On June 28th, 2023, a lady named Dong Lina gave a speech at the graduation ceremony of the Communication University of China. She encouraged everyone to follow their dreams, love what they do, stay grounded and feel responsible toward their country, society and the world. What makes it more inspiring is that Dong is visually impaired and the first visually impaired (视障) student in China to receive a master's degree in Broadcasting and Hosting Art (播音与主持艺术).
Dong was born in Dalian and lost her sight (视力) when she was ten. She completed her education at a school for people like her in Dalian and read hundreds of Braille (不拉耶盲文) books in her free time. Later, she studied traditional Chinese medicine and then worked as a massage therapist.
In 2006, Dong had the chance to study broadcasting and hosting. She realized the power of the human voice and fell in love with broadcasting. Since then, Dong has been practicing her pronunciation by reading Braille materials almost all the time. After that, she went to college and received a bachelor's degree (学士学位) in broadcasting and hosting. In 2019, she continued her studies and set her mind on a master's degree in Broadcasting and Hosting Art at the Communication University of China.
Even though she faced challenges, Dong always has a guiding light in her heart. She held on to her dreams and always worked hard, even when things were difficult. "There's something people haven't tried before," said Dong, "you can be the one to show everyone how it's done!"
