RMIT Vietnam’s scholarship recipients advocate for mental health

Tiếng Việt

RMIT Vietnam’s scholarship recipients advocate for mental health

Three out of eight winners of RMIT Vietnam’s most prestigious and fully-funded scholarship – the Vice-Chancellor’s Scholar – share strong passion for mental health advocacy through various activities they initiated and implemented during high school and beyond.

RMIT Vietnam’s Vice-Chancellor Scholar Dang Hoang Bao Tram created meaningful impact while devoting two years during high school to lead the non-profit organisation named Unfold the V to raise awareness about mental health.

Unfold the V

President of the non-profit organisation Unfold the V Dang Hoang Bao Tram created meaningful impact while devoting two years during high school to raise awareness about mental health.

“I grew up without truly witnessing someone having mental health issues, so it had never been my concern,” newbie of RMIT Vietnam Bachelor of Digital Marketing program recalled. “I only recognised the complexity of mental health illness after reading an anonymous letter sent to the Unfold the V, in which the author scolded herself for being depressed.”

Staring at the letter, the young girl from Ho Chi Minh City, thought to herself: “What could be worse than someone with a mental illness hating themselves?”.

It led to her decision of dedicating her time to researching depression.

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Dang Hoang Bao Tram received her award at a recent ceremony taking place at RMIT Vietnam Sai Gon South campus and celebrated her achievement with her father.

Tram and the team Unfold the V planned and organised a talk show with distinguished psychologists and influencers. The event attracted around 300 participants who were all proactive in interacting with the speakers. The success of the event also enlightened Tram with an alternative approach on how to maintain viewers’ engagement on her organisation’s Facebook page.

“I noticed that the speakers spent most of the time sharing their personal stories that the audience could relate to while integrating their academic knowledge,” she said. “I realised that creating a safe space for people to share is to give them the mental support they need.”

And upon being appointed as the new leader of the Unfold the V, Tram adjusted their mission to help people escape from their negative mindsets.

Blame Your Brain, a daily comic series inspired by Beyond Blue - an Australian mental health and well-being support organisation, therefore was born.

“Within two days, the comic successfully reached 11,000 readers and received lots of positive feedback,” Tram cheerfully shared. “Henceforward, I aspire to create better comic plots that reach more struggling individualities in the community.”

This also inspired her to apply for a scholarship to study at RMIT Vietnam which she believes will “grant me an accurate and deep understanding of audience insights while providing me a foundation to achieve upcoming goals”.

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RMIT Vietnam’s Vice-Chancellor Scholar Le Ngoc Linh Anh initiated a project together with some students in Hanoi – Đom Đóm (the Fireflies project) – with the intention of fostering knowledge on three key subjects: gender, society, and feminism.

Đom Đóm

Newbie of RMIT Vietnam Bachelor of Applied Science (Psychology) program Le Ngoc Linh Anh has deep empathy with the pressures that young people are facing nowadays.

“At the 8^th grade, I was diagnosed with depression,” Linh Anh said. “Fortunately, I had an understanding mother who supported me unconditionally. Since then, I have made great progress improving my self-confidence and have developed a burning desire to thoroughly understand human psychology and wish to address the unfortunate fact that many Vietnamese adults look down on mental health awareness.”

Linh Anh excitingly shared about Đom Đóm (the Fireflies project), one of her initiatives with some students in Hanoi, with the intention of fostering knowledge on three key subjects: gender, society, and feminism.

“The initiative started during the COVID-19 quarantine period, but it has since attracted 48 participants between the ages of 14 and 20, garnering 1,500 likes and 2,000 followers by posting information on social media platforms, namely Facebook and Instagram,” she said.

“Although there were numerous challenges and problems during the project management and development process, it was also a valuable learning and training experience that aided in my growth into a stronger and more capable leader.”

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Le Ngoc Linh Anh received her award at a recent ceremony taking place at RMIT Vietnam Hanoi campus and celebrated her achievement with her mother.

This has also driven Linh Anh to pursue a career in psychology. To prepare for her academic future, the young Hanoian actively took online courses from well-known international universities including the Introduction to Psychology and Positive Psychology courses, and attended psychological development courses for teenagers held by AIESEC - Leader Inside Out: Lead Yourself and Youth Discover.

Linh Anh believes “RMIT’s innovative educational system and facilities will facilitate my academic pursuits”.

Her clear goal in how she will move forward after RMIT – to become a psychologist specialising in treating adolescents and young adults, and to open a clinic for troubled teens across Vietnam providing professional treatment and advice – rewarded her with the most prestigious scholarship which sets an important steppingstone for her future career.

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RMIT Vietnam’s Vice-Chancellor Scholar Ho Ngoc Yen Uyen initiated TRẦM, a project whose goal is to work towards erasing mental health stigma and fostering empathy for patients suffering depression.

TRẦM

TRẦM is a project initiated by RMIT Vietnam’s new Bachelor of Communication (Professional Communication) student Ho Ngoc Yen Uyen which aims to reshape the younger generation’s mindset around mental health. Her goal is to work towards erasing mental health stigma and fostering empathy for patients suffering depression.

Having experienced an unwanted event related to a mental illness during her childhood devastated Uyen and made her wonder “why people would have sympathy for and help a physically wounded person but would condemn someone living with a mental health issue”.

“Had I been aware about those signs [of depression] earlier, I could have given timely intervention,” Uyen recalled.

Her determination transfigured into TRẦM which then advanced smoothly with 73 members and 6,400 online supporters.

“After a year, however, her team had to face multiple criticism saying that this project was exaggerating the problems,” Uyen said. “Our team reached out to psychotherapists for consultation and eventually concluded the core problem: people could not see the mental pain that the depressed endured, so they suspect depressive behaviours to be an overreaction.”

“Hence, we attempted to visualise mental suffering through an online art psychotherapy 3D exhibition, hoping to convince people of the existence of invisible pain.”

Her team’s new approach succeeded with numerous compliments from 458 participants who appreciated that the event helped them be compassionate and offer appropriate help for their friends.

From this improvement, the young girl from Can Tho province has comprehended the importance of leveraging the audience’s insights.

“It drove me to delve into other unexplored communication principles to progress my project further,” she said.

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Ho Ngoc Yen Uyen received her award at a recent ceremony taking place at RMIT Vietnam Sai Gon South campus and celebrated her achievement with her parents.

Being granted the opportunity to enrich her knowledge and experience in communications, art, and psychology through RMIT Vietnam’s Scholarship program, Uyen believes it will empower her to continue to bring her vision -- a future where voices of the depressed are heard and empathised – to life and spread the message to RMIT community and beyond.

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Dang Hoang Bao Tram, Le Ngoc Linh Anh and Ho Ngoc Yen Uyen were among a group of 101 prospective and current students receiving their awards at recent ceremonies at RMIT University in Vietnam, Saigon South and Hanoi campuses. Under its 2022 scholarship program, the University presented scholarships with a total value of more than 48 billion VND to students from Vietnam and beyond. During its 22 years in Vietnam, RMIT has awarded scholarships to more than 1,600 high-achieving students, worth AU$28mil which is more than 468 billion VND.

Story: Ha Hoang

Campus and community

24 October 2022