Nguyen Thanh Hanh Nguyen, an alumna of the English Linguistics program at Tra Vinh University, has successfully secured a full scholarship for the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) 2025. The program runs from September 26 to October 30, 2025, in Missoula, New Orleans, and Washington D.C., United States.
The U.S. State Department sponsors the full YSEALI scholarship for 2025. This signature diplomatic program of the U.S. Government aims to build skills among young people in Southeast Asia, enhance youth leadership capacity, strengthen ties between the United States and Southeast Asia, and nurture a community of leaders who work across borders to address common challenges.
Hanh Nguyen shares: “As an English Linguistics student, my years at Tra Vinh University gave me a solid knowledge foundation and an open learning environment that encouraged students to explore and develop their abilities actively. I also gained practical understanding through extracurricular activities, academic clubs, and community engagement programs organized by the university. This combination helped me build confidence and boldly begin my journey hunting for international scholarships and seizing opportunities to reach out to the world.”
The YSEALI program for young leaders is an intensive, short-term academic program that provides groups of young leaders with a deeper understanding of the United States and a specific topic, while enhancing their leadership skills. The five-week scholarship includes workshops, research, group discussions, and classroom lectures.
Participants then join study tours, site visits, leadership skill development exercises, and community service activities, along with cultural exchange and educational activities outside the classroom. When conditions allow, participants take an educational study trip to other regions of the United States to meet local, government, private, and non-governmental organizations related to the program’s theme.
This year’s program features four main themes: Civic Engagement, Natural Resources, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Society and Governance.
Hanh Nguyen registered for the Natural Resources theme because this is a field she is passionate about and has much experience in, while also demonstrating alignment with the program’s criteria.
The program’s Natural Resources theme explores the role of environmental policy in economic and political development. Subtopics include environmental protection, clean air and water, environmental issues, ocean conservation, renewable energy, pollution, public health and safety, conservation, emergency and disaster management, and more. These topics are examined from various perspectives, including grassroots activities and local civic initiatives, impacts on vulnerable communities, global and regional multilateral efforts, the private sector, and government policies and regulations.
Hanh Nguyen said that she learned about the program through extracurricular activities and sharing sessions from alumni who had participated. What attracted Hanh Nguyen was the program’s scale and its core values: nurturing young leadership capacity, promoting a sense of community responsibility, and broadening worldviews. The alignment between the program’s direction and what Hanh Nguyen was trying to build for herself made her determined to give it a try.
Hanh Nguyen adds: “To apply for this scholarship, I focused on preparing my application seriously: editing my CV, writing my personal story, completing the essay, and continuing to participate in community activities to deepen my experience.
This was the most important part because the essay helps the scholarship reviewers understand who you are, why you chose the program, and your future development direction. At first, I struggled quite a bit not knowing how to express myself so the essay would be both engaging and coherent with persuasive power.
During that process, I spent much time looking back at myself and understanding more clearly why I was pursuing the program. Hanh Nguyen says: Each time I wrote and revised the essay, I felt like I was meeting a new version of myself. I understood why I wanted to step out into the world and became more certain that I wanted to return to contribute to my community.
Thanks to her persistence and learning spirit, she passed the selection round and became one of the students participating in the U.S. academic program. The international experience helped her broaden her perspective, meet friends from many cultures, and recognize the value of community connection.
From her serious learning attitude to her proactive spirit in seeking personal development opportunities, Hanh Nguyen has gradually affirmed her abilities and successfully conquered the YSEALI Academic Fellowship 2025 program, a scholarship for Southeast Asian youth sponsored by the U.S. Government.
HIEU NHAN – HOANG NAM
