Wang Yuanyuan

    cheekywang@hotmail.com

    A 14-year-old student entered Hainan University last month, becoming the university’s youngest freshman this semester.

    Zhang Tongtong, a native of Anhui Province, gained 573 points at the National College Entrance Examinations (NCEE) and was enrolled by the university’s electronic information engineering department.

    “I am not a genius, just a hard-working student. If I spend one year less at school, my family can save money on tuition fees. My father teaches at a school in the day time and works in a factory at night to support the whole family,” Zhang said.

    Zhang, born in a small town in Dingyuan County, entered primary school when he was 4 years old. Because he performed well in the first two grades, the school let him skip Grade 3. When he was 8, his scores for entering middle school ranked eighth in the whole county. “This was such big news in our small town. I was so proud that I had such a talented son,” Zhang Zhongshu, Zhang’s father, said.

    Although Zhang was much younger than his classmates, he was very mature. “We didn’t have to worry about his studies. He could be relied on to finish his homework well and all the teachers spoke highly of him,” Li Zhuyuan, Zhang’s English teacher at high school, said.

    “He often said that he could do nothing but work harder because his family was too poor to support him. He also said that he would do anything to repay his parents. Although the entrance score for entering key universities was 534 points, it was still a pity that he only gained 573 points at the NCEE. He should do much better as he was one of the leading students at the school,” Li said.

    Besides high scores, Zhang was also a smart and creative student. “ In March this year, he won a citywide creative award for inventing a manual universal charger,” Li said.

    Although Zhang began his university life as recently as September, he has already started two part-time jobs. “I hope I can make money while studying and have enough money to take my mother to see the sea here some day,” he said.