Spending much of my childhood reading newspapers, I tried sending my articles to news agencies in Hanoi and was lucky enough to have some published at national leading newspapers for kids and adolescents like Thieu Nien Tien Phong and Hoa Hoc Tro. Ever since then, I have always had this keen interest in media.
When I was in high school, I established and became the content manager of the radio station at my school, supervising two editors and a technician. The radio station provided school news and updates of student life around Vietnam. It also had a special section for students to share their love and messages to other people in the school and became a show that everyone in the school waited to listen to. The time at the radio station taught me that there were the message and emotions in the news that connected and moved people.
My passion for media was further fueled up by my time in the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, studying International Communications. I had the opportunity to attend some media training courses provided by the US Embassy in Hanoi and was chosen to become an intern reporter at Tien Phong Daily News as a reward for my outstanding performance. Working in the news agency not only helped me to gain valuable reporting skills, working with people from all walks of life but also created me a strong sense of news and critical thinking by always asking questions.
Upon graduation, aiming to help the disadvantaged communities and groups, I started working as a communication person for the not-for-profit sector in Vietnam. Starting as an intern, I was promoted to be an assistant, an officer and a manager, managing a variety of media assets, from digital media (website, blog, email campaign, SEO, social media) to offline media like press conferences, workshops, fam trips, training courses, contests and face-to-face meet up. By working for many NGOs in different working areas, I learn to approach several groups from different backgrounds with understanding and support.
Since 2014, I have been running my site project at http://tapchichomeo.com, providing free information about caring and training dogs and cats. Our vision is to change the attitudes of Vietnamese youth to support animal welfare/rights and stop treating them as meat products.
The role of media is for people to have informed decisions so people should understand the advantages and disadvantages of media usage, take advantage of its benefits and so on. As a communication person, I always want to become a better person in my field and communicate better and create more significant impacts.