With her passion for children and the environment that was influenced by her two sisters who are kindergarten teachers, Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Thu Lan chose to become a kindergarten teacher. She studied to become a kindergarten schoolteacher in college, and has since dedicated her career to nurturing young minds and building joyful, supportive learning environments. Her professional journey has been fuelled by a deep love for children and a lifelong aspiration to be a kindergarten teacher.

Her daily focus is on how to make the children happy every day when they come to kindergarten. Mrs. Lan has been a kindergarten teacher for 10 years. Her teaching techniques involve creating children’s play-based activities that are creative and fun to enhance their development, such as storytelling, reading, and music.

Later, when she became a school principal, she led by being a role model to her team. She builds a sense of unity among her staff, creating a strong team in her school. She initiated a green project called “Sky Green Spaces Development”, embedding environmental and green concepts in young children. She also created multifunctional classrooms, and smart rooms where young children learn from tablets with digital content pre-selected by teachers to enhance their learning skills. She also creates a Ho Chi Minh City cultural space where children learn about Ho Chi Minh through animation.

She understands that raising children needs parental engagement, so she keeps communicating with parents through the school website, social media, and Facebook, keeping them informed so that they can support the school activities. Whenever there are questions from parents that might become controversial, she invites them to school, explains the situation, and seeks their cooperation.

Throughout her career, Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Thu Lan has received numerous accolades for her outstanding contributions to early childhood education. She has been recognised as an “Emulation Fighter at the Grassroots” 28 times and as a “City Emulation Fighter” on four occasions. Her achievements have also earned her prestigious Certificates of Merit from various levels of government, including the Prime Minister, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, and the Ministry of Education and Training. Notably, she was honoured with the title “Meritorious Teacher” in 2023.