Clara began her career as a math teacher, but something changed during her time teaching—she realized her true passion lay elsewhere. Determined to explore new opportunities, she decided to study abroad and moved to Europe. That experience opened her mind to the importance of international education and the opportunities that come with learning a global language.

When Clara returned to Vietnam, she wanted to create something meaningful that could help others. She shared her ideas on social media and received incredible support and advice, which encouraged her to take the next step in starting her own English education business. This was the beginning of what would later become the Lucy Education Centre.

At first, the school was called Lucy English Helping and started with just five students. Clara’s goal was simple but powerful: to make English learning accessible for everyone in Vietnam. To help families get started, she even offered free lessons and big discounts. With hard work and passion, the school grew—and in just 1.5 years, Lucy Education Centre taught over 340 students and continues to thrive and grow.

Around this time, Joe’s story began to connect with Clara. After completing a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology and working as a researcher in Cambridge, UK, Joe decided to take a break from science and travel the world. Joe started his trip in Hong Kong, followed by Taiwan, then eventually Vietnam. After visiting all of SE-Asia, Joe noticed the limited opportunities for learning English in Vietnam compared to the other countries that he visited.

When he arrived in Vietnam, he found something he didn’t expect: a lack of access to quality English education compared to other countries in Southeast Asia. This realization sparked a new purpose—to help Vietnamese students learn English and open doors to opportunities worldwide. Because of this, after travelling SE-Asia, he decided to return to Vietnam to continue helping students learn English and to help at the summer school. During that time, Clara and Joe shared the same vision: to make English education available to everyone, no matter where they live.

With Clara's experience of growing a business and Joe's experience of teaching and online profile and understanding of social media is the pair decided to partner, and that’s why Lucy Education Centre has now expanded to an online platform, allowing students across Vietnam to learn from passionate teachers who care about their success.

What started as a small dream with five students is now a growing community of hundreds, united by one goal: to make English learning accessible, enjoyable, and life-changing.