In the   graduation season this year, Dr Li Xiujun’s eyes were filled with moving   tears as her graduates took a deep bow to express their gratitude to her.   Winning the title of “The Most Beloved Teacher” of USST for three consecutive   years, Dr Li sows the seeds of love, care and encouragement among her   students and reaps the gratitude of the students, respect from her colleagues   and happiness of her teaching career.

Dr   Li, the Vice Dean of the Department of Civil Engineering in our university,   has hosted more than 20 science research programs and published over 40   research articles in the past years. Under consideration of environmental   protection and resources reuse, she invented a road maintenance technology   that can be used to repair the road surface by using waste generated by road   wear. Moreover, the invention of her “foamed asphalt” solves the problem of   environmental pollution and the damage to human health caused by asphalt   heating by maintaining the flow state of asphalt at a normal temperature. Her   scientific research achievements won the third prize of Henan Science and   Technology Progress Award, the second prize and the third prize of China   Highway Society Science and Technology Progress Award.

     While conducting scientific research on her own, Dr Li also paid great   attention to the cultivation of students' enthusiasm and interest in research   as well. She established the “Hujiang Construction Society” to hold academic   or skill-based competitions, such as measuring contests, sketching contests,   and so on. By participating in such competitions, students can be exposed to   practical operations apart from textbook knowledge, thereby increasing their interest   in learning. In addition, Dr Li also provides students with opportunities to   participate in her research projects, even for freshmen who have just entered   the school. “It is very important to cultivate students' enthusiasm and   create certain incentive mechanisms. This will help them to master   professional knowledge and establish their goals as soon as possible， said Dr Li.

In   addition to caring for the students' learning, Dr Li is more like a mother,   taking care of her students’ daily life. During the Mid-Autumn Festival this   year, when most people had a reunion dinner at home and spent some quality   time with their families, Dr Li specially bought some moon cakes after dinner   to visit the students in the dormitory. She said: “The freshmen just came to   the school and their lives were changing a lot. Upon the arrival of the   Mid-Autumn Festival, most of them must miss their families. I want to bring   them some mooncakes and chat with them to ease their nostalgia”. And on New   Year's Day last year, to let the students feel the atmosphere of the festival   and the warmth of the family, she invited the whole class to make dumplings   at her house. Making dumplings and chatting with each other bounded them   together. She was much devoted to the students because she believed that   teachers must be responsible and caring to understand them and communicate   with them. Dr Li showed us her student roster. Next to each student, she   recorded the student's hometown, hobbies and other information. When the   student came to her, she could always call out the names of everyone   immediately and talked to them patiently and warm-heartedly. 

     Dr Li has been working in our school for 17 years. With excellent teaching   experience and research capability, as well as the care of the students, she   was given the lifelong award “Golden Teaching Stick”. “Each student is not   only an independent individual but also carries the hope of a family.   Therefore, as a teacher, I must help them so that their university life is   meaningful and they may achieve goals and embrace a future.” Seeing the   students as her own, she has some expectations for the students who come to   study at our university. First, students should master their professional   knowledge and set their own long-term goals and short-term goals. Second, she   hopes that students will develop self-management skills. Students must learn   to manage their own time and strive for their goals. Finally, she also hopes   that students will be able to meet friends, participate in group activities,   enrich their experience, and lay the foundation for the future.