Since 1999, a total number of 208 volunteers from Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) have provided volunteer services in the western region of China. By conducting volunteer teaching, they spread love and hope, and contributed to the development of education in the region, which also benefited the society and the country. In response to the calls of the School of International Studies (SIS) and SYSU, students from SIS integrated their ideals into the cause of the Chinese nation, and provided volunteer teaching service in the western region. They led by example and carried forward the spirit of volunteerism in the new era with their youth and enthusiasm by going to places where conditions are hardest and support is most needed. The Records of Outstanding Alumnii—Volunteer Teaching (2) is a tribute to these SIS students. 

 

Li Haihua

Member of Yunnan Chengjiang Branch of the 18th Postgraduate Voluntary Teaching Program

Grade 2016 Undergraduate of SIS, SYSU

 

Received Honors

From August 2016 to July 2017, Li provided services in the Chengjiang No. 6 Middle School of Yunnan Province, where she was in charge of teaching English, geography and other subjects to Grade Two students. At the same time, she participated in several public welfare projects, such as “One-to-one Financial Aid on Education for Low-income Students”, “Buy Small Things to Satisfy Small Wishes of Children from Poor Mountainous Regions” and “Water Plan” which relieves water shortage in some western regions in China.

After the volunteer teaching, Li became an English teacher of Dongguan Middle School in Dongguan City, a century-old famous school in Dongguan. Over the years, the students in this school have achieved good results in the college entrance examination. From 2016 to 2020, 18 students were admitted to Peking University and Tsinghua University and in the 2020 college entrance examination, 89.22% of the students from this school applying for early admission with high scores were eligible.

 

Li’s Inspiration from Volunteer Teaching

Education means one tree shakes another, one cloud pushes another, and one soul awakens another.

Li kept her original aspiration of volunteer teaching and stuck to her position as a teacher. At the beginning of being a teacher, she stayed humble and kept seeking advice from others, thus gradually forming her own teaching style through learning and exploring. She was good at stimulating students’ enthusiasm for learning by designing classes in a targeted way to help students learn efficiently. At the same time, she also made efforts to continually broaden students’ horizons. During the one-year volunteer teaching, the scores of her class in the midterm and final English exams ranked the top in the grade, which showed that the students achieved significant progress in their studies.

Li’s Wishes

What you should do is only good deeds, no matter how the future will be.

 

 

 

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Huang Huixiang

Member of the 20th Postgraduate Voluntary Teaching Program of SYSU

Grade 2014 Undergraduate, Grade 2019 Postgraduate of SIS, SYSU

 

Received Honors

From August 2018 to July 2019, Huang taught as a volunteer at the No.1 High School of Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region. After the volunteer teaching, she continued her postgraduate studies in SYSU, and obtained the qualification to be a teacher in Shenzhen in the autumn recruitment of 2020.

Teaching Experience

During the one-year volunteer teaching, Huang actively adapted to the local environment and carried out four tasks of teaching, administration, funding and volunteer service with a down-to-earth manner. In terms of teaching, she taught English to two classes in the Qamdo No. 1 High School, where she created a relaxed and effective teaching environment for the students and carried out various classroom teaching activities to improve students’ enthusiasm for class participation. The average English scores of one of her classes (Class 5, Grade 1) remained the first among the Tibetan-medium science classes.

Huang Huixiang and Students of Her Two Classes

 

In terms of administrative work, she was mainly responsible for taking pictures and writing brief reports for the activities organized by the Moral Education Office of the school. During the volunteer teaching, she wrote a total of 60 brief reports and six work reports, and also assisted the school to cooperate with the inspection and evaluation required for applying for the title of Model High School in Autonomous Regions. In the voluntary teaching program, she was mainly responsible for the work related to student financial aids, which included the contact with Shenzhen Charity Federation Runxin Fund, and the work of financial aids for a total of 200 students in three grades. In her spare time, she took an active part in volunteer service activities organized by the Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, including the Culture and Art Festival along the Ancient Tea Horse Road in the Three-river Basin (Jinsha River, Lancang River and Nu River) of China, a trip to special schools at Mid-Autumn Festival, Nursing Home Volunteer Services, Warm Winter Actions, Learn from Lei Feng Month activities, special school activities on National Day for Helping Persons with Disabilities, etc.

 

Huang’s Wishes

Stay down-to-earth and be sincere.

 

 

 

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Xiang Qingqing

Member of the 20th Postgraduate Voluntary Teaching Program of SYSU

Grade 2014 Undergraduate of SIS, SYSU

 

Received Honors

During volunteer teaching, Xiang was awarded as Excellent Supervisor of National English Proficiency Competition for Middle School Students, Excellent Teacher of Nyingchi No. 1 Middle School, and May Fourth Red Flag Youth League Branch of Nyingchi City (Collective).

After the volunteer teaching, Xiang studied for a master’s degree in the School of Foreign Languages, SYSU, and will graduate soon.

Teaching Experience

During the volunteer teaching, Xiang served as an English teacher of one Tibetan-medium class and one Chinese-medium class in Grade One of the senior high school. Meanwhile, she also served as the leader of the English Lesson Preparation Group of the Chinese-medium classes in Grade One. Her duties as the leader included making teaching plans for English courses of the Chinese-medium classes, arranging the content of all kinds of English exams for the Chinese-medium classes, reviewing and marking the exam papers etc. In terms of administrative work, she acted as the director of the Office of Education Administration, responsible for ordering textbooks for all grades, extracting files of graduate students, inspecting daily teaching, organizing examinations of all grades, and organizing the “Reading Festival” in the school.

 

 

 

Xiang also kept her original aspiration of volunteer teaching and stuck to her position as a teacher. When she was a beginner in teaching, she learned from others with a humble attitude and thus gradually formed her own teaching style through learning and exploring. She was good at stimulating students’ enthusiasm for learning. Through designing classes in a targeted way, she also helped students learn efficiently. Meanwhile, she was committed to broadening her students’ horizons. During the one-year volunteer teaching, the scores of her class in the midterm and final English exams ranked the top in the grade, which showed that the students achieved significant progress in their studies.

 

Xiang’s Inspiration from Volunteer Teaching

Only when you provide volunteer teaching service in person can you know its significance and how much energy you have to inspire others. For me, this one-year experience has given me more than what I’ve offered to these students. I have gained a second hometown, more than one hundred little brothers and sisters, a lot of warmth and kindness from local teachers and local people, and a group of teammates who are just like my family members. All of these will be the most precious treasure in my life. This experience just proves the saying “one-year volunteer teaching means life-long self-teaching”.

Xiang’s Wishes

Try to do more things you have never done, and you may gain something different.

 

 

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We pay tribute to the SIS alumni who taught voluntarily in the western region for their practice of the concept of “educating others and yourself to serve the people”. We also pay tribute to thousands of social service providers who settle in grassroots positions for their contributions to the prosperity of the country and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. SIS students will continually serve the society with what they have learned and build a great cause by carrying on the fine tradition with a global vision.