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Recently, in the School of Life Sciences graduation defense, a 2500-word doctoral acknowledgment from Dr. Li Huidong, a physiologist from the class of 2024, attracted teachers' attention. It made people sigh at the difficulty of learning and gave them a more concrete understanding of "study changes destiny".
In the acknowledgment, Li recalled her study journey and expressed her sincere thanks to the many people who helped her along the way. Now, let's step into Li Huidong's story.
Li was born in Guangdong. Her hometown was mostly filled with migrant workers and had poor economic development conditions. Li's favorite person was her grandpa, who taught her writing when her family couldn't afford to send her to kindergarten. Seeing Li's cleverness and talent, her grandpa encouraged her to become a doctor, which served as a guide in Li's mind. When Li was nine years old, a series of accidents occurred. It fell to Li, who was still in primary school, to take care of the whole family's meals which lasted for a long time until she went to senior high school. When Li recalled her childhood nowadays, she still thought the time a pity.
Li Huidong’s childhood photo.
Undergoing misfortune, Li was maturing and determined to slip the leash and change her destiny by studying when she went to senior high school. So Li cut her hair short to save time to study. Finally, Li entered Southern Medical University. With her relatives' help and her hard-earned scholarship, she could afford her tuition and complete her studies successfully.
In 2019, combining her life plan and interest in research direction, Li finally chose to apply for the physiology of SCNU. With her hard work, Li enrolled at the School of Life Sciences as the first. After being admitted to SCNU, she didn't let up at all. Her junior female schoolmate knew that staying up late was the norm for Li. To learn technology, she would wait for others to finish using the equipment during the day, and then slowly figure it out by herself at night until two or three o'clock in the morning. Under the guidance of her mentor, she collaborated with an undergraduate student and established a thesis as the first author in two years, which was difficult for a new graduate student who crossed over to a neuroscience major. In 2023, Li and her teammates, based on the subject data of Li, succeeded in applying for the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
Li Huidong attends the international meeting.
In her journey to study, countless people supported Li, including her relatives, her boyfriend, her friends, and her teachers. In Li's study journey, each teacher she met was a kind and understanding teacher. Everything made Li feel her life was full of light and hope, especially her mentor at SCNU Long Cheng and his wife's care and help, which encouraged her to keep her study journey and do a PhD. Li also repaid those who helped her in her own way.
Li Huidong(right) celebrates her mentor Longcheng’s(left) retirement.
With a strong belief that Study changes destiny, Li Huidong will continue her academic journey. She hopes to demonstrate the responsibility and commitment of contemporary youth with more SCNUers.
Source from SCNU News Center
Translated by Cai Xiaoyang, Tang Jingyue
Proofread by Edwin Baak
Edited by Li Jianru
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