Exclusive Interviews with Alumni | Cai Wanwan: Rooted in the Grassroots, Dedicate Youth to Practical Work and Commitment
Cai Wanwan, female, born in November 1994, Jinjiang, Fujian, CPC member, an alumna of School of Business Administration (SBA), Trade Economics, Class of 2013, participated in the University Student Village Official grassroots service programme in 2017, has since served at various levels, including villages, townships, and municipal departments. At present, I am deputy director of the Small and Medium Enterprises Section, Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, Jinjiang City.
When I received Mr. Liang's appointment, I was shocked, hesitant and worried. On the one hand, I felt that I was just a member of the grassroots workers, and on the other hand, I saw this as an opportunity to reflect on and share my grassroots experience with my juniors. Therefore, I spent a period carefully reviewing my work experience from graduation to work, from village to city.
Looking back to the graduation season of 2017, I got several offers from ZTE Corporation, state-owned banks, agricultural and commercial banks, etc. Frankly speaking, the job that can be sent out by a big enterprise like ZTE Corporation was full of temptation for me, but after talking with my parents and being influenced by seniors and fellow alumni who had chosen grassroots paths, I rejected these seemingly bright offers and chose to be a University Student Village Official, which seems to be less money and more difficult.
I think you, like me, may also have a question in your heart: Is this the right choice or will I regret it? I must admit that sometimes I would feel tired and envy the colorful life of my classmates in the big city, but more I felt is the contentment of work. So, again I would still stick with that choice. Then, I would also like to talk about my feelings and insights from the university to the work.
1. Keep the original intention.
The connotation of the original intention is very rich, one of which is the heart to serve the people. A village official is actually a person who calls his village home, and at that time I was assigned to serve as the assistant secretary of the Party branch in Gangta Village, Yinglin Town, Jinjiang City. As a young undergraduate, I was still quite weak. However, upholding the original intention of serving the people, I seized the opportunity to visit the village's low-income households, difficult Party members and other groups with village cadres and grid members. When I visited the Party members in Gangta village Party branch, I found a Party member's family difficulties due to his illnesses. So I took the initiative to understand the relevant policies, docked town civil affairs office, organization office and other relevant departments, to assist him to apply for low-income households and Party members in need of long-term subsistence allowances. Then I helped him to apply for some charity aid and other subsidies for his family to solve the problem of life. This kind of practical work, which really benefited the people, gave me a sense of accomplishment and happiness. I thought that I used my little bit of energy to illuminate the lives of others.
Another is to have empathy. It is difficult to empathize, but I think we can try to put our hearts in the right place. When I first became a university student village official, my high school classmate told me, Even though this 'official' isn't a government official, you can really get in touch with a lot of grassroots people, and you can really do something for them, even if it's just some trivial things! This sentence has always been in my mind, I always asked myself to be able to think what people think, sense the urgency of people's needs. For example, an enterprise Party member returned home due to illness, with the organisational relationship was not transferred away, when he came back years later , he found many difficulties in finding the organizational relationship. After patiently listening to his account of the process, I tried to find and read the relevant documents and regulations, and took the initiative to help him dock enterprises, hometown organization department and the higher organization department, and ultimately succeeded in helping him to find the organizational relationship.
2. To see the good in the good.
I remember when I first graduated, I had a hard time with the complex rural work and the thousands of organizational tasks. Fortunately, I met a lot of good people. In the town, I worked in the Party building office. Organizational work has always been a multitude of loose ends, but my office director was my good mentor, she told me the format requirements when I did not know the norms of official writing; she repeatedly gave me guidance and modification on a case material, and eventually, it became a typical case of municipal excellence; she taught me to organize activities, arrange the program, and so many similar things.
Our village secretary is one of the few female secretaries in the town, she has been working in the village for more than twenty years, with the whole youth dedicated to the village. She often visited the village sage, and planned a series of village construction work, from condolences to the needy to the education, charity, and income generation for the village economy. In her, I saw the enthusiasm for the cause of rural revitalization and learned in one's position, fulfill one's duties and how to plan village-level construction.
3.Be a warm person.
Before that, I chose a university outside of the province, which was the first time I was so far away from home that my parents were concerned about me, but I thought I was lucky because I met many warm people and collectives.
When I enrolled in school, senior schoolmates showed us around the school. When my bag was stolen on the playground during the National Day of my freshman year, the counsellor and my classmates patiently comforted me, enthusiastically helped me look for it, and accompanied me to apply for a temporary ID card. When I was looking for a job, my seniors were also enthusiastic to recommend and share their experiences.
Later at work, colleagues were also very concerned about me. Colleagues took their own coats for me to wear when I felt cold; they worried that my nutritional intake would be insufficient if I ate at the canteen when I was pregnant, so they took soup for me; they took me to the hospital for stitches and bandages when I fell down on my motorbike....... these small things, made me feel very warm.
It is because I have felt the warmth given by others, so in my work and life, I also hope that I can bring warmth to others. In the village, I followed the grid to serve the masses, patiently listened to the elderly who raised a variety of issues, helped the villagers carry out the old age certification, and helped villagers send housing renovation materials. As long as the villagers were in need, I did my best to help them. Later, in the municipal departments, when retired elderly people apply for retirement social security, one-child allowance and other related matters, I always patiently help them collect and check the relevant information, formulate and coordinate with the relevant departments, and report the processing status in a timely manner.
I have always been proud of my alma mater. Whenever people asked me what school I graduated from and I answered Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL), they gave me a positive evaluation, which also made me confident and proud. Besides, the alumni are all over the political and legal system and the economic industry. When I was working, I met a lot of alumni, and they will provide me with help, which I think is the charm of ZUEL! It not only brings you knowledge, but also gives you a lot of intangible power to support you to move forward!