Carrying On Medical Heritage, Walking with Language: SVHC 2024 Language Culture Festival

On the evening of December 9, Suzhou Vocational Health College (SVHC) held the 2024 Language Culture Festival in the multifunctional hall on the third floor of the college's cultural and art center. The event was jointly hosted by the Publicity Office of the College Party Committee, the United Front Work Department, the Youth League Committee, and the Department of General Education (Student Quality Development Center), and co-organized by various secondary colleges (departments) and the asset management company. More than 500 teachers and students attended and observed.

Before the start of the event, a video showcased the highlights of the language-related activities held by the Department of General Education throughout the year. These included English competitions, thematic recitations, and rich cultural activities organized by student clubs, as well as language exchanges between Chinese and foreign students. These activities extended classroom teaching, cultivated students' professional ideals, carried forward the national spirit, and enhanced regional identification.

In his speech, the director of the Department of General Education, Liu Zhongwei, expressed his gratitude to the college and the various secondary schools for their strong support. He pointed out that the theme of this year's language festival is "Carrying On Medical Heritage, Walking with Language." The goal is to improve students' language expression skills, enhance cultural confidence and promote the diversified development of campus culture. Then, Secretary Zhao Yongsheng and Minister Ding Xuhong unveiled the language festival logo, which was designed by students. The logo features a main color of "SVHC Blue." The upper part shows the silhouettes of the school's buildings in the sky, blending tradition and modernity. The lower part represents a bay of blue water, symbolizing the long-lasting heritage of medical traditions. The middle part is connected by an arch bridge, representing language as a bridge of communication.

The curtain then opened, and a three-act short play adapted from the original historical drama "The Ultimate Devotion to Sincerity" began. It carefully selected three segments: farewell, emergency rescue, and herbal collection. The time spanned from the last century to the new era, profoundly interpreting the spirit of "respecting people and professionalism, striving for excellence and sincerity". As the actors performed with emotion, the audience saw real-life stories from SVHC's history. They saw the song "Farewell", which has been sung for a century. During the May Fourth Movement in the last century, such farewells were especially tragic for the sake of national righteousness and survival. They also saw that although they have entered a peaceful era, various unexpected accidents still occur in life. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), an essential skill for nursing students, is always a key part of the assessment. Only after the strictest evaluation can one perform at their best in critical moments. Compared to emergency rescue, herbal collection may seem more poetic. However, the difficulties such as tiny mosquitoes, blood-sucking leeches, pigsties, and medicinal seedlings in the mountainous areas of Guizhou, where our "Going to the countryside" service is provided, cannot be ignored. In order to better guide herbal farmers and study wild medicinal seedlings, teachers and students overcame many difficulties and came here from afar.

After the performance, the audience applauded for a long time and were still immersed in the scenes. This was thanks to the hard-working rehearsals over half a year and the vivid performances and teamwork of the actors. Many actors truly "played themselves", bringing the classroom to the stage. Zhang Hui, a teacher from the School of Nursing, who played the role of Teacher Sun in the play, said that this character is a microcosm of generations of SVHC teachers. She believes that the best teaching guidance is to "show" students the hard work of teachers. Wang Ruiqi from the School of Nursingand Sun Feng from the School of Pharmacy said that only by integrating their own understanding can they vividly interpret the roles. Zhu Jianhua, who played the father of Yao Yuan, said that being willing to spend time without compensation is his most profound experience. Only in this way can he shape the image of a farmer in the play.

This language festival is one of the series of activities in our college's "Strengthening the Awareness of the Chinese National Community Education: SVHC’s efforts." In the future, our college will continue to write more chapters based on more touching campus stories and alumni deeds to better reflect the school spirit of "respecting people and professionalism, striving for excellence and sincerity". In order to achieve personal dreams, to build a better future for the school, and to realize the great Chinese dream, we will forge ahead and create new glories!