Victorian Global
Learning Award
The Victorian Global Learning Awards are a celebration and recognition of what brings us together, the strength of Victoria’s international relationships and the esteem with which we are held internationally for global learning and engagement. Most importantly, it is a celebration of our students, teachers, parents, principals and homestay families, and the contribution they make to our schools and community.
As part of this program, the Victorian Government selects ambassadors for international education in a number of categories, and we are pleased to announce that our very own international student, Tien Hieu (Harry) Bui of 12B, is the winner of the Year 11 Global Citizenship Award 2021!
The Global Citizenship Award is awarded to one international student from Year 11 and one from Year 12 to recognise their outstanding commitment to fostering integration between local and international students. Students who win this award have a high level of intercultural competency and understanding of global issues in internationalisation events.
Harry has won the Year 11 Global Citizenship Award for his outstanding commitment to creating free tutoring programs that help Vietnamese children improve their English language skills. Harry invited some of his Australian peers to assist in teaching the classes. Harry also teaches Vietnamese in an online community and was an administrator of a Facebook page providing support to international students. It is for these reasons, along with his academic success and his contributions to the wider community, such as a speech about multiculturism and racism in Australia, that the Victorian Government has awarded Harry this accolade.
Congratulations and best wishes for your next adventure, Harry! We are so pleased to see you accomplishing so many great things within such a short amount of time. The Doncaster Secondary College Community is very proud of you!
Sally Huang
Director of International Student Program
We recently asked Harry to take a few minutes away from his Year 12 studies to chat with us about his incredible achievement and what it means to be this year's Victorian Global Learning Award winner.
Good morning, Harry. There were a lot of good entries in the competition – what do you think set your entry apart?
After reviewing the profile of all the finalists, I think we all deserve to win the award with our amazing efforts to make some contributions to the society. As a global citizen, I think what makes my application different from others is my use of the internet to reach out to a larger community. With the power of the internet, I can provide free English tutoring lessons for orphanage children in Vietnam. These children love to learn but they don’t have the financial ability to afford an English course.
Conversely, I also teach Vietnamese through the internet for everyone around the world who has an interest in learning the language.
2020 was a difficult year for everyone, especially the International students who must live far from their families. Therefore, I also created a community to provide assistance for International students that may be going through hardships. Like I have said in a previous interview, global citizenship starts within your own community and the only thing you need is a passion for helping others.
What (or who) inspires you to be an active global citizen and lead the initiatives that you have organised?
My parents have always been my inspiration since I was a small child. As I was growing up, they taught me how to be kind to people, before anything else, and to work for the better good of everyone. Therefore, growing up with their charity works, I developed my passion of helping others.
How do you make time for accomplishing all that you do – ie. excellent grades at school and leading activities that support global citizenship?
I am organised and I schedule my time according to the amount of homework I have from school. To me, I consider my charity projects as hobbies so I view them as relaxing time away from study, which is particularly important in Year 12.
Do you think your experiences up until now have developed your passion for giving back to the community?
With all the projects I have done, helping others has developed into a real passion. Therefore, I will continue to prioritize the development of future projects and activities that broaden my capacity to help more people in need.
Harry, you are an inspiration to us all!