- UNIS Hanoi’s Longest Serving Staff Member Recognised

A part time summer’s job as a cleaner and security guard led to a thirty year career in security for one of UNIS Hanoi’s much loved staff members. 

Fifty year-old Hanoian, Mr Tran Hanh, began working at UNIS Hanoi in 1991 soon after finishing college. Keen to earn a living rather than relying on his older brother, Mr Hanh answered an advert for a part-time cleaner and security guard. 

“UNIS Hanoi was located on the same campus as Hanoi Amsterdam School back then and so the role wasn’t demanding and I knew I could do it.” Mr Hanh said. Unbeknownst to him at the time, accepting the position would give him more than a paycheck; it’d also give him a second family. 

“I love UNIS Hanoi,” Mr Hanh revealed. “The people here have been family to me and I’ve learned so much from the School. I’ve seen how they teach here and I tried to teach my children in the same way. I admire how children are taught to be independent and in control of their learning. I think it’s a good thing.”

Today, Mr Hanh is the School’s Security Team Leader, supervising a team of eight - an incredible number considering he was once the only security guard the school required. “When the School started, we occupied just two floors at the Hanoi Amsterdam School. We grew significantly after a few years, so we moved to a campus in Van Phuc in 1997 and finally in 2004 we moved to Ciputra - where we are now.” 

And it’s not just the physical changes Mr Hanh marvels at, it’s UNIS Hanoi’s educational philosophy too. He explained, “Here, students are taught they can do anything and I have passed that onto my two children also. Now my daughter is an English teacher in a local school and my son works in the hospitality industry in Helsinki, Finland. They have been taught that anything is possible too.”

At the end of the 2020-21 school year, Mr Hanh was recognised by his colleagues as the School’s longest serving staff member in UNIS Hanoi’s 33 year history. After three decades of service, it’s an accolade he’s delighted with. He added, “So many of my colleagues are my friends and I plan to be here until I retire.”