Candidate Name: Victoria Anthony Uyanga  

My campus life began on a sunny, windy, and cold morning when I first stepped into Shandong Agricultural University (SDAU). It was my first experience of the spring season in China. I was excited to commence studies as an international student but the first wave of reality to hit me was the change in weather. It was sunny and breezy, yet cold. I had worn my plain clothes coming from a tropical environment (Nigeria), where it is all sunshine and cool breeze, and the kindest gesture I felt was when an Old fine lady walking past me pointed out that my sandals were not fit for the season. Despite my inability to understand the Mandarin she spoke to me, I felt a sense of joy towards her concern for my well-being.

Fast forward, I have lived in SDAU as a Ph.D. student for 3years now, has my story changed? Not the least. I have grown in my environment and gained firsthand experiences that are worthwhile and relishing. My SDAU campus presents a beautiful scenery of tall Gingko trees paving the way to your entrance. The entire campus is surrounded by lush greenery which emphasizes the strength of the Agriculture and Life Sciences discipline that SDAU is well known for. Several animals especially cats which have become adapted to humans are found on campus and they are always eager for a pat and some stroking. This has become a favorite lunch-time leisure for students who are cat lovers - ailurophiles. In the nighttime, you can catch a glimpse of other animals like squirrels, and grass cutters moving around in the surreal environment. This showcases the rich life form catered for within the SDAU community.

What gives life to the entire community is the communal integration of students, teachers, and other staff within the campus, which I may refer to as the “Humans of SDAU”. It is common to see students walking around in groups of three or more when heading out for meals, leisure, sports, classes, or work. This goes along with the popular Chinese proverb “众人拾柴火焰高”. This lifestyle makes it easy to establish unity, cooperation, teamwork, and support among colleagues. A good attribute found on my campus is the willingness and readiness to help. Several times I have found myself stuck on how to order a menu at the canteen, or how to pick up the delivery or how to use the library facilities or how to use the laboratory equipment. A striking feature among the humans of SDAU is the attitude of friendliness that comes with a smile once approached for assistance. This brings a huge relief and creates a sense of belonging within the community.

My campus life is encompassed academic work, social activities, and communal engagements. Students are encouraged to broaden their academic ability and intellectual thinking by participating in next-level conferences, innovative research, and training sessions. This yields Intra/inter-campus competitions and diverse academic events. Alongside these academic activities, we also engage in social programs. Students often engage in games such as table tennis, basketball, shuttlecock, football, and badminton. Other times, we can visit the playground, amusement park, and cinemas for leisure.

An interesting feature of the SDAU campus life is the occasional visit to the famous Mountain Taishan. Mount Taishan is one of the most sacred mountains of China, with exceptional historic, cultural, aesthetic, and scientific value. SDAU is located at the foot of the majestic Mountain Taishan. We often take walks to the mountainside especially to enjoy the beautiful scenery and achieve perfect harmony with the natural landscape. Most students engage in climbing the mountain which often takes 4 to 6 hours to reach the peak. My first visit to the mountain still leaves a lingering memory of the rushing streams, waving trees, steep slopes, and the mesmerizing architectural landscape. The Mountain Taishan has always been a source of inspiration for Chinese artists and scholars and remains so for us, the Humans at SDAU. It gives off a cool and comforting atmosphere where one can sit to relax, reflect and think. This allows students as well as teachers to achieve a work-life balance at SDAU.

With the recent COVID -19 pandemic, the SDAU campus life has also been affected since we needed to practice social distancing, virtual classes, and regular testing. Nevertheless, the campus spirit grows stronger as we know this is a hurdle we all need to overcome together and we need to stay strong and positive for each other. That is why we endeavor to respond promptly to instructions and pay careful attention to the regulations provided by the school. With these, we acknowledge that every individual has a responsibility toward achieving a safe, friendly, and thriving academic environment at SDAU.

My SDAU campus life is a time to establish meaningful connections, an opportunity to live the dreams of a beautiful future, and to have faith in the fulfillment of my desires and hope for the future. I have been opportune to bond with individuals of various cadres among the students, teachers, and staff at SDAU. Along with this friendship is the desire to learn about the Chinese culture, food, language, values, and virtues. Events such as the spring festival, lantern festival, dragon boat festival, mid-autumn festival, and Qixi Festival are exciting times to share with friends and their loved ones.

The stories and experiences shared about my campus life are tales filled with love, fun, study, and youthfulness. This creates a shining beacon of hope that we can develop ourselves in learning, lifestyle, and character, such that when the time spent on campus is done, we would have developed to become meaningful individuals and great citizens in our society. As it is well said, “youths are the future of tomorrow”, and the campus is where we are shaped to become the next generation of professionals and leaders.

PHOTO STORY OF MY SDAU CAMPUS

Photo 1: An autumn view of the SDAU campus showing the lush canopy of Gingko biloba trees at the entrance

Photo 2: A visit to the foot of Mountain Taishan and appreciation of the Chinese inscription “人间正道，天外长街” on the mountain base.

Photo 3: A classroom view of the SDAU community after a lecture session with enthusiastic students

Photo 4: Photo of the Animal Science laboratory at SDAU with student engagement on feed proximate analysis

Photo 5: Photo of the Animal Econutrition laboratory with student engagement on the Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction machine

Photo 6: Photo showing the participation of SDAU international students and teacher (First left) at The Third Annual Conference of Belt and Road/South-South cooperation Agricultural Education, Science and Technology Innovation League (BRSSCAL) November 25th-28th, 2020, Hainan China

Photo 7: Participation of the Animal Econutrition Laboratory team members at the 9th National Member Congress and 2021 academic seminar of livestock environmental hygiene branch of Chinese society of animal husbandry and veterinary medicine, Shandong China

Photo 8: Team participation of the Animal Econutrition Laboratory students at the routine farm sanitation

Photo 9: A rich display of cuisines captured during the team’s dinner of the Animal Econutrition Laboratory

Photo 10: Participation in extracurricular activities and rich display of the Chinese traditional culture and values.