When I first began to study chemistry, I realized rather quickly that I'd eventually take the necessary steps to have a career in that area of study. I remember my first day of 9th grade chemistry; my eyes wide open as I watched the teacher pour two colorless liquids into a test tube, causing them to and they became a unique, transparent, and beautifully blue liquid. It was one of the most astonishing things I had ever seen. I was hooked. .
I continued taking chemistry for my remaining three years at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, widely know as the best high school in Saigon City, Vietnam. My chemistry teachers were knowledgeable and inspiring, and the more I attended my classes, the more fascinated I became with the subject. Chemistry was a new world, and it was opening up to me.
Not only did I have true passion for chemistry, but the more time I invested in my studies, the more I realized that I was a natural at understanding it's rules and concepts. In 1999, when I was in my junior year, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute held the Australian National Chemistry Quiz in Vietnam. I registered, participated, and won an award with a High Distinction Class in the Junior Division. I continued to participate in the Australian Chemistry Quiz in my senior year and won another award in the Senior Division. Right after my family and I moved to the United States more than two years ago, I went to college and chose chemistry as my major. I have been doing an excellent job in all of the chemistry classes that I have been taking. With a grade of 197.5 out of 200 on the Chemistry 400 (Chemistry 1A) final examination, I received an email from Professor Rodenberg saying that she had never had anyone scoring so high on her final examinations. Gaining over 98% the total grade of the Chemistry 401 (Chemistry 1B) class, I was asked by Professor Miller to become his teaching assistant in the Beacon Peer-Assisted Learning Program at Sacramento City College.