The name list of 2015 Self-Reliant Stars of Chinese College Students was revealed weeks ago. Mr. Marman•Hassan, a first-year graduate student from Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP), Tongji University, was bestowed with the honor.

Mr. Marman•Hassan, from Bole city in the northwest of Xinjiang Autonamous Region, is a Kazakh boy who grew up on horseback. Since his childhood, he received his education at schools where Kazakh, his mother tongue, was used as the teaching language for all courses, while Chinese was taught for only 4 to 6 class hours a week. Therefore, Marman•Hassan was weak in his Mandarin Chinese. He made all efforts to catch up with his classmates since he started his bachelor's degree program at Tongji University. He was well-motivated and made rapid progress as a result of his hard work. He eventually excelled himself among students of his year and has won Tongji University “Excellence Award” and “National Scholarship”. In 2015, he was admitted to do Master's degree course with CAUP of Tongji University with exemption of entrance examinations because of his excellent academic performance: ranking the first in both overall and main course grades. Now, Marman•Hassan has greater expectations for himself. He hopes to become a real professional in his field by making good use of his time during his graduate study to strengthen his academic knowledge and professional know-how under the guidance of his supervisor. He still has deep affection for his hometown Xinjiang and dreams of returning to Xinjiang to participate in the construction of western China for further development of Xinjiang. Marman•Hassan is trying his best to achieve most on his way to becoming an outstanding architect to design buildings suitable for the regional culture and environment of Xinjiang.

The activity of looking for 2015 Self-Reliant Stars of Chinese College Students was launched by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and National Student Federation to set up role models of college students with spirit of self-reliance and dedication. It aims at creating a caring and supportive atmosphere for college students to pursue the spirit of self-reliance and self-development, and to give young students positive guidance on their way to their future career.