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Recently, the news of "Shandong teenager with rare disease taking the college entrance examination" has attracted attention.

This reporter learned from Tsinghua University that Zhang Yixiuan, a candidate from Heze, Shandong who suffers from congenital albinism, has been admitted to Tsinghua University's Strong Foundation Program, majoring in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at Zhili College.

According to media reports, Zhang Yixuan was diagnosed with congenital albinism as soon as she was born. The symptoms brought to Zhang Yixuan include skin sensitivity to sunlight and easy sunburn, as well as severe damage to vision.

Zhang Yixuan looks at the blackboard through a telescope

During class, he needed to use a telescope to see what the teacher wrote on the blackboard.

"This is the telescope I use to see the teacher's blackboard writing. It is very small and light, with enough magnification to not affect my studies too much. Basically, I look at where the teacher writes, and I can remember everything I have seen."

When reading, in order to see the words clearly, Zhang Yixuan almost needs to put the book against her face.

Zhang Yixuan almost needs to put the book on her face when reading

"He does have to work harder in his studies. Others may finish their homework quickly, but he often takes longer because he can't see clearly."

In the eyes of Zhang Yixuan's mother, her child has shown extraordinary self-discipline since childhood. It is Zhang Yixuan's habit to finish his homework first after returning home every day. In his daily life, he is used to jogging in the morning and often urges his father to do morning exercises together.

The picture shows Zhang Yixuan playing the piano

Now, Zhang Yixuan has been admitted to her dream school as she wished.

He hopes to continue his postgraduate and doctoral studies in the future and become a leader in the field of mathematics.

"A difficult mathematical problem we solve now may not be applied immediately, but hundreds of years later, this mathematical theorem or problem can be used in fields such as physics or chemistry. Working hard to produce some results to help the development of the country and society is what I am most interested in," said Zhang Yixiuan.

Further reading

A woman graduated from Peking University and took the college entrance examination three years later and was admitted to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine. She will study for eight years.

On the evening of July 8, 2024, Chen Ruyue clicked to enter the Shanghai Municipal Education Examination Authority's college entrance examination comprehensive evaluation batch admission inquiry channel, and the words "Admission Result: Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Clinical Medicine (eight-year undergraduate and doctoral program)" came into view. She breathed a sigh of relief. In order to study medicine, she re-entered the college entrance examination room. After nearly six years of hard work and nearly a year of college entrance examination sprint, her dream finally came true at this moment!

In 2017, she was admitted to the Guanghua School of Management of Peking University from Shanghai Experimental School (hereinafter referred to as "SIEP"). While completing her undergraduate studies, her love for medicine grew day by day, and she aspired to become a clinical doctor.

This is a passionate but also challenging road. In order to realize her dream of studying medicine, Chen Ruyue decided to prepare for the college entrance examination again in 2023, two years after graduation. Her open-minded parents, former teachers and her alma mater, Shangshi, gave her full support and encouragement.

Talking about her choice, Chen Ruyue said, "From childhood to adulthood, especially when I was an undergraduate at Peking University, I have repeatedly thought about my future career choice. In the end, I found that I am most interested in and most suitable for being a doctor." In her opinion, self-realization is an important high-level need for a person. It is very encouraging to be able to make a little contribution to society without harming yourself or others, fulfill your inner wishes and obey your nature.

From passion to action

Chen Ruyue performed very well in her studies during her middle school years. When she took the college entrance examination for the first time in 2017, she was admitted to the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University and subsequently studied finance, which was a popular major recognized by the public at the time.

The idea of ​​studying medicine began to emerge in her sophomore year. Her freshman year focused on basic courses. After starting to study finance-related majors in her sophomore year, Chen Ruyue slowly discovered that although she did not encounter any learning disabilities, finance was not the field that interested her most.

"From childhood to adulthood, especially when I was an undergraduate at Peking University, I thought about many careers over and over again. In the end, I found that I was most interested in and most suitable for being a doctor." Chen Ruyue said that a doctor is a profession that directly deals with people, and the value of a doctor is directly reflected in the feedback from the service recipients during the interaction process. "For me, the value of such a profession is self-evident. It is the doctor's duty and mission to face patients and provide them with help."

By the time I was a junior, I had a clearer idea of ​​changing my career path. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 also played a big role in boosting my career. "The angels in white became the ones who went against the tide. The sense of social responsibility to save the dying and heal the wounded made me excited. The medical path is a path of hardship, challenges and accomplishments. The greater the challenge, the greater the sense of accomplishment. This is one of the reasons why emergency medicine and critical care medicine particularly attracted me."

Chen Ruyue looks heroic on the volleyball court.

Chen Ruyue said that there is no right or wrong in the process of choosing. It is a process of self-exploration, self-questioning, and self-discovery. At first, the idea of ​​studying medicine was more centered around herself. After experiencing the epidemic, she found that studying medicine is also of great significance to society.

"At the beginning of the epidemic, there was a shortage of manpower and not many doctors could be sent to the front line, especially in the field of critical care. At this time, I had a very specific idea about studying medicine: I could become an emergency doctor and join their ranks." In her senior year, Chen Ruyue took many biology-related professional courses and tried to get closer to the field of clinical medicine. After graduating from college, she joined the laboratory team of Professor Li Chenjian of the School of Life Sciences of Peking University and participated in scientific research. "I am especially grateful to Professor Li Chenjian for his long-term generous help in my pursuit of my dream."

As we all know, in order to become a clinical doctor in our country, the conventional path is to apply to medical school in the college entrance examination, and study in a five-year clinical system (undergraduate), a clinical "5+3" integrated (undergraduate and master's degree) or an eight-year clinical system (undergraduate and doctoral degree) before being eligible to take the practicing physician examination.

This means that if you don’t study clinical medicine in undergraduate studies, you will basically have no chance of becoming a doctor.

After accumulating knowledge and practicing scientific research, Chen Ruyue applied for the "4+4" pilot program of Peking Union Medical College, which is 4 years of non-medical professional education + 4 years of medical education, and finally obtained a doctorate in clinical medicine. This program is open to high-level undergraduate graduates from domestic and foreign universities, with a small number of students and very fierce competition. Unfortunately, Chen Ruyue was not admitted in the end.

Achievement is not as good as perfection

In 2023, when she was planning to take the college entrance examination again, Chen Ruyue carefully considered where to prepare for the exam: to attend a repeat exam at a non-profit institution? Or to study at home? After careful comparison, as an alumnus of Shanghai International Studies University, she believed more in her alma mater.

She returned to SISU and told the teachers about her "groundbreaking" decision. "The school was very touched and decided to help her. A seat was reserved for her in the senior class." SISU Principal Xu Hong, Executive Vice Principal Qu Zufang, and her former head teacher and senior high school director Zhu Lin and many other teachers all gave their support.

On June 7, 2024, the first day of the college entrance examination, Shanghai International Studies University President Xu Hong (third from right), Executive Vice President Qu Zufang (second from right) and other teachers’ delegation took a group photo with Chen Ruyue (third from left) at the entrance of the examination center.

It had been six years since Chen Ruyue's first college entrance examination, and all the textbooks had been revised. The principal and teachers not only helped her sort out the key points of learning the new curriculum standards and made study plans with her, but also paid more attention to her test preparation mentality, especially giving her spiritual encouragement, which made Chen Ruyue feel very warm.

It is this kind of love and protection that makes Chen Ruyue's journey back to the college entrance examination smoother.

In November 2023, through the matchmaking of the school, Chen Ruyue went to Renji Hospital for a career experience. The school hoped that this special student could have a clearer understanding of the career she aspires to. Principal Xu Hong asked her very considerately how she felt about the experience, hoping that after she truly understood the actual work of doctors, she would have a more accurate and in-depth understanding of her choice.

"In fact, this professional experience has made me more determined to study medicine." Chen Ruyue was very moved. "The principal and teachers really care about my future happiness."

Xu Hong told The Paper, "Achievement is not as good as accomplishment. From interest to aspiration, the school's educational purpose has always been to enable every student to become a better self."

In addition to her high school alma mater, Chen Ruyue feels lucky to have open-minded parents. Over the past few years, her family's support and encouragement have accompanied her through many crucial moments and given her ample time and space to think about her choice of studying medicine.

I am happy to see more outstanding students go into medicine

Recalling the three days of taking the college entrance examination for the second time, Chen Ruyue felt that she was not very nervous. Maybe she had some concerns before the exam, after all, she had only reviewed for one year and had to compete with young masters who had worked hard for three years; but after entering the examination room, she was very focused on answering the questions.

After the 2024 college entrance examination, Chen Ruyue in front of the alumni wall.

After that, she just waited for the college entrance examination results to come out: in the end, her score was shortlisted for the comprehensive evaluation interview of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and then she actively began to prepare for the comprehensive evaluation interview.

Comprehensive evaluation batch admission is a special admission method introduced after the new college entrance examination reform. It combines the candidates' college entrance examination scores, comprehensive quality evaluation information and the professional test scores of the colleges and universities to determine the final admission results. The pilot colleges and universities participating in the Shanghai Comprehensive Evaluation Batch Admission in 2024 include Fudan University, Shanghai Jiaotong University and other 11 colleges and universities.

In the comprehensive interview at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Chen Ruyue's experience was, as expected, the focus of the interview. She explained in detail the efforts she had made along the way and the ups and downs of her mental journey, and one of the interviews was extended.

Chen Ruyue remembers that a teacher who interviewed her asked her, "You have given so much, what will you do if you are not admitted to Jiaotong Medical University?"

She is confident about this. "If I fail to enter Jiaotong University, I can still study in other medical schools. This is the advantage of choosing to retake the college entrance examination." As long as you get a relatively ideal score in the college entrance examination, you can choose from different levels of medical schools. "As long as I enter the door of clinical medicine, my future can be changed through my own efforts." Chen Ruyue said.

In recent years, the medical profession has been very popular. This year, the comprehensive score line of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine has risen by 10 points compared with last year. When asked how she views the phenomenon of candidates' growing enthusiasm for the medical profession, Chen Ruyue gave her own analysis: "I think such a change is very reasonable. From the data of previous years, the score line of the medical school in excellent comprehensive universities is often lower than that of the main campus. But looking around the world, there are also many examples of excellent students choosing to go into medicine."

She also described an ideal situation: not to choose medicine as a backup option, that is, to study medicine because you can't pass other majors or you don't have enough ability. "I am happy to look at the phenomenon of rising medical school scores from a more optimistic perspective. I would like to understand it as the number of outstanding students who are interested in medicine is gradually increasing. This is a good thing for the medical profession and may also be a good direction for society."

After entering university, Chen Ruyue hopes to build up her own strong abilities. "I must have strong abilities in professional courses and start scientific research as early as possible. If nothing unexpected happens in my specialty, I will probably choose emergency medicine or critical care medicine."

Higher-order needs for self-actualization

In fact, Chen Ruyue is not the first and will not be the last student who chooses to retake the college entrance examination after graduating from university. In the public reports on the college entrance examination this year, there are real cases such as a 35-year-old Tsinghua graduate who wanted to retake the college entrance examination to study medicine 16 years later, and a Tsinghua boy who retaken the college entrance examination to study traditional Chinese medicine one year after graduation, which sparked heated discussions in society. How does Chen Ruyue, who has similar experiences, view this phenomenon?

She said, "Self-realization is an important high-level need for a person. So I think it is very encouraging to fulfill one's inner desires and obey one's nature without harming oneself or others and making a little contribution to society."

Regarding the halo of a prestigious school, Chen Ruyue believes that this is an external judgment or label. "On the one hand, we label others, and on the other hand, we label ourselves. This label may unconsciously limit our development. Labels themselves are subjective, and we should not use labels to completely frame a person's possibility of survival and development."

Thinking carefully about her career choice, Chen Ruyue quoted a passage: "If we recognize the full weight of the chosen career through calm research and understand its difficulties, we are still passionate about it and we still love it. If we feel that we are suitable for it, then we should choose it. At that time, we will neither be deceived by enthusiasm nor rush into it."

This passage is excerpted from Marx's "Considerations of a Young Man on the Choice of a Profession". Chen Ruyue has read it carefully and thought deeply about it. She agrees with the viewpoints in the book. As it says, "If we have considered all of this, if the conditions of our life allow us to choose any profession; then we can choose a profession that can make us most dignified; choose a profession based on ideas that we firmly believe in its correctness; choose a profession that can provide us with a broad space to carry out human activities and approach the common goal (for this goal, all professions are just means) that is, the perfect state."

Chen Ruyue (left) and Liu Yao (right), two special candidates taking this year's college entrance examination, outside the examination room.

This year, two special candidates from Shanghai Institute of Technology have attracted much attention. One is the 12-year-old "little brother" Liu Yao, who has been admitted to the junior class of USTC as he wished; the other is the 24-year-old Chen Ruyue, who joined the college entrance examination again for her dream of becoming a clinical doctor and also reaped the fruits of victory. Xu Hong sent them blessings with the theme of this year's Shanghai College Entrance Examination Chinese composition: "Everyone has his or her own 'recognition', and Shanghai Institute of Technology is proud of you!"

Xu Hong said with emotion that Chen Ruyue's story also makes us reflect that it is rare to not be burdened by external fame when it comes to profession and career, and to make a choice that is true to one's heart between popularity and passion.

Chen Ruyue's mother also summed up her daughter's life choice by her own state of mind of planting flowers, plants, vegetables and fruits: "A life that dares to challenge oneself is really incomparable. Don't set limits on yourself in life! Start working hard to do what you want to do now, and try! As long as you work hard, you will get the gifts of life!"