Story of Post-90s girl attending graduate school with her dementia-suffering mother touches hearts

Sun Yuqing, a member of the post-90s generation and a student enrolled at the Changan Campus of Northwestern Polytechnical University, has won over the hearts of the public and even praise from Wang Yongkang, member of the Standing Committee of CPC Shaanxi Provincial Committee and Secretary of Xi’an Municipal Party Committee with her heartwarming story of struggling to keep up with graduate schoolwork while attending to her dementia-suffering mother.

Wang Yongkang referred to the young grad student as a moral beacon for today's youths and an embodiment of individual strength of character. He also called on others to learn from her courage and tenacity. In a further gesture of recognition, the Xi’an Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League, together with Xi’an Youth Union awarded Sun Yuqing the honorary title of "Good Youth of Xi'an". 

A family photo of Sun Yuqing and her adoptive mother

After receiving a postgraduate offer from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Sun Yuqing decided to take her seventy-six year-old adoptive mother from Hubei Province to Xi’an in order to better look after her mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. She has not only been able to balance but perform exceptionally well in both her roles as a caretaker and student. Sun has participated in world-class foreign-language conferences and given presentations in Singapore and Indonesia; she has published her theses as the first author on core journals and won a wide array of scholarships. Sun's list of achievements goes on and on. She was voted as the “Chinese Undergraduate of the Year" in the award's 12th edition and "University Star" in 2016.

Sun Yuqing’s bravery, persistence and work ethic have enabled her to complete her studies in a vocational college, a 4-year university and then a Master’s program in just 8 years. However, not all is work, Sun also took her mother to travel to Beijing to fulfill a lifelong dream. In spite of all the challenges ahead, Sun Yuqing keeps her head up. “My mother raised me and I will accompany and support her to the end. Without her, I wouldn’t have been where I am today,” she said.