Where You Start Doesn’t Decide How Far You Go
I never imagined I would travel to many places or discover how big the world really is. But PNV – where we learned not only IT and English, but also life skills and confidence – opened another door for me.
Kim Thảo – PNV20 Alumni
From the very first days of arriving in an unfamiliar city to pursue a completely new field of study, many PNV students began their journeys with that same courage. And Kim Thảo, an alumna of the 2017-2020 cohort at Passerelles Numériques Vietnam, was no exception.
Coming from the mountainous province of Quảng Bình (before Vietnam’s provincial merger), Thảo once held a very simple wish when she chose to join PNV: after graduation, she hoped to earn around 5 million VND a month – enough to support herself and help her family. Traveling, exploring the world, or pursuing bigger experiences were things she had never really imagined for herself back then.
Three years passed with steady effort and close support from PNV, and new doors gradually opened. Her third-year internship in Ho Chi Minh City at KMS Technology became a turning point – the first time she lived fully independently and began to see a world far broader than she had known before.
The strong foundation of knowledge, skills, and encouragement she received at PNV nurtured the confidence and resilience she needed to keep exploring new experiences, both professionally and personally.
Today, Thảo has been working for over three years at EPAM Systems, where she continues learning from experienced colleagues in an international environment, steadily developing herself while building a stable life to support her family.
At the same time, she has discovered a passion for trekking and nature exploration – something she once never believed she would have the chance to experience. As she traveled more and met people from different cultures, Thảo realized:
The world is vast, and I have every right to dream beyond where I started. Traveling is not only about places – it’s a journey of understanding myself, daring to try, daring to fail, and daring to step outside my comfort zone.
Of course, growth is never a smooth road. There are moments of exhaustion and self-doubt, but with persistence and determination, circumstances no longer define one’s limits. Learning each day, moving step by step, and refusing to give up – that is how Thảo began, and how she continues moving forward.
And Thảo’s story is just one of many inspiring journeys like this at PNV.
For more than 15 years, Passerelles Numériques Vietnam has supported hundreds of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in pursuing education and personal growth. Through each generation and every achievement – big or small – one truth becomes clear: when given an opportunity and the courage to keep going, students gradually outgrow their own limits, becoming more confident and ready to embrace experiences they once thought were beyond reach.