HCMC – Three recipients of RMIT Vietnam’s most prestigious and fully-funded scholarship are aiming to reform public awareness about mental health.
Unfold The V Project
Dang Hoang Bao Tram, a first-year student in Digital Marketing at RMIT Vietnam, spent two years in high school raising public awareness about mental health.
She shared that people who have a mental illness were foreign to her at first since she had never encountered them before.
As president of “Unfold The V”, Tram and her team organized a lecturing session featuring renowned psychologists and key opinion leaders, attended by some 300 individuals.
Tram attributed the success of the event to the up-close and professional talk by the speakers, where listeners found themselves personally involved. In addition, she realized the need for providing a safe environment for people to share their problems.
In continuing the success, Blame Your Brain, a daily comic series inspired by Beyond Blue – Australian mental health and well-being support organization, has also been introduced.
In two days, 11,000 visits brought the comic series to fruition, posting positive results. It triggered her desire to do more to help those struggling with their mental health.
In addition, the success so far has inspired her to apply for a scholarship to study at RMIT Vietnam, which will enable her to gain a deeper insight into her study objectives and fulfill her life goals.
Dom Dom Project
Le Ngoc Linh Anh, a freshman in Applied Science (Psychology) at RMIT Vietnam, has always shown deep sympathy for her peers struggling with pressure.
Anh shared that she was diagnosed with depression when she was eight. Despite that, her condition improved thanks to the support of her mother. This evoked a desire to delve deeper into human psychology.
One of Anh’s innovative ideas, Dom Dom, was shared with students in Hanoi as a base to expand the public understanding of three major aspects – gender identity, society and female empowerment.
Despite the quarantine period due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the initiative saw 48 participants aged 14 to 20, garnering 1,500 likes and 2,000 followers on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
Anh believes that the cutting-edge education system and facilities at RMIT Vietnam will lend wings to her dreams.
RMIT’s prestigious scholarship represents an important milestone in her career. She has a clear vision of how to advance, which is to become a psychologist specializing in treating adolescents and young adults and establishing a clinic for troubled teenagers in Vietnam.
Tram Project
Ho Ngoc Yen Uyen, a new student of Professional Communication at RMIT Vietnam, initiated the Tram Project to change the perception of young minds about mental health and sympathize with those undergoing depression.
It has never ceased to amaze her why people only care about those with physical injuries and ignore those with mental injuries. This saw the beginning of a successful project known as Tram, which attracted 6,400 online supporters and 73 members.
However, her team had to deal with negative comments on social media alleging that the project had hyped up the issue, which a psychologist later explained as a lack of understanding of mental suffering.
In an effort to illustrate the existence of invisible pains that affect us all, a 3D exhibition was created. It was no surprise that there were 458 participants at the exhibition, who regarded the event as a vehicle to foster understanding and mutual support among participants and their friends.
This experience has forever changed the young lady from the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho in terms of understanding the target audience.
Dang Hoang Bao Tram, Le Ngoc Linh Anh and Ho Ngoc Yen are among 101 students at RMIT Vietnam chosen as scholarship winners. As per the scholarship program in 2022, scholarships have been granted to Vietnamese and international students with a total value of over VND48 billion.
In 22 years of working in Vietnam, RMIT has granted scholarships to 1,600 students with outstanding achievements, totaling a value of VND468 billion.
