Taming Electricity, Chasing Light, Aiming for the Stars
—My Days at Tongji Automotive
Sun Jianli: CPC member, 2020 undergraduate. Honors include Shanghai Outstanding Graduate, Tongji University Outstanding Student Leader Model, Tongji University Pioneer CPC Member, and Tongji University Outstanding Student Model. Recipient of the National Scholarship, Weichai Power Scholarship, and Social Activity Scholarship. Served as Tongji University Student Affairs Assistant and League Branch Secretary, leading his class to honors such as “Shanghai Dynamic League Organization,” Tongji University “May Fourth Red Flag League Branch,” and “Excellent Academic Atmosphere Class.” Former core member of DIAN Racing’s electric control system and captain of the DIAN Racing driverless team.
Post-graduation destination: Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Foreword
Another year of cherry blossoms falling marks my final months at Tongji. I am honored to look back in writing on my five years at Tongji Automotive as a farewell to my undergraduate life. After receiving the invitation to contribute, I replayed moments in my mind—days at Tongji condensed into a series of instants, each carrying my deepening passion for automobiles and the shaping of my self.
When I first came to Tongji, I was young and lost; I once considered switching majors. I can’t remember what made me finally choose automotive, but it was undoubtedly a right decision. The four years in the School of Automotive Studies truly let me experience the charm of the automotive field.
My Life in the Team
DIAN Racing was the spiritual harbor of my undergraduate years. Working with like-minded friends to build a cool Formula-style race car was, to me, the most meaningful endeavor in my undergraduate life, and where I learned the most knowledge and skills. From design, simulation, testing, to assembly—turning small parts into a speeding race car—I genuinely felt the charm of engineering practice. Here, the elusive knowledge from lectures became tangible within reach. I remember the large container in summer filled with mosquitoes, debugging circuit boards through the night, which greatly improved the team members’ mosquito-bite resistance over one summer. I remember filling out event documents in the courtyard at night while feasting on “Neng Ji” barbecue takeout—the best barbecue I’ve ever tasted. I remember two sleepless nights before the competition debugging and organizing inspection documents; looking back, the limits of human endurance are truly unfathomable.
Here I want to thank all the teammates who worked for the team and the seniors who patiently guided us. We may part ways, but we will jointly remember those days—they are a brand on our lives. In my last semester at Tongji, the team moved to a new small P room. At the moment of parting, only memories remain in our large container.
Personal Growth
Through student work, I learned many ways of thinking. From League branch secretary to university student affairs assistant, it was the accumulation of one small task after another that brought our branch to a higher stage; it was the collection of student questions and suggestions that turned student expectations into reality. I often feel that as a pure engineering student, doing student work isn’t really my forte—without strong writing skills to produce elegant articles, and with a clumsy aesthetic sense often producing ugly PowerPoint slides. Special thanks here to my counselor Sister Yang; under her guidance, I can now create passable materials and decent slides. But we engineering students do have some unique strengths: pragmatism and sincerity.
Presenting results is important, but I care more about whether I truly served my classmates and met their needs, rather than just a few lines in summary materials or superficial, unrealistic efforts. As I continue down the path of pragmatism, I will also discover the true meaning of student work: to think, to act, to deliver.
Epilogue
Next year I will not see the cherry blossoms bloom, and now, as I am about to leave Tongji and the School of Automotive Studies, though not typically nostalgic, I still have myriad thoughts. Time flies like a white colt glimpsed through a crack, and years flow like fallen flowers on water. The unforgettable moments at Tongji Automotive will become the brand on my life, internalizing the spirit of Tongji automotive people: “Steadfast in pursuit of excellence, striving for perfection,” as I step into a new chapter of life.
Text and photos | Sun Jianli
Review | Shi Jingyuan, Sun Jianli
Editors-in-charge | Ge Chang, Shi Jingyuan, Wu Shi