Tram’s engineering her own successes – The Courier-Mail

 

When Tram Ngo arrived in Australia three years ago, she knew very little English but she had a very big goal.

 

‘‘I was really interested in engineering and knew the only way I could study engineering was through uni,’’ the 20-year-old student from Vietnam said.

 

Not only did she know where she wanted to go but how she needed to get there because her family could not afford university tuition.

 

‘‘I tried to study really hard to get a scholarship,’’ she said.

 

Within two years of arriving in Australia, Ms Ngo left Alexandra Hills State High School with an OP1 and a scholarship to study engineering at QUT.

 

When she reached university, she found a new challenge.  Her English had improved greatly in two years but she still struggled with some of the cultural aspects of going to university in her new country.

 

‘‘It was hard making friendships,’’ she said.

 

After her first semester, she took a year off to work, immerse herself in her new culture and to adjust to her new life.

 

Now she’s looking forward to starting back to studying full-time.  ‘‘I’m ready for it,’’ she said.

 

While Ms Ngo is a role model for her dedication to her studies, she in turn has been inspired by her father and by Brisbane businesswoman Sarina Russo, who she had written a school assignment on.