Phan Manh Tan (Season 2 Champion), Le Viet Ha (Season 7) and Pham Thi Ngoc Oanh (Season 11) shared with the audience about their journey to participate in the contest and current life. It's been a long time that audiences haven't seen the Road to the Olympus Mount champions of the first few seasons. They shared about their current life and memories of the first competition.
Phan Manh Tan currently lives in Melbourne and is a Solutions Manager at IBM Corporation, Australia, but due to the epidemic situation, he currently works remotely. He shared about that moment that although the road to the top of Olympia was just a competition, it touched on his many aspects of life and also improved his skills such as public speaking and communicating on television. These things have become the baggage that not only helps him but other Road to the Olympus Mount champions to feel more confident when studying abroad, and at the same time, be successful in both their studies and their careers.
When he first arrived in Australia, he had to learn how to use the Internet in order to study and work as by that time the World Wide Web was still underdeveloped in Vietnam. "Initially, my ability to communicate in English was only average when I arrived, but then it improved while living here," he said. Then, after graduating, he spent a few years teaching and earning a PhD to continue his research in the field.
In addition to two guests from Australia, Le Viet Ha is the only Road to Mount Olympus champion living and working in Vietnam. However, due to the ongoing epidemic situation in Saigon, his work is somewhat affected. Ha Le said: "Currently, my colleagues and employees have to take a break from work because of the epidemic situation. That's why I hope everything will return to normal as soon as possible when Ho Chi Minh City is making great efforts to speed up the vaccination rollout."
When being asked by host Tung Dang about his first visit to the Road to the Olympus Mountain studio, the champion of the seventh season said that: "The last game of that year was the second time I went to Hanoi. In the S9 studio, standing under the lights and being watched by a lot of people made me feel a bit shaky and lacking in confidence, but then I regain calmness, adapted to the situation and won the contest. "
When studying in Australia, one of his first impressions of this place is that the prices are almost always more expensive than in Vietnam. He remembers that the first time his godmother took him to the supermarket, he couldn't believe his eyes when a banana cost 2.40 AUD (40,000 VND); and it took him quite a while to get used to things here.
As one of the few Road to Olympus Mount women's champions, Ngoc Oanh shared with enthusiasm and joy with the IFO Nightly Show about her current life in Sydney. Despite having to spend more than a month in isolation at home due to the epidemic situation, her work has mostly gone unaffected.
Speaking of 2011, Ngoc Oanh recalled the first week of the competition when she was ill due to psychological pressure at the time of filming. But thanks to her luck and family's faith, she qualified to the next round. She recalled: "Before participating in the competition, I was a fairly calm, but I was not prepared to be the champion. But thanks to the help of my parents, I am able to overcome the difficulties at that time to confidently enter Swinburne University of Technology, Australia."
Ngoc Oanh's current success is no coincidence when he has to work hard. During the first year of graduation, she applied to many companies but was rejected, which made her doubt at the time of her ability. The 2011 champion shared that this was her first failure, but thanks to her family's help and her own efforts, she stood up, moved forward and succeeded.
At the end of the program, the three guests participated in the IFO challenge to answer fun questions so that the audience could learn more about their interests, as well as their ability to answer questionnaires.
Their stories showed that Australia really supports international students a lot to find suitable jobs and gain experience in the international environment.
You can watch the full episode 1 of IFO season 7 on VTV News media and IFO's YouTube channel.
