STRONG
FOR A BRIGHTER WAY
EVERYDAY
NGUYEN DANG QUANG
A True Community Activist
Hello! It's Dang Quang here
I didn't go into science to solve equations or look for perfect numbers. Knowledge, in my opinion, only has real significance when it has an impact on people's lives, particularly those who are still marginalized. I grew up in a poor and developing province, so I saw firsthand the disparity between agricultural productivity and labor efforts, as well as between conditions for learning and learning potential. I decided to combine science, technology, and social responsibility because of this. I want to transform knowledge into change-making tools, transform dry physics into engaging lessons for rural students, transform AI and sensors into helpers to help farmers boost sustainable productivity, and transform ideas that have persisted into tangible effects. The difference, in my opinion, is not where one starts but rather whether or not one is prepared to put aside one's own interests in order to create value.
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I was born and raised in Thanh Hoa, a modest city at the gateway to Central Vietnam where life still moves with the rhythm of the land. In the early mornings, a crisp wind drifts across the old red-tiled roofs, carrying with it the familiar scent of soil and wood smoke. Beyond the city streets lie endless stretches of peanut and corn fields, fields that do not simply grow crops, but carry the hopes and livelihoods of countless families who have worked the land for generations.
My childhood was not shaped by shopping malls, amusement centers, or polished suburban comfort. It grew from the earth, from the mud on my shoes after helping in the fields, from the narrow village paths I walked with my grandparents, from afternoons spent watching farmers read the sky to predict the weather. It grew from the mountains I traveled to on community trips, where I first encountered children studying under leaky roofs or walking miles just to reach school. It was in those places that I learned about what it truly means to lack, not just material things, but access and opportunity. Yet I also discovered something even more powerful: the dignity of hard work, the quiet resilience of rural life, and the beauty of people who share what little they have.
These early years taught me to see life not through what I possessed, but through how I could contribute. They gave me a simple belief that has followed me ever since: where we come from is not a limit, but a responsibility.
MY JOURNEY TO GROWTH
From a Bland boy
I still remember the first time I went with my mother to give warm clothes to children in the highlands of Lang Chanh. I was just a boy in primary school, awkwardly helping adults fold clothes. I felt cold when I put a shirt, still smelling of laundry detergent, on a friend who was younger than me. He didn’t say anything; he just looked at me and smiled, his cheeks red from the cold. That was the first time I truly felt that a small action can create a big change for someone else.
I started to get used to such trips, not as missions but as part of my childhood. Sometimes I visited remote areas to give Mid-Autumn gifts. Other times, I stood with friends holding loudspeakers during the school's charity program. Occasionally, I just fixed a warm coat for a child. I felt clearly that kind deeds do not need conditions; they just require a caring heart.
...to a Curious soul
But my childhood wasn't just about compassion. I also had a strong curiosity about the world. I wanted to understand why stilt houses in the highlands didn't get blown down by the wind. I wondered why peanuts could grow on dry land and how water could endlessly flow from the top of a waterfall to the bottom of a mountain without drying up. During kayaking sessions in Ha Long Bay, I was always the one who turned the paddle sideways to see how strong the water was pushing back. When exploring a deep cave, I curiously touched the stalactite layer. I was both amazed and filled with wonder, asking myself, "How long has this been here?" No one answered my questions, which only made me more curious.
On my days off, I didn’t like staying at home. I went to the fields. I pulled peanuts, planted trees, and watered my grandmother’s vegetable garden. I enjoyed getting my hands dirty and watching tiny beans grow into plants. I saw a silent law of nature in it, and I wanted to understand it.
But all of that was just experience until I met science
In secondary school, I found it interesting to discover that I could explain the things I was curious about. Why does a waterfall keep falling? That’s gravity. Why does a kayak stay balanced? That’s Archimedes’ buoyancy. Why do peanut fields need crop rotation? That’s soil chemistry. Physics, math, and science quietly pulled me into their world.
In high school, I took the entrance exam for the Physics major at Lam Son High School for the Gifted. Many people asked me, “Study physics to teach?” I just smiled. To me, physics is not just a subject. It is a language that explains the world. More importantly, I want to apply what I learn.
My journey isn’t that of a prodigy. I have never studied the program ahead of time, nor have I attended a big exam preparation center. I am just someone who always asks why and refuses to look at a problem without taking action. Science helps me think. Volunteer trips give me heart. Nature teaches me patience. And life gives me a reason not to walk alone. I don’t have a grand dream to change the world. But I believe that intelligence without social responsibility is just complacency. I want to keep learning and understand more deeply about energy, artificial intelligence, and how they can serve life. First, I want to learn to be worthy of the place where I was born, the land that raised me, and the people who taught me how to live a good life.
