Many fans waited at Buon Ma Thuot Airport on the evening of January 6 to welcome H'Hen Nie.  

This was her hometown return after being named in the top 5 of Miss Universe 2018 held in Thailand recently. 

H'Hen Nie’s parents also came to see her at the airport. 

During the stay in Dak Lak, she will participate in social activities in Sut M’Dung Village where she was born. 

On the morning of January 7, authorities of Dak Lak Province held a meeting with H’Hen Nie to honour her achievement at the beauty contest. She was also granted with a certificate of merit for this. 

H’Hen Nie is the first person from an ethnic minority to be crowned Miss Universe in Vietnam.

She was born in a poor family where it is customary to get married as early as 14.

When she was told to find a husband at the age of 14, H’Hen said that she could not possibly get a husband at the time because she “had to follow her dreams and didn’t want to live a life where she had to marry early like many other kids had in her village”.

Instead, she went to HCM City, working different jobs – maid, tutor, leaflet deliverer and model to pay for her studies and life.

Nie was crowned Vietnam Miss Universe in 2017. Her top five finish is the best Vietnam has yet achieved at a Miss Universe beauty pageant.