Teacher in a class of her own

"Those were joyful tears. For days, I was worried about whether she was cold or hungry, whether she was fine, and I was terribly afraid of losing her," Ren says. "But finally, she was back. It was a feeling that I will remember all my life."

Life was tough during the four years of university, but Ren cherished it.

"The happiest time of a day was when I accompanied my mother on a walk after dinner," she says.

Ren's mother passed away not long after she graduated.

When faced with opportunities to work as a teacher in cities, Ren chose to return to her hometown and work as a rural teacher at Fuluping Primary School, the school Li once worked in.

"Teacher Li gave up a decent job in a big city to teach students at the village school. I'd like to follow his path to contribute my part to rural education," says Ren.

Fuluping Primary School is 50 kilometers away from downtown Yiyuan county. It was once among the schools with the worst facilities in the county.

But great changes have taken place. The school has its own quality playground.

Ren works hard on teaching and taking care of her students. She also spends a part of her income helping two poor students.

She was awarded the China Youth May 4th Medal－the country's top honor for outstanding young people.

"Life was not easy for me, but fortunately I had nice people around me. They gave me a helping hand when I was in need, which encouraged me to go on," says Ren.

"I love my students. I will do my best to help them have good education, which is also my way to thank people who have cared for me and my family," she says.