"The coronavirus outbreak is a test for young college students. We must take the initiative to stand out and make our contributions to ourmotherland,"said Mr. MA Mingjie, a doctoral student from the School of Transportation Engineering of Tongji University,toa CCTV News reporter on the evening of May 5.

MA is referred to as "Little Ma" on campus, but as a "pandemic fighter" by his villagers back in his hometownatZhongshui Village ofJiayingguan Town, Wuzhi County, Henan Province.

MA was the first college student to participate in the pandemic prevention and control work in his village. Following his proposal, students from Shanghai Jiaotong University, Institute of Optics and Electronics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shaanxi Normal University joined hands infighting against the pandemic. This ten-person team composed of doctoral students, Master’s students and undergraduate students took an active part in the pandemic prevention and control. They were seen at the check points, farming fields andhomesof the underprivileged. These young people pulled all their efforts together to helpwith the pandemic prevention and control, and with resumption of production and work.

"What we did not only helped others, but also developed our capacities. We would like to see more college students in such rewarding activities",saidMA. "We cannot return to schoolduring this special time. Butwhile we are herein our hometown, there is a lot we can do in the village in response to the national campaign of alleviating poverty and building beautiful countryside."

Source: https://news.tongji.edu.cn/info/1003/73602.htm