She said: Like a wild horse, galloping freely across the vast wilderness of life.
She watched the morning glow spread across the sky,
saw the sunset sink into the horizon,
and witnessed the carefree blooming of the Gesang flowers.
She has walked through many nights of confusion,
but finally, she strides forward with the panache
Fighting
She is Liu Yaxiao, majoring in financial mathematics in grade 21.
Under the training of SWUFE,
All the way through,
Eventually he was appointed to Zhejiang University
Q: the most critical characteristics in my research
“Maybe it's persistence. When I started preparing for graduate school, I read the bylaws carefully and roughly determined what I wanted to achieve in terms of grades and competitions each semester, and then I gradually began to plan my research and internships, and I basically completed the program “step by step” each semester.”
It's a marathon, which means that every assignment and presentation will have an impact on the final result, but this long-termism also means that one mistake won't make a difference. Failing an exam or winning a competition is just a drop in the ocean along the way, and the selection mechanism of exemption has given me many more chances to start over than a single selection test that determines the outcome.
Q: Did you experience a low period during the postgraduate period? How did you spend it?
“Thinking too much and doing too little,” she says. “I always stumbled into such emotional traps, such as struggling with whether or not to stay as a minister at the end of my freshman year, whether or not to participate in an exchange program, and whether or not I should choose between assignments, exams, internships, and dissertations when the deadlines came in at the same time. Later, I realized that all these confusions could be attributed to the fact that I learned too little information and thought too much. It's actually much better to communicate with friends and ask for advice from seniors, so that other people can take you out of your small world and see the other side of things.”
She said: From high school to university, I realized that many people around me (myself included) suffer from a kind of "effort shame" - the fear of having our efforts seen, or worse, being seen after we've tried and failed. We clumsily hide our efforts, hoping that all our successes will appear effortless, as though achieved with a light breeze and no strain.
However, as I grow older, I increasingly believe that effort is a rare and valuable quality. I deeply admire those who can persistently dedicate themselves to something. People are always eager to share the methodologies behind their successes but avoid openly discussing the quiet, behind-the-scenes efforts. Yet it is precisely those seemingly insignificant, daily, and continuous efforts that shape a person and lead to true accomplishment.
When asked about her learning experience, she humbly replied that there wasn’t much to share. “But when it comes to lessons learned, I regret not making enough research attempts during my university years. I didn’t find a field willing to deeply engage with, which made me hesitant when facing the options of Master's, PhD, or direct PhD programs during the summer camp application process.” In terms of research, she believes that participating in the "Dachuang" (Innovation and Entrepreneurship) program is a good choice for beginners. Regarding academic interests, she recommended the Bilibili creator Xiao Lin for those interested in finance and economics, and suggests joining mathematical modeling competitions for those leaning toward applied statistics and management science. She encouraged her juniors to try more things and find their interests and talents as early as possible.
Graduate school recommendation is often seen as the most controllable and glamorous path, but it is by no means the only way. We often hear that 'life is a wilderness, not a track,' but when we are surrounded by a maze of tracks, I actually admire those who bravely carve out and choose other paths. I often remind myself not to build my self-worth on GPA, rankings, or scholarships. Self-worth should not be measured by numbers, and we should never forget our own brilliance because of the dazzling success of others.
"I particularly like a quote from Dead Poets Society: 'Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are notable pursuits, and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we alive for.' She encouraged her juniors to participate in extracurricular activities they are interested in, sign up for elective courses they enjoy, exercise more, travel more, and make the most of their wonderful undergraduate years.
