Dong Thi Hai Yen, 25, received admission offers for a master's program in public health at Harvard University and a community health research program at Stanford University School of Medicine in late February.
These acceptances followed earlier offers, complete with financial aid, from Ivy League institutions Columbia, Yale, and Brown, as well as Johns Hopkins University, which is globally renowned for its medical education. Columbia offered the largest financial package, providing US$60,000 for its mental health sciences program.
"I want to become a university lecturer and contribute to building a more equitable society, where people with disabilities receive both physical and mental support through social welfare," Yen said.
A 2024 graduate of Fulbright University Vietnam, Yen earned her degree with distinction, majoring in Psychology and Vietnamese Studies with a 3.76 GPA. She is the first person in her family to graduate from university.
Having previously served as a research intern at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, she is currently collaborating with Professor Emily Brinck at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their research examines mental health and employment conditions among people with disabilities in Vietnam.
