Khoi Nguyen's Sharing | End of school year 2024 - 2025 ceremony

Dear esteemed guests, parents, teachers, and VFIS students!

Today is a wonderful day. I am standing here to express the pride and gratitude that we graduates feel for what we have accomplished from that daunting day of stepping into kindergarten 13 years ago.

This day signifies more than just the end of a challenging academic adventure, but also serves as a symbol of resilience and the willingness to fight for a brighter future. Acting as a milestone in your pathway to a higher education, university, in pursuit of your always-dreamt-of careers. But let us not forget how we all got to where we are today–our parents, our teachers, our mentors. 

The diploma you are holding or will hold was a collaborative effort of everyone here today and everyone at VFIS. That includes the janitors that keep our large hallways clean, the administrative staff that keep our school moving forwards, our teachers that pour their hearts into educating students to the best of their ability, and last but definitely not least, our parents, who gave us the opportunity to enroll in such a high quality education.  Oh what a privilege it is to be able to have an education at all, let alone here at VFIS.  From the bottom of my heart, we thank you, parents, and all the staff at VFIS for your hard work and burning passion throughout our last years of high school. 

Dear Teachers!

As for many of the teachers present here today, I was your student, maybe not your best student, but I am incredibly proud to have been taught by all of you.
Mr. Joonas, you made art not just about art. You reshaped the way I processed the very visual world around me. I am able to tell when things are saturated, or how to compose an okay-looking slideshow in a span of 4 minutes, of the 2 things listed, that’s about all I remember from the visual arts course.  
No, but all jokes aside, thank you for giving me that much needed ability to see the world around me through a variety of lenses, heavily inspired by your humorous lens.

Ms. Kawita, you’re next! I was able to gain one key takeaway from your very informative English classes. The importance of reading books, not just the ones required to pass the IB, but rather made me realize the meaning behind a quote about reading by Frank Serafini, “There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book.” I now live by that quote, thanks to you Ms. Kawita, I am able to find joy in reading, opening up my mind to so many new and unique aspects of life. For that, I am forever grateful. 

Dear Mr. Thinh, thank you for telling me how “smart” I am in each class, that really boosted my confidence for the final exam! But in all seriousness, mathematics is a very important subject, both for life and for future higher studies. You taught me that not all math has to be enjoyable, but can be enjoyable if you truly understand it. Thank you for making math not boring.
Oh Ms. Linh, I’m unsure whether you’re here today, because you told me that you get so emotional at graduations that you never seem to attend them. Throughout my 2 years of studying the infamous IB Physics course with 1 other classmate who just like me–bravely chose this challenging subject, we came to appreciate its complexity. Thanks to your endless efforts into getting us up to speed from our previously elementary level knowledge of ‘momentum’ and ‘velocity’, we were able to complete the syllabus in a timely manner. Thank you Ms. Linh, for showing us that Physics is so much more than numbers being used to model awkward situations, but rather the basis to all human life.

Ms. Thao, Mr. Chris - our Economics teachers. Mr. Chris, even though you are no longer here, I must let the world know that you are one amazing economist. You lectured us on the field of economics like no other professor can. Under your amazing guidance, I grew to appreciate economics as a science, something that sparked a passion deep within me. For the first time, I felt some other spark other than flying planes and flight school.

Ms. Ngoc, I remember the first day of the 11th grade, I didn’t want to study Vietnamese Literature to the point of opting for Ab Initio Spanish classes. But I soon realized that Vietnamese is and will always be my mother tongue. You took me back quicker than I could blink an eye, and you crammed Vietnamese grammar lessons one on top of the other into my empty head, which took around 2 years to fill half way. 

Last but definitely not least, is Ms. Michelle, the whole VFIS IBDP “operation” won’t be able to function without you, thank you for the hard work that you put in, and for all those times you chased after us for no other reason than for us to keep improving.  I wish I could mention every wonderful teacher at VFIS by name to express my gratitude. As time won’t permit, I can only tell you that you all are amazing, and you deserve to have students who are curious and willing to learn from the incredible individuals that you all are. 

For that, I am, and we are, forever grateful.

Beyond the classroom, our journey wouldn’t have been possible without the Board of Directors of VFIS and Ton Duc Thang University. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the VFIS Board of Directors, Ton Duc Thang University, for allowing us graduates to have such a high quality and personally tailored education. I would also like to thank my father and mother, who are both here today, for your relentless support throughout my 12 years of schooling. Papa, I am so happy to be able to share this moment with you, and I will spend the rest of my life replaying this very shared moment between us. Mama, you were always an amazing mother, someone that supported me in everything I did, from playing with toys at a young age to flying planes during my teenage years, you are always there for me.

Dear students,

Many of you here have already found your passion, hoping it will lead to your life's mission. But please don't worry if you're still unsure about what you want to do. That's perfectly fine! We're still very young, and there's a whole journey ahead to discover ourselves.

Dear graduates, 

Let me assure you, it is okay not to know what you want to do at this point. You are still young, and you’ll have more than enough time to figure things out as you go along. Your way of life isn’t paved for you, it is the path that you decide to take, or the one that you pave for yourself. It is in your hands now; take initiative with that newly earned power that is your diploma. For many of you here, we, as your seniors,  have now graduated from VFIS, and one day, you will be the ones standing in our shoes today. You would find your passion, in hopes of finding your purpose, accompanied by the SISU spirit and every moment of your journey at VFIS. Believe in yourselves. You will achieve more than you can ever imagine.
To the graduates of 2025, I wish you good luck and congratulations! 

I would like to extend my warmest wishes for health, success in life, work, and studies to all distinguished guests, parents, and VFIS students.

I'm Dang Khoi Nguyen, and I'm proud to be a student of the Vietnam-Finland International School.

Thank you for listening!