USST-ers Devoted to the Development of Northwestern Areas

The summer of 2020 is a special graduation season which witnesses that USST graduates begin a new phrase in their life. This summer also witnesses that the graduates set sail, and ride the winds and waves for their bright future. USST graduates are on their way to the northwest of China, such as Tibetan, Guizhou, and Xinjiang.
Fulfilling the Dreams on the Plateau with Actions
As a grass-roots civil servant, Bai Yansong who graduated from College of Science makes efforts to learn Tibetan language and has mastered it as his third language now. “We must know about Tibet first if we want to build and be involved in it, and learning its language is the best way. So, I regard it as a good beginning so that I will be able to understand the local people and settle the matters which they are concerned about”, says he.
After graduation, Bai Yansong decided to work in Tibet without any hesitation. “I attended the national civil servant examination and passed it, but when the interview was coming closely, an employment opportunity in Tibet came to me. Then, I was determined to go back to Tibet that I loved heartily and to Qinghai-Tibet Plateau that could provide me with a large stage”, says Bai Yansong who has regarded Tibet as his second home. “The reply from President Xi Jinping deeply inspires me. I will contribute myself to the construction of the beautiful and blessed Tibet. I will take practical actions to be anchored in grass-roots, serve the local people and fulfill the dreams on the Plateau. Let my younger years shine in hard work and contributions!”

Putting the Mission of Poverty Alleviation into All Works
Enrolled in 2019, Li Chuang is graduate student in the School of Environment and Architecture. He is lucky to be a member of poverty alleviation team that serves Fengxiang Community in Fenggang County in Guizhou Province.
Fengxiang community is a poverty alleviation relocation site. During the one year after he came to Fengxiang, Li Chuang was in charge of updating information of all the registered members in the community, consulting and handling civil services on the local social endowment insurance and assisting team leaders in all kinds of administration work in the area under their jurisdiction.

In order to promote the education for local children, he learned from local experience to begin a new program, "4:30 Class". Besides, he organized a Voluntary Teaching Group of College Students for the Fengxiang Community. He took everything seriously from the recruitment of volunteers to interviewing new teachers to run the program smoothly.
Now, the program is coming to an end. The reply from President Xi to Chinese university graduates strengthened his expectation for the future, "I will stick to my original aspiration in poverty alleviation unwaveringly, keeping in mind of volunteer spirits, which are, “dedication, fraternity, cooperation and progress”. I will devote my power to my motherland and shoulder the responsibility of our young generation with actions."

Integrating Personal Dream into the Service for the West
Tian Hui, a student from the School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, comes from Dushanzi District, Karamay City in Xinjiang Autonomous Region. She is  to set out for volunteering services in Western China while her classmates are busy for graduation.
The idea of being a volunteer of the Western Plan was motivated by an unforgettable 2019 graduation ceremony during which president Ding Xiaodong sent words affectionately to all graduates and specially mentioned the story of You Guopeng from the Tian’s school. You Guopeng gave up the chance to further studies as a graduate student, turned down job offers from many companies, decided to go to Tibet as a volunteer, and was determined to stay there for long. After hearing that, Tian Hui seemed deeply touched. Through further research and consultation, she strengthened her belief to be involved in the Western Plan: “I think it meaningful to take this opportunity to go back to Xinjiang as a volunteer and do something for my hometown.”
It is the dream that leads Tian Hui to leave the West for Shanghai, while the dream for the West drives her to go back. She is looking forward to the forthcoming volunteer services. As a student majoring in Medical Imaging Technology, she expects to pay more attention to people’s health in the Western cities. “I come from the West, so I know more about the condition there and can more easily adjust myself to the environment there. Medical resources in the West are relatively scarce. I will pay close attention to the places deficient in health care and I hope that I will make my contributions to the West by using knowledge I have learnt and skills I have mastered in school.”