meters, we finally got the ice - and then had to make the same crazy trip back. I sat on the back seat, holding the bag of ice over my head to keep it dry. By the time we got back, we were drenched from head to toe, inside and out. It was unbearably itchy and uncomfortable - but we couldn’t do anything except keep working.
After that experience, I got much more used to the job - and the difficulties that came with it. Maybe that’s why I started volunteering for almost everything: carrying heavy equipment for opening ceremonies, helping backstage for performances, and more. Usually, for these optional tasks, hardly anyone showed up - there were always too few people. But because I always volunteered, the school’s Youth Union Secretary started to notice me.
That same year, our Youth Union of HNUE only had two members in the executive committee, which was very few for a team of over 200 members. That’s when my time to “shine” came. One Wednesday morning, I was suddenly called to the staff meeting room. Honestly, I was nervous - usually, being called there wasn’t a good sign. But when I arrived, there were about ten other students too. It turned out to be an interview to select two more members for the executive committee. All the candidates were well-known at school - class presidents, award winners, student leaders. I honestly had no idea why I was there among them.
But in the end, I was chosen - along with one other student - to complete the Youth Union Executive Committee for the 2024–2025 school year. I later found out that I had been personally nominated by the Youth Union Secretary herself.
One particularly memorable event was the entrance exam for 6th graders - the first one ever held since our school had just opened a middle school division. That morning started as usual: I sent everyone to their assigned spots, and everything seemed fine - until ten minutes before the test ended. That’s when we realized the teachers hadn’t yet come up with a plan for how to manage dismissal. We were shocked. Without a proper plan, nearly 5,000 students and parents would all rush into the schoolyard at once, creating total chaos and a bad impression for the school.
We were completely lost - only ten minutes left. Then an idea hit me: what if we released students room by room and coordinated with parents outside using a microphone? I’d call out room numbers, and parents whose kids were in that room would step forward to pick them up. Everyone agreed. So I borrowed a loudspeaker from the security guard, announced the plan, and started calling out the room numbers.
Thanks to that, the dismissal went incredibly smoothly - not a single issue arose. That moment made me realize how far I’d come since the day I forgot to fill out the volunteer form.
In this role, our main duties were to manage the school’s students and oversee all school events. One of the most important tasks was checking uniforms and attendance. With over 200 members, the four of us on the committee spent an entire week staying up until 2 a.m. just to organize everyone - who would stand where, which gate to cover, and so on. Every morning at exactly 6:30, there’d be a seven-person team at each gate checking uniforms. Students dressed properly could go through, but anyone out of dress code had their names recorded. Then, at 6:55, we’d start the late attendance checks. We lined students up in rows to record their names one by one. Of course, some students tried to sneak through side doors or run around other buildings - and I was usually the one chasing them down :))) It was exhausting, but honestly, a lot of fun.
Besides that, we were also responsible for organizing major school events like the opening and closing ceremonies. For those, we worked with teachers to build the event timeline, assign volunteer positions, and make sure everything ran smoothly. Planning the logistics alone often took a whole week. On the event day itself, I had to constantly run back and forth to coordinate and ensure that every team member was doing their job properly.
