[Newsis]
[Newsis]

A Chinese man who spent eight years pursuing graduate school admission while working as a janitor and dormitory security guard has finally received an acceptance letter from Tsinghua University — the very campus where he once stood watch.

Yang Xiao, 31, from Shenyang in China's Liaoning Province, was recently accepted into the graduate program at Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design, the South China Morning Post reported Tuesday.

Yang had dreamed of attending Tsinghua since childhood. He sat the gaokao, China's national college entrance exam, in 2013 and enrolled at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, graduating in 2018 and going on to run an art school in his hometown.

He then set his sights on Tsinghua's graduate program, but his first attempt left him more than 100 points below the passing mark, and his second ended in failure as well.

While preparing for his third attempt, financial disaster struck. Yang lost more than 1 million yuan ($148,000) to a woman he had met online, who repeatedly asked him for money under the pretexts of medical bills and gambling debts, the South China Morning Post reported.

His parents helped him clear the debt, but the art school ultimately closed. After failing the graduate entrance exam again, he spent a year working as a janitor before landing a job as a security guard at a Tsinghua dormitory for international students, where he worked for two years.

"The physical exhaustion was bearable, but the mental anguish of the gap between reality and my dream was far greater," Yang recalled of that period.

The moment that cut deepest came when a parent on campus pointed at him and told their child, "If you don't study hard, you'll end up like that person."

Yet the experience ultimately became the catalyst that pushed him to try again.

During the day, Yang slipped into Tsinghua lecture halls to sit in on classes. At night, he worked his security shifts and used every spare moment to study, including practicing his English in conversations with international students.

After being promoted to head of the security team, his workload eased and he channeled the extra time back into preparing for the entrance exam. Though money was tight, he spent most of his savings on airfare to attend academic seminars, and his dedication to research earned him several academic awards.

In June, on his eighth attempt, he received an acceptance letter from Tsinghua's Academy of Arts and Design — this time scoring 34 points above the passing mark.

Yang plans to major in intangible cultural heritage and digital innovation. The program typically runs three years, but he aims to complete it in two to ease the financial burden. His next goal is to pursue a doctorate at Harvard University on a full scholarship.

As his story spread online in China, an outpouring of support followed. Users wrote that his perseverance across eight attempts was remarkable, that he seemed to enjoy the journey toward his dream rather than being consumed by it, and that his story proved one's starting point does not define one's limits.

One commenter noted that as a graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Yang already had a strong foundation, adding that his talent would have shone through regardless of which path he had chosen.

Education experts say continuing to learn after failure often matters more than the failure itself in determining long-term outcomes. Yang's case has drawn attention as an example of persistence and consistency — evidence that holding firm to a goal through repeated setbacks and financial hardship can ultimately bear fruit.


rainbow@heraldcorp.com