Volunteer is a real class act

After class, as Wang Xueru quietly packed up while enduring the pain of severe menstrual cramps, a student approached her. Without a word, the girl handed Wang a small slip of paper and a warm patch.

"If the sky is cloudy, I will be your sunshine," the note read.

In that moment, Wang felt her exhaustion and pain melt away — replaced by something much warmer: the quiet, mutual care between a young volunteer teacher and her student in a classroom in Mengla county, Yunnan province.

This moment is one of many that define the daily lives of youth volunteers in the teaching group for rural education from the University of International Business and Economics under the "Go West" program launched in 2003. Young graduates dedicate a year to teaching in some of China's most under-served western regions.

Wang, a 22-year-old student from Quanzhou, Fujian province, holds a degree in Chinese language and literature, with a second major in international economics and trade. From the moment she entered university, her dream was clear: she wanted to serve. Her motto — "When poor, cultivate yourself; when successful, help the world" — guided her path through years of university volunteer work.

From her first year at college, she immersed herself in volunteerism, becoming the leader of a campus volunteer group by sophomore year and launching projects online to connect children across provinces with literacy classes and cultural activities. By the time she reached her senior year, Wang set her sights on joining the teaching program in rural areas, which is called Postgraduate Education Supporting Team of Chinese Youth Volunteers.

Every year, about 40 to 50 students apply for the program, but only 21 are ultimately selected. Thanks to her steadily growing volunteer experience, Wang was chosen and successfully went to a partner school in Mengla county of the Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture in Yunnan — Mengla No 1 High School — to serve as a volunteer teacher.