When the name "Jin Huitong " was read out by the host at the "Liyuan Outstanding Star" award ceremony,Jin couldn't believe his ears.
“It is a fierce competition. I feel I'm not one of the best,” Jin said with a little shyness.
As the nomineewith the second-highest score,Jin Huitong,a humble and courteous boy,tells ushis college story.
Jin Huitong attends the experience-sharing meeting of the project team.
Climb the ladder of progress with diligence
"I couldn't write code, nor could I understand anything in math class." That’s howJin Huitong felt when he first had classes at Shenzhen University (SZU). As a rural student from Shanwei, Guangdong Province, Jin had never even been exposed to a computer before entering the university. He distantly remembers the first time he took a lesson in the computer room when everyone else was practicing with the computer smoothly, hewasthe only one who buried his head and searched for the Enter key on the keyboard. However, instead of indulging in his own weaknesses on that account, he made up his mind to catch up with other students through more effort.
Since then, he had spent his entire undergraduate life in dormitories, classrooms and research institutes. Jin considers himself no more than an ordinary person, and contributes his achievements and honors to his willingness to put in more effort. "It seems that Jin Huitong doesn’t need to take a break,”his classmates commented.
Jin Huitong (2nd L) in the group competition photo.
As the saying goes, "Learning alone without exchanges with others will lead to ignorance." Jin has always been grateful to the outstanding alumni and mentors he met during his school days, especially Huang Yandao, Jin’s senior, the winner of the 2019 Liyuan Outstanding Star. Huang not only led Jin in conducting scientific research projects, but also gave him a lot of guidance and encouragement in the development of the moral character.
When working at the Institute of Internet of Things, Jin often gets caught up in distress because of some problems that could not be solved. The idea of giving up once even emerged in his mind. Nevertheless, it was the words from Huang that deeply inspired Jin: "Don't stop doing something because it's difficult, but strive to do it because it's difficult." In fact, when Huang shared his experience as the Liyuan Outstanding Star Award winner way back in orientation week, the senior’s story enlightened Jin and helped the freshman to target his efforts. Even though Jin felt that he was far behind Huang at that time, Jin ignited the spirit of striving within himself.
Apply theory to practice, take responsibilities as motivation
Since his sophomore year, Jin has been focusing on three things: maintaining a GPA of 4.0 or above, joining the Internet of Things Research Center, and participating in scientific research competitions. As his self-assessment puts it: "The secret to standing out as a candidate for Liyuan Outstanding Star is to take every step in a conscientious and down-to-earth manner."
It is believed that being able to be excellent in both academics and research is rare and commendable for an undergraduate student. In Jin Huitong's view, the two things complement and promote each other. The knowledge can be applied to practice while through the application, one can promote learning. "I will weigh my time and energy, set aside time to complete study tasks, and squeeze out time to participate in scientific research," Jin said.
Jin Huitong in the institute project discussion
What supports Jin to go further on the way of scientific research is not only his love for academia but also his sense of responsibility to contribute to society. "Do not fix your eyes on money now, what you need to do is to think about what you can do for society." The words from his undergraduate tutor were engraved in his heart and turned into actions. Whether the scientific research results can be put into practice and whether they can help people around him have become the focus of Jin Huitong's scientific research.
Previously, Jin worked with his classmates from the College of Electronics and Information Engineering to develop a dynamic blood pressure monitor. Compared to blood pressure meters nowadays, which exert a lot of pressure on the arm, their creation allows the tester to get accurate measurements by simply sitting quietly, greatly improving the comfort of the test.
"The current blood pressure meter is progress from invasive to non-invasive monitoring, and we hope to develop a product to leap to a test without feeling the kit. Although the product has not yet gone into service, I believe it will be the pioneer of the next generation of blood pressure monitors,” Jin said with aparticularly clear and powerful voice.
Work hard and play hard
Besideshis studies and scientific research, Jin's university life is more than that. As a member of the student union and the association of fellow provincials, he joined in most of the team-building activities on weekdays, such as eating midnight snacks and watching movies. At the same time, he recalled “the beautiful memory” of enjoying the feeling of having a group of friends by his side.
Jin Huitong (Back 5th L) organizes a team-building visit to the Shenzhen Museum.
Jin knows how to strike a balance between work and rest. He goes to chat with friends, or marathons the most popular TV series of the momentwhen he gets tired after studying. He also plays badminton with some friends in his daily life. Jin believes that physical exercise is very important and he will maintain good sports habits in the future.
Amonghis daily relaxing activities, light reading has a place. Jin believes that the so-called “light literature” is not a derogatory word, but a neutral one. Whenever he thinks of the comments that his high school Chinese teacher made about him, " There’s no sign of ink in your stomach (You have little talent in writing)," he feels a little ashamed, and bluntly says that his writing then did have no literary appeal.
However, after entering the university, although Jin no longer needs to read literary works to improve his writing ability, he has his own series of ideas for reading "light literature” beyond his major. “‘Light literature' represents poems and the future that lies ahead, or a philosophy of lifefor me. If a person only engages in scientific research and does not learn from other life experience, then he may not go very far.”
Jin Huitong at the institute.
“Work with heart and inch forward step by step” is the life motto that Jin believes in and the microcosm of his university life. Jin also quoted the words of Luo Xiang, a famous criminal law professor from China University of Political Science and Law, to send a message to the students of SZU and to inspire himself: "Live every day to the fullest, play the cards you hold well and move forward towards the goal in your heart. Although sometimes you will doubt whether you have been in the wrong direction, eventually, all doubts are for the sake of beliefs.”
"I'm telling the story of an everyman's endeavor, which may have resonated with the teachers and students present.Many thanks for your recognition,” Jin said.
Jin’s Message to SZUers
As an old Chinese saying goes, “peaches and plums trees never attract people with speech, yet a path is formed beneath them.” Since the establishment of SZU, the fruitful results yielded in the university speaks eloquently to its history of development. Nowadays, the spirit of social commitment will be upheld to continue to attain more brilliant achievements and feats.
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of SZU, I would like to thank my alma mater foreducating me, providing us students with an unfettered and inclusive environment, and cultivating our spirit of self-reliance, self-discipline and self-improvement. As SZU embarks on a new journey and a promising starting point, I hope the university will progress along the road of fostering more students and talents from the all over the world and to together build a prosperous China and continue writing a new chapter in the years ahead. May all the younger students ambitious, passionate and successful.
