Bao has always been one of the brightest students in his classes. He excelled in Chemistry and Math and he was a member of Quang Tri's team that participated in the Vietnam's National Olympiad Competition in Chemistry.

Bao is raised in a family of his parents and two sisters. His parents work in the farm growing rice and pigs with irregular incomes of about $300 monthly, all depends on the weather and the ability to sell their produce net of the cost of buying fertilizer, pesticides, and cattle foods. Bao has to rent a place to live near the school, and with such a low family income, room and board becomes an extreme challenge.