This morning in Shenzhen, it's drizzling and gloomy.

I intended to sleep in, but my internal clock woke me up early again at 7:00, recalling scenes from last night's gathering with the Lighthouse family, expressing gratitude to Marion, the head of MIS.

Today's story begins at the origin of the Lighthouse. When I left everything behind and came to Shenzhen in 2017, it was my nearly 70-year-old father who gave me confidence, strength, and several billion yuan in school construction funds, which led to the establishment of MIS and Xingzhi today.

Last night, I recounted the moment when my father, at the age of 21, was suddenly appointed as the branch secretary of Lingying Brigade by the commune secretary. He said he didn't feel happy, but suddenly felt a great sense of responsibility. He went from taking care of meals for 100 people in his squad to suddenly being responsible for 1030 people's meals, clothing, and firewood. Such responsibility and mission were unimaginable for a young man of only 21 years old. But my father didn't shirk. He told us that he was determined at that moment to work with the elders and fellow villagers of Lingying Village to change the poverty of no firewood, no food, and no clothes, and to exchange the carrying of firewood for carrying the red flag.

My father truly accomplished this. When he left our village at the age of 35 to become the vice-mine manager of a gold mine, Lingying Village had already developed into the top village in Fengning County. Thirteen years and nine months of struggle changed the face of poverty-stricken mountainous areas and cultivated the spirit of self-reliance and entrepreneurship among the villagers of Lingying Village. In the same year, at the age of 35, my father was awarded the titles of National Forestry System Model Worker and Hebei Province Model Worker.

At the age of 35, he had never seen a gold mine, let alone understood the prospecting, mining, beneficiation, and smelting techniques of gold mines. With only a sixth-grade education, he lived with the workers in the mine, studied geology underground during the day, and returned to the selection plant at night to learn beneficiation techniques from the worker masters. In just six months, my father formally took over the responsibility of mine manager from the vice-mine manager, turning a company with a loss of hundreds of thousands into a profit of 480,000 yuan that year. Now, under my father's leadership, the Golden Dragon Group has developed into a well-respected and responsible well-known enterprise with thousands of employees, millions of yuan in annual taxes, and significant local influence. At the age of 71, he still carries on with the enthusiasm and fighting spirit of youth every day, leading the Golden Dragon people forward.

Last night, Professor Edmund S.T. Kwok , Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Lighthouse Group and Chairman of the Academic Committee, said that the Lighthouse should be grateful to your father and the Golden Dragon Enterprise. Without the Golden Dragon, there would be no MIS, no Xingzhi, and no Lighthouse. Every member of the Lighthouse family should be grateful, inject their hearts, nurture with love, and cultivate each student with awe, love, patience, and dedication, striving together to build an academically excellent and warm international school.

Sitting on either side of me at dinner last night were Marion, the former headmistress of MCS for nearly 40 years, and Professor Edmund S.T. Kwok, a renowned educator, historian, and literary scholar, who once served as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at CUHK and the founding executive principal of the Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University Zhuhai College. At the age of 75, he came out of retirement again to illuminate the bay area with the light of the Lighthouse and shine on the world. His accelerated work style from 5:00 in the morning to 12:00 at night makes it difficult for me to keep up with him. His and Dr. Li's joining has restructured and reformed the organizational and talent development model, truly establishing an interconnected, mutually learning, mutually supportive Lighthouse community of destiny among all schools, allowing the vitality of the Lighthouse family to flourish and enabling teachers to see a bright future in their professional development.

Dear young friends, the three protagonists I shared today are all outstanding young people in their 70s, now the leaders of the Lighthouse. Their enthusiasm for work, sense of responsibility, mission, and decisive work style have always been the examples I learn from. Although I am constantly improving myself, compared with inspirational figures like my father, Principal Marion, and Professor Edmund S.T. Kwok, there is still a huge gap. Now I understand what "learning is a lifelong endeavor" truly means.

In my heart, they are the role models that me and the young people of the Lighthouse should learn from the most!

On the occasion of the May Fourth Youth Day, salute to the three predecessors and the young teachers fighting on the front line of Lighthouse education! Thanks to the young people serving the big family of Lighthouse!

Let's inspire youth together with the spirit of youth.

Lighthouse International Education Group

Chief Service Officer, Lyu Jianjun

2024.05.04

致青春