From Maritime Studies classrooms to the crown of Finance: The spectacular comeback of a 20-year-old female student.

Amidst the vibrant atmosphere of over 1,000 students at the National Innovation Center, the announcement of Pham Thi Mai Huong's name as the winner created a sensation. The 20-year-old from Vietnam Maritime University was not only the youngest contestant to win, but also the only one in the Top 6 not majoring in Economics or Finance. Her narrow victory, by just one point in the supplementary multiple-choice round, was a beautiful ending to a seven-month journey of courage and determination from an "outsider" who dared to step out of her comfort zone.

Starting out as a Logistics student, Mai Huong was initially intimidated by the vast amount of knowledge that her competitors in the field had diligently studied for 3-4 years. However, instead of trying to "memorize" dry terminology, she chose her own path: transforming the "unfamiliar" into the "familiar."

During training, what is the core self-study method that helps an amateur outperform economics majors?

As a logistics major, Mai Huong chose not to memorize sophisticated terminology or dry data that economics students have to study for 3-4 years. Instead, she chose the method of transforming the "unfamiliar" into the "familiar". From a logistics perspective, the job essentially involves arranging goods for the fastest and most economical transportation. Huong simply believes that money, like goods, must circulate to generate profit.

To fill the knowledge gap in a short time, in addition to textbooks borrowed from friends, Mai Huong utilized videos and news broadcasts to connect macroeconomic financial concepts to everyday, relatable stories. This approach helped her realize that finance is not something distant but is present in the flow of life and in how people spend money every day.

It was her habit of self-learning and constantly asking "why" to get to the root of the problem that helped Huong confidently engage in debates with even the Top 3 contestants from the previous season. She identified blind spots that even years of experience sometimes overlook, and from there, she presented sharp and fair arguments.

When faced with an artificial intelligence possessing a massive dataset, what strategy should be employed: A battle of logic or a battle of human flexibility and emotion?

The biggest challenge in the final night came not only from humans but also from technology, as contestants had to compete against Multi-Agent AI for the first time. Facing the machine's massive data set, Mai Huong chose a strategy of logic rather than emotion. She understood that even the most intelligent AI cannot grasp hidden meanings or sentiments, so the input data had to be clear and accurate to produce the desired results.

That composure continued through the final, nail-biting moments. As the auditorium erupted in cheers, Mai Huong maintained absolute focus on the screen, setting aside any calculations about scores to process the data as quickly as possible. Her extraordinary motivation came from the image of her teachers, family, and friends in the audience. The pressure had transformed into motivation, because she believed she was fighting for the faith of those she loved, not just for herself.

As the Champion of the Currency Universe, what financial principle will be applied first to handling this money?

The final victory was decided by a single point in the tie-breaker round. In that crucial moment, Mai Huong kept a cool head thanks to her intense focus on processing the data and making a decisive answer. The greatest motivation that gave her confidence was the presence of her teachers and family in the audience, transforming pressure into determination to fight for the belief of her supporters.

Having won a prize of 1 billion VND, a gift she jokingly called a "cute shock," Mai Huong immediately switched to financial management mode. The first principle of the new champion is "Bring the money home to my mother" and express gratitude to the teachers to share the joy with those who have supported her.

With a "don't put all your eggs in one basket" mindset, Huong prioritizes investing in herself through language learning and professional certifications, believing that knowledge is an asset that generates unlimited returns. The rest is divided into savings and practical investment opportunities, considered as "tuition" to test the knowledge gained from competitions.

A piece of advice for students who are afraid because they think they 'know too little' about money?

Addressing students who are still hesitant because they think they know too little about money, Mai Huong asserted that this is a common misconception. The new champion admitted that she used to be very insecure, assuming that financial success had to be associated with huge sums of money or unattainable multi-million dollar deals, making her feel too naive to achieve it.

However, this perspective completely changed after she directly participated in the "earn - spend - save - invest - preserve" challenges and attended intensive training sessions from the organizers. Mai Huong realized that, in reality, humans have lived with money since birth. Everyday activities like spending money or working part-time are ways for individuals to practice financial management; the only thing young people lack is a systematic management mindset.

"D "Don't wait until you start working and earning a salary to learn how to manage money. I used to think, 'Students don't have much money to manage,' but that was a mistake. It's precisely because you have less money that you need to be more financially responsible," Mai Huong shared.

Concluding her remarkable journey, Pham Thi Mai Huong sends a profound message to Generation Z: Don't wait until you get a salary to learn how to manage money, and don't be afraid to make mistakes. "Making mistakes now is still a cheap 'lesson,' but later, when you have billions of dollars and make those mistakes, the price will be very high," the young woman's assertion is also the strongest message: Financial success isn't about distant numbers, but begins with our attitude towards the small amounts of money we spend each day.