Meng Xiujie: Being Down to Earth

Major: Computer Science

Future: Gap Year

“Step by step”is what Meng Xiujie used to say. He finished all the courses with only seven semesters. In less than three years learning in computer science, he sought out the direction of his heart and put his passion on the codes. In the face of constant choices, he can always find the right path and stay down-to-earth.

A constant “debugging” college life.

For computer science, constant debugging makes the program perfect, and helps find the right solution to a problem. His college life can be regarded as constantly “debugging”.

As a freshman, Meng chose the accounting major. He took part in the Running Store, a campus entrepreneurship program, and was responsible for personnel management. Later, he attended the Yangtze River Delta Entrepreneurship Forum with junior and senior students, This experience helped him improve all-round abilities and made him realize that accounting major was not his strength. So he began his “debug”.

In his second semester of freshman year, he selected ECO and CPS courses at the same time. Computer courses seemed boring for others, while he really enjoyed. After comparison and consideration, he finally decided to transfer to computer science and complete his first “debug”.

After transferring to computer science major, Meng was still “debugging” in scientific research and application-oriented projects. “Science will eventually return to life and serve it. Rather than writing on paper, I’d like to start with an idea in my life.” After he made up his mind, he participated in projects such as the Cube Robot, VR Mooncakes, and Stock Recommendation System. In his constant “debugs”, he found the right path and took every step with his feet on the ground.

The main goal is to acquire new knowledge

Last semester, Meng took his leave for personal reasons. When he resumed his study, he was faced with a three-semester gap in professional studies due to the transition and leave. In the most difficult junior semester, he did not panic, but selected seven courses. “Get up more than 6 a.m., memorize words, make daily plans, organize previews…” In addition to lunch and dinner break, he stayed at the General Education Hall from the beginning of the first class until the end.

Under such heavy pressure, he still managed to maintain high GPA, never missed the scholarship, because he had a set of his own theories. “For computer science, knowledge system and structure update quickly, so I feel more excited for learning new technology and realizing it by myself than getting good grades.” Dismissing the utilitarianism, he will take the application of new knowledge as the motivation and goal of learning so that his knowledge in computer science went far beyond the course requirements in depth and breadth.

In his spare time, he goes to play basketball and gym so as to be prepared for study with a better state.

“Sometimes it’s nice to have an inscription for a long time and end up being accepted.” Meng is most interested in algorithms, he likes to solve algorithm questions, and participates in the Leetcode weekly competition with his roommates. For him, the joy from code being accepted is greater than any other easy-to-get pleasure. This year, he won the first prize in the “Lan Qiao Cup” Programming Competition in Zhejiang Province, and will attend the national final held in May.

Prepare for a better self

“Success needs to be accomplished step by step.” Considering the three-semester gap in the computer science major, Meng decided to seize the moment, consolidate and deepen their understanding of major knowledge, and choose to have a gap year.

Even with achievements, projects and competitions to prove himself, he said modestly, “I still have a lot of knowledge to consolidate. I want to gain more experience and improve myself this year.”

At present, his goals are Nanyang Polytechnic University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. After graduation, he will look for an internship as a software engineer to gain experience and start preparing for this year’s application.

“Everyone has their own timeline, and as long as you stay on the right track, there will be good results.” We believe Meng who sticks to his own path will have a promising career in the future.

By He Haoyuan