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SCNU postgraduate student Liu Bozhou was awarded the 2022 "Stars of Self-improvement of Chinese College Students" scholarship.
Organized by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and the All-China Students' Federation, the "Stars of Self-improvement of Chinese College Students" Scholarship is awarded to the students who demonstrate the quality of "forging ahead with enterprise and fortitude," thereby setting examples for college students across the country. Coming from a small town in western Guangdong province, Liu Bozhou inspires people with his love for teaching and voluntary services.
Liu Bozhou, a postgraduate of the School of Chinese Language and Literature.
Self-improved student
As his parents worked far away from his hometown, Liu learned to care for himself and obtained basic life skills early. "We stayed in the countryside every summer holiday, helping my grandparents with the farm work," Liu recalls. During the summer holiday of his fifth grade, a team from SCNU came to his primary school and provided volunteer services, which inspired Liu as a little boy to study hard and devote himself to social practice.
Liu Bozhou studied hard and became an SCNU student majoring in Chinese Language and Literature (teacher training). As a student at SCNU, he tried hard to balance his studies and life, taking part-time jobs and doing volunteer work in his spare time. His tutor, Professor Zhang Wei, helped him a lot, encouraging him to apply his knowledge to practice and serve the country.
Liu Bozhou and his mentor Zhang Wei.
Liu Bozhou has been taking an active part in volunteer activities. From the first time, he developed a clear goal: he wanted to help more people through volunteer work. He then determined to take a great challenge upon him, namely to help people in remote areas.
Liu Bozhou gives a class to students.
Inspiring youth
Liu Bozhou spent many days in the library and in actual practice teaching. He enrolled in SCNU' s fifth volunteer teaching group at Linzhi, Xizang in 2020. Teaching on the snow-covered plateau was never an easy task, and on his first day at Linzhi, Liu experienced severe altitude sickness. By the second week, his physical condition improved and he took up the task of teaching five classes.
To provide students with a tour of the museums in Guangdong province, Liu Bozhou and his team established a connection between Guangdong and Xizang with special exhibitions, "moving" Guangdong's museums to Xizang. "It is such hard work, but we've learned to enjoy the hardships," Liu said. He considered this a win-win and felt everything was worth it when he saw the smiling faces of his pupils.
Liu Bozhou guides his pupils to learn about cultural monuments.
After graduating in 2021, Liu Bozhou joined the Teaching Assistance Group of Graduates and once again set off to teach in Chamdo, Xizang. Liu Bozhou and his team offered courses in popular science in local schools and in the villages, developing bilingual picture books in Chinese and Tibetan language independently. He used the books to raise children's awareness of common infectious disease prevention, earning him high appreciation from both the pupils and their parents.
A group photo of the Teaching Assistance Group of Graduates.
He recalled a night when the power was off at the teaching building, "It was in the winter when the temperature was below zero, but one of my students was absorbed in reading under a tree by the streetlight. My students are strong, and they inspire me, too." Hard work pays off: his class ranked first in the grade of the high school entrance examination. When Liu's time as a volunteer teacher came to an end, the students gave him a hada, a white ethnic scarf that represents purity, honesty and good tidings, on which all the students signed their names.
Liu Bozhou and his students.
The two journeys of aiding Xizang in boosting local education have made Liu Bozhou strengthen his educational ideals and beliefs. This July, he went to Jianhe Ethnic Middle School in Guizhou province and conducted a survey on rural revitalization, continuing his pursuit of promoting education through voluntary services. To him, taking part in voluntary teaching is one of the many ways to support the country's rural revitalization strategy. He encourages more students to join the volunteer team and dedicate their youth where the country and people need it most.
Source from SCNU News Center
Translated by Luo Xiaoying, Wan Wenhui
Proofread by Edwin Baak
Edited by Wang Yingmin
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