Li Jun, a migrant worker: he studied hard for many years and finally realized his doctor's dream.

When the reporter met Li Jun at the Central South University for nationalities on August 2, he had just returned from a survey of the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Enshi, Hubei Province. "A topic on the economic development of ethnic minority areas to explore and solve the development problems of my hometown." He said.

He dropped out of junior high school, dropped out of high school four times, and was dropped out of college because he could not afford tuition fees. This Tujia boy, who wears black-rimmed glasses and is 1.6 meters tall, has become an excellent doctoral student while working while studying in poverty and illness. This "star pacesetter of Chinese college students' self-improvement", the story of studying moved many people.

? Be beset with pain

Walk through hard steps on the way to study

In Li Jun's hometown, a poor mountain village in Lichuan, Hubei province, villagers make a living by growing corn and local tobacco. "Reading is the only way for children in the mountains to go out." Li Jun said that his father taught him to study hard since he was a child.

In Li Jun's humble home, the wall full of awards is the best decoration. When he entered junior high school, Li Jun still ranked first in his class. In the second year of junior high school, he also won the second prize in the National English Competition, the highest prize ever won by students in his middle school.

In April 2004, Li Jun suddenly fainted and was diagnosed with cerebral nerve obstruction. My father sold the old scalper he had raised for many years and scraped together more than 1000 yuan to treat him. However, after more than a month of hospitalization, Li Jun's condition did not improve much, so he had to go home and farm.

Unwilling to stop studying, he walked alone to Lichuan No. 3 Middle School, 50 kilometers away from home, wearing straw sandals woven by his grandfather with straw and fertilizer bags. His persistence moved the headmaster, and the tuition fees for three years of high school were waived. In the meantime, due to natural disasters to local crops and severe rheumatism to his mother, Li Jun dropped out of school four times, relying on donations from teachers and students and his own part-time study to survive.

In 2007, Li Jun was admitted to Huaibei normal University with the first place in his class. But the hardship of his family, the serious illness of his mother and the studies of his younger brother and sister weighed heavily on his mind. In the end, Li Jun chose a vocational school in Beijing.

"Beijing drifters" is difficult

Self-study hard during the working period

In March 2008, Li Jun was dropped out of school because he could not afford to pay tuition fees, but his dream of studying was not extinguished. That summer, Li Jun huddled in a shed of more than 10 people every night to study and read it until midnight. The monthly salary is 600 yuan. In addition to buying study materials, I also send it to my family. Li Jun lived frugally and did not come home once after working for three years. Severe malnutrition caused the young man to weigh less than 100 jin.

In the factory, Li Jun, a black and thin "cultural man", seemed so out of place that he was fired by the factory supervisor on the grounds of not doing his job. But no matter how difficult the conditions are, he insists on studying. He once sneaked to the original school to listen to lectures. After working in the factory for a long time, he had a lingering smell of stinky tofu, which attracted the attention of students and school security, and was warned not to come back.

Later, Li Jun rented a bungalow on the outskirts of Beijing, doing odd jobs while reviewing. Every day, 30 kilometers away, Li Jun rides a bicycle with broken wheels between the farmyard and the factory in the county. Intense physical labor and tight nerves crushed his body. the day before the exam, he had a high fever of nearly 40 degrees, and the next day he still gritted his teeth and took the exam. The hard work finally paid off. in two years, Li Jun worked hard and got three self-examination diplomas in investigation and analysis, economics and Chinese language and literature.

Go south to find a dream

Doctoral students were born in the self-examination.

In March 2011, Li Jun came to Guangzhou with the dream of taking the postgraduate entrance examination. Many units do not recognize self-examination qualifications, he ran into a brick wall everywhere can not find a job, once could not afford to rent a house. The former high school head teacher took him in. In July of that year, a higher vocational school offered him a job with a monthly salary of 4000 yuan, and Li Jun finally had a stable environment to review the postgraduate entrance examination.

In June 2012, Li Jun received the admission notice for postgraduates of South-Central University for nationalities. Two years later, he continued to study for his doctorate at school. At present, Li Jun has published four articles in category C journals and one in a national authoritative academic journal. Li Zhongbin, his doctoral supervisor and director of the Institute of Chinese Minority Economics at South-Central University for nationalities, said: "Li Jun has long met the standard of doctoral graduation, and it is not too much to say that he is one of the best doctoral students in the university."

At present, Li Jun is writing the PhD Dream of Peasant Workers, hoping to provide inspiration and reference for more people through his own self-examination experience.

Cheng Yuanzhou Chen Ruoqing