As he dropped out of school at 16, worked as a security guard at 22, and graduated with a Ph.D. at 41, Li Mingyong has made his life story inspirational. Looking back at his life journey, he said with emotion, “I hope my story can touch the hearts of students and help them learn to grow in difficult situations.”
Born in 1977 in a poverty-stricken village in Zunyi, Guizhou Province, Li was excellent at school. However, because of his poor family background, after graduating from junior high, he had to stop his schooling and go out to work.
Li worked as a cement worker at construction sites in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou. But the hard work didn’t pay much. How could he help his family pay off their debts? He decided to go back home to help his father breed ducks. Father and son worked hard for three years and the family was finally able to clear their debts. It was a big relief to Li, so he returned to Guiyang to seek new job opportunities.
This time he became a security guard at the Guizhou Institute of Education (now Guizhou Education University). It was this job as a security guard at the college that enabled him to broaden his horizons. Influenced by the academic atmosphere on campus, 22-year-old Li made up his mind to continue his path to education.
To work and study at the same time is challenging, so every day he would snatch two hours of study after he got off work at 11:00 at night. He persevered in this way for two years till he passed the adult college entrance exam and was accepted by the Chinese Department of Guizhou Institute of Education in 2001. Two years later, he became an undergraduate, majoring in Chinese. In 2005, he graduated with a B.A.
He could have found a decent job with his B.A. degree, but his dream was to become a university teacher, so he started to prepare for the graduate entrance exam. To improve his English, he memorized an 8,000-word English dictionary. In 2007, he got first place in the written exam and was accepted by Guizhou University. After he got his master’s degree in aesthetics (美学), Li returned to his alma mater (母校), Guizhou Education University, to work as a counselor.
At this point, in the eyes of many people, Li had already achieved an enviable miracle, but he did not stop there. He continued to study while working. In 2015, he entered a Ph.D. program in Central China Normal University and graduated in 2018. With his Ph.D., he returned to Guizhou Education University to become a university lecturer of aesthetics.
His journey to receiving a Ph.D. took him 18 years, starting from 2001 when he was accepted as a student of Chinese. Don’t assume he never failed. In fact, he failed many times, but he never gave up! He knew how to forge ahead through rocky roads and learn things the hard way. He has made his dream come true through his strong determination and remarkable persistence.