Women @STEM: STEM can be so much fun!

It’s interesting how Chu Ha Linh, sophomore from CECS, was not the first one we contacted for an interview, the reason being that she had already been featured in another article on our blog. However, to our surprise, she was nominated by a reader of ours, who told us that she was the G.O.A.T of Electrical Engineering’s Cohort 2. Therefore, how can we pass over the chance to share, once again, the story of, probably, one of the most interesting female personalities at VinUni?

My name is Chu Ha Linh, currently a sophomore majoring in Electrical Engineering at VinUniversity!

Linh was being her usual cheerful self when she was asked to introduce herself. Those who know Linh are likely to have seen her in her usual Hawaii-style clothes and proceeding to give everyone she met some kinds of sweets. Such extroverted and outgoing behaviors was why I was taken aback when I knew she was studying Electrical Engineering, not External Engagement. But Ha Linh had a fun way to explain that seemingly hard to find passion among girls: “Well, I think it’s partly because I love fidgeting around. Back then, I actually much preferred playing with handmade stuff to technological gadgets, but I guess that kind of created a foundation which later got me into Engineering. To me, Engineering is just another excuse to get to play with things!”

Regarding this, I think she made the right choice because every time I saw her, either in our Academic English class or CECS day, she always seemed to have her own toys: from the complicated lab reports that I could never put my head across to those student-built car models that actually run. However, as someone who studied in such a women-dominated college as CBM, I was interested to know how it felt like to study with more boys than girls. Chill as she is, Ha Linh admitted that the so-called gender imbalance does not really make any big difference for her, well, except for the debate.

The thing is that my brain can not process as quickly as other boys, so sometimes when I sit in class listening to people argue, I just can't keep up with the waves.

Despite this, Ha Linh proved to us that when it comes to studying, she does not need to keep up with her male classmates. Last year, not only did Ha Linh receive the title of Dean’s List for her outstanding academic achievement, she also received the Third Prize in CECS Day 2022 for designing her own self-driving car. Thus, it did not come as a surprise when she disagreed with the notion that female students would lose out on subjects normally pursued by their male counterparts. To her, all that matters is one’s passion and capability. If you are passionate and able enough, you can master every subject out there, even the ones that appeal more to men.

I guess it’s because there are so few girls attending those subjects that they are considered male-dominated. But if you do not try, how could you know whether you could be great at it? Thus, if you want it, give it a try!