Having left his family and his home town, he applied himself to his university studies in the city and, through his own initiative, overcame every obstacle he encountered during that time until

he ultimately got what he wanted.

His name is Chou Thay, he’s 30 years old, and he’s now a director of a cruise company.

Having an interest in tourism and a desire to work in that field, Chou Thay decided to pursue his tourism major at the National University of Management.

“Living alone isn’t easy. I had to deal with many things by myself, especially financial problems,” he says.

Once he reached the third year of his university course, Chou Thay decided to find a job. He eventually applied to Blue Cruiser, the leading speedboat company specialising in tours on the Mekong River.

“I was hired as a salesman there.

I was so happy, because that meant I could reduce my financial problems,” he says with a smile.

Chou Thay put all his energy into the job, and his commitment soon came to the attention of his super-iors. Less than two years later, he was made a director of Blue Cruiser.

“Before I was promoted, I worked so hard. I impressed my boss by increasing the number of tickets the company sold,” Chou Thay says.

Being a director is much busier than being a salesman, he says. Every day, he has to perform essential tasks such as organising tours, planning marketing campaigns and solving problems.

“I have to look after every single thing in the company, especially our staff. I have to teach them not to do things that will upset our clients and harm the company’s reputation,” Chou Thay says.

“I have to address these issues and reply to any complaints from our clients.”

Although he is now a director, Chou Thay still works as salesman. “I enjoy doing different things, and I’m helping the company to cut down on staff,” he says with a laugh.

As well as all that, if he has some free time, Chou Thay sometimes acts as a tour guide at clients’ request. He says it’s fun being a guide, because he can meet lots of people; he just regrets that he doesn’t have much time to do so.

After five years with Blue Cruiser, Chou Thay is very happy. He says that if he hadn’t applied for a job with the company, he would never have reached the point where he is today.

He has learned a lot and gained a great deal of experience in the job.

“I have no plans to start my own cruise business in the future, because I don’t want to challenge the company I have grown up in,’’ he says.

“If possible, I would rather open another type of business.”