Runner-up Phuong Anh, 26 years old, said her husband’s happiness was the driving force that helped her complete her master’s degree, without the pressure of having children after marriage.
On April 9, Phuong Anh graduated with a master’s degree with honors, majoring in Global Trade at an international university in Ho Chi Minh City. She and her husband – businessman Ho Dac Duc – have been married for seven months now. On this occasion, the beauty talked about her study and life orientation.
– Looking back at the journey from student to master’s degree, what do you feel?
– I am happy because I was steadfast and tried my best to achieve academic results. My sister and brother had earned master’s degrees before. When I graduated, everyone in the house expressed joy through facial expressions and actions. I am somewhat proud of myself for continuing my family’s learning tradition.
Previously, I had low self-esteem because I was from a small town and went to the city to study, afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep up with my friends. When I entered a famous high school for the gifted in Ho Chi Minh City, I was pressured to learn English and apply for a scholarship to go to university. Thanks to the challenges, I clearly understand my own abilities and what I need to do to progress.
Through each stage, I matured and became more confident. Looking back, I see that studying has changed my life a lot, contributing to winning the runner-up title and winning the love of the public.
Businessman Dac Duc congratulated Phuong Anh on graduating with a master’s degree. Image: Character provided
– Recently, a number of noisy beauties were expelled from school, attracting the attention of the audience. What is your opinion on this?
– Going to school or pursuing a degree must be appropriate to each person’s conditions and circumstances. To me, a degree does not fully evaluate a person. If people cannot go to school, they can learn through books, from people around them, and from work. Each person will have their own choice, the important thing is the attitude and mindset of learning and living usefully for society.
Personally, I value learning because I understand that this is an indispensable condition to serve my future direction – research activities in the educational environment. After winning the title of runner-up and being called a beauty of knowledge, I understand even more that I have to be careful in speaking and behaving so as not to affect my family, company, and school.
Phuong Anh spoke at the master’s graduation ceremony
Runner-up Phuong Anh spoke in front of a large number of new masters at the graduation ceremony. Video: Character provided
– What motivated you to complete your studies?
– Both families understand and facilitate me a lot. After getting married, I don’t feel pressured to have children right away. My husband supports me in pursuing my dream first and having a baby later because we are both young.
Husband understands the importance of education, partly because he pursued a doctorate in England. My studies are only a small part of Mr. Duc’s in terms of both difficulty and pressure. However, he always encouraged me with words that meant his wife could do great things.
He took me to school, helped with housework, and was comfortable with the artistic work schedule that I developed in parallel. During my studies, he helped me answer many questions and imparted his experience in writing a graduation thesis.
Phuong Anh: ‘My husband supports me in studying first, having children later’
Phuong Anh talks about her husband and married life. Video: Tan Cao
– How do you fulfill your role as a wife and daughter-in-law?
– The first few months after the wedding, my husband and I lived with our parents, but are now living on our own. Parents respect the decision and want their two children to have private space. On weekends, we visit everyone, eat, drink, and chat together.
A happy marriage requires the efforts of both partners. I am fortunate to have an understanding and caring partner. Recently, I started learning home economics, how to organize and take care of the home. Mr. Duc doesn’t put much emphasis on his wife having to work in the kitchen. Sometimes I just buy sausages and fry them up, and he still compliments them on how delicious they are.
Occasionally, disagreements arise between us, but they are not significant. For me, marriage sometimes requires anger to add color and is also an opportunity to understand each other better. When we have an argument, I don’t say goodbye right away because I know that if I feel unhappy or cry, things can easily go far. If Mr. Duc wants to talk or explain, I listen first, and when we are both calm, we will resolve the conflict.
– What has your partner helped you change compared to before?
– Before, I always put myself first. I used to be surrounded by my family so I was a bit careless in some situations and relationships. Mr. Duc’s appearance helped me realize many values and change the way I treat people in a more profound way. Now I put my family first.
I used to not be confident or care about people around me’s comments about me. Thanks to my husband, I learned to live as myself, taking off the loose clothes that put me under pressure. My husband studied abroad early, has an independent personality, and is very determined. Through each situation, he analyzed so that I could clearly understand who I am, don’t run after pleasing the majority and forget about my interests and necessary sincerity. In addition, he also showed me a healthy and disciplined lifestyle through maintaining a gym and eating a vegetarian diet.
– What did you learn from your mother-in-law to build a family?
– I really like the lifestyle of my husband’s family, everyone usually wakes up on time, eats breakfast together, and chats, whether it’s weekends or holidays. Through activities like that, I realized the great bond between family members. Later, when I have children, I will also guide my small family to follow the same routine.
My mother-in-law is young and full of energy. I learned from her the subtlety of observation, how to put love into words and gestures, no matter how small. One time, my father-in-law got food poisoning and had to go to the hospital for fluids. Everyone arranged for Mr. Duc to stay and look after him, but at midnight my mother insisted on coming in with me. Through my mother’s actions and behavior, I realized that love is important for a long-term relationship in marriage.
Phuong Anh’s appearance at the event in March. Photo: Write Quarterly
– What are your plans after graduation?
– I aim to become a lecturer, continue to pursue bilingual MC work, and participate in appropriate entertainment activities. I plan to study for a doctorate to serve my job. I also plan to produce content in video form to inspire young people.
My husband is currently sprinting for his final year of his doctorate. Therefore, the two have no intention of having children. Our parents did not put any pressure on this issue, so we kept a comfortable mentality and enjoyed our married life.
Her full name is Pham Ngoc Phuong Anh, crowned Miss Vietnamese Ao Dai 2015 before becoming the 1st runner-up of Miss Vietnam 2019. In December 2022, she competed in Miss International but did not make it to the top.
Phuong Anh was the valedictorian of the bilingual high school for the gifted in Le Hong Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, won the third national excellent student prize in French, and was directly admitted to Hanoi Foreign Trade University and Ho Chi Minh City Polytechnic University. In March 2021, the beauty graduated as valedictorian in Information Management Systems from RMIT University. She can communicate in English, French, Spanish, and Japanese, achieving IELTS 8.0.
Tan Cao
