Zhao Youzhu, 28, a PhD candidate at Xiamen University in Fujian province, is determined to make her mark in a professional career.

Zhao Youzhu (Photos provided to chinadaily.com)

She was diagnosed with congenital neurological deafness at the age of 4, and learned pinyin, arithmetic and lip-reading before losing her hearing completely.

In 2019, Zhao enrolled in college of environment and ecology of Xiamen University. Now, she is majoring in ocean management and planning. She is studying China's ocean and coastal zones and applying the concept of land-ocean coordination. Immersed in scientific research and writing, she stays up late every night.

Zhao has a threshold of 110 decibels in her left ear and 90 decibels in her right ear and is considered medically deaf.

"It is like being locked in a dark room," she said. "Only with the aid in my right ear can I poke a small hole in the window and see a faint light. But this light is fragile and uncertain, and can be completely blocked by fate at any moment."

Even so, Zhao insists she is just like everyone else. She entered primary school when she was 5 years old, and made her way through middle school and eventually to the university. She has been a voracious reader.

As an undergraduate, she won a number of scholarships and honors. She also had the idea of working after graduation. But she made up her mind instead to pursue a postgraduate degree.

Striving for a master's degree, she published six journal papers in succession and gradually established her own direction.

She doesn't think it's at all extraordinary for a hearing-impaired person to be admitted to a top-tier university as a doctoral candidate.

"I'm just an ordinary person, and I don't think I have much to show for my experience," Zhao said. "Everyone has problems, though mine are obvious. But this doesn't necessarily mean that I worked harder than others. The fact is, I really enjoy reading and studying."

As people have learned her story, she has won applause from many, especially online.

"I'm very happy," she said. "It made me realize that I've really encouraged some people."