In the midst of summer, the wind is flourishing and the future is full of possibilities. The sound of Li Ge begins, and the graduation season of 2023 arrives as scheduled. The official WeChat account of the School of Statistics and Management inherits tradition and will continue to launch a series of reports on outstanding graduates, showcasing the style of outstanding graduates in the school. First class majors cultivate first-class undergraduate talents. While sharing the fruitful results of talent cultivation, we sincerely hope that more students can draw nourishment, gather strength, and continue to write brilliance from the growth process of outstanding graduates. I also wish every graduate a bright future, live up to their youth, and forge ahead. Please stay tuned for a long time!
Denghong Lake
19th level Statistical Experimental Class
Graduation destination: Master's degree in Applied Statistics, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Tsinghua University
Award-winning Achievements
2021 National Scholarship
Outstanding Graduates of Shanghai in 2023
Three first prizes of the People's Scholarship
2nd National College Student Mathematics Competition, Shanghai First Prize
The 13th National College Student Mathematics Competition National Second Prize
2021 National College Student Mathematical Modeling Competition Shanghai Second Prize
01
Doing well in the present is the future
As a member of the statistical experimental class, I have never considered myself an excellent statistician, let alone a "successful" one. During my undergraduate studies, I participated in several mathematical modeling competitions. Although I was busy and worked hard, I didn't achieve any outstanding results. I have to admit that I am not cut out for block modeling; After witnessing the concise and efficient code in other open source projects, I feel embarrassed to take out my "single file" style verbose code; I am able to handle conventional calculation problems, but when encountering more in-depth mathematical theories in academic papers, I still have no idea where to start. Nevertheless, I have achieved good grades in most of my major courses, and this is a graduation essay that focuses on professional learning. If I were to summarize some of my secrets, it would be: execution and choosing the areas I excel in.
I have never been someone who has a long-term plan. In my freshman year, I only had one short-term goal: to switch majors. As for what major to transfer to, I firmly chose the Statistics Experimental Class for a simple reason. Compared to the most popular finance and accounting major at the University of Finance and Economics, I believe I am better equipped to learn statistics. I still remember when I was checking my final grades in the first semester of my freshman year, I happened to be on the high-speed train back home. After seeing my GPA and ranking, I knew that I might have a chance to change majors. At that moment, I had a feeling of being proud of myself. In the following semesters, even if I achieved higher grades, I was never as excited as I was then. In the first semester of my freshman year, I had many courses in humanities and ideological and political education. I spent a lot of time reviewing these courses, but I gained a lot of 3.0 and 3.3. So later on, when choosing courses, I would intentionally avoid humanities courses and courses that required writing final papers, and tend to choose courses in mathematics and computer science that I am better at.
The Statistics Experimental Class has many hardcore math and statistics courses, and the most impressive course for me is Dean Feng Xingdong's "Mathematical Statistics". This should be our first time getting up close to statistics. I don't need to say much about the depth and difficulty of Professor Feng's teaching. Looking back at the textbooks and notes at that time, there will still be many new gains. When studying Mathematical Statistics, I have a habit of previewing and will roughly review the content of the next class to ensure that I can understand it during class (yes, without previewing, I cannot understand). Although previewing requires a relatively long time, it can save a lot of time for reviewing after class, and transforming the passive process of receiving knowledge in class into a process of verifying one's own ideas is also a qualitative leap. After class, I will re deduce the proof I presented in class and string it together with the previous knowledge points. Afterwards, when studying other difficult professional courses and math courses, I will continue this habit of previewing and reviewing. But in my junior year, the number of professional courses skyrocketed, and many times I didn't have time to preview and review. I had to do a high-intensity review a week before the exam. Although I scored well in these courses in the end, the knowledge didn't enter my mind and I forgot shortly after finishing. I still regret not studying "Random Processes" and "Regression Analysis" well.
In the second semester of my junior year, I started applying for various summer camps for recommended graduate programs. Under the dual influence of recommended graduate programs and school closures, my mood experienced ups and downs. The ups and downs were due to my first application receiving an offer around May Day, while the downs were due to repeated setbacks in other application processes. These experiences of encountering obstacles also made me realize that my research competition and project experiences are indeed very ordinary. Then during the summer vacation of my junior year, I decided to let go of myself and didn't apply for any other projects anymore. I retaliated by playing for two months. In September, I attempted to apply for the Master's program in Applied Statistics at Tsinghua University again. The written test was based on scores in mathematics and advanced mathematics. Thanks to my good test taking skills, I successfully entered the interview. I feel that my performance in the interview was average, but in the end, I still received the offer with a high ranking. Perhaps the application statistics project still places more emphasis on the written test stage, right? My suggestion is that younger students should not blindly submit popular projects while preparing to participate in the statistics based summer camp. There are many treasure projects worth paying attention to, and they should also pay attention to accumulating experience in scientific research competitions and review their major courses in mathematics and physics.
After completing the postgraduate recommendation, the senior year is relatively leisurely. In the two semesters of my senior year, I did an algorithm internship in an Internet company, and consolidated my technology stack; I participated in some competitions while holding my teammate's thigh; Completed the graduation thesis; Through play badminton, I made many very friendly friends. Next, I hope to end my undergraduate life with a graduation trip.
02
Maintain positivity and moderate internalization
(1) Actively participate in scientific research competitions and master at least one programming language
Lower grade students can participate in some mathematical modeling competitions, and the goal is not necessarily to win a prize. Through the competition, they can hone their ability to apply knowledge, improve their programming proficiency, and master the skills of writing papers, which will be more valuable than winning a prize itself. Senior students can contact teachers from the college for some simple scientific research training. As a student of the College of Statistics, the importance of mastering a programming language (preferably Python) goes without saying.
(2) Compare yourself with your past self and avoid excessive anxiety
The year when I first switched majors and came to the School of Statistics was the most relaxed year for me. At that time, I hardly knew my classmates in the class, had no peers to compare with, and only required a clear conscience in everything I did. However, that year was also the best year for my academic performance. Every New Year's Day, I post a message on QQ Space: 20xx, meet a better version of yourself. There are no two identical leaves in the world, and the path that suits oneself is the best path. There is no need to set others as benchmarks, we just need to be good at ourselves.
03
Graduation message
On the occasion of graduation, I would like to thank the college for being willing to accept me, providing me with a good learning environment and giving me the opportunity to receive excellent education; Thank you to the teachers for their careful guidance, which has enabled me to continuously improve in my studies; Thank you to my classmates and friends for their companionship and support, which has made me feel warmth and care on campus. In these four years, I have learned a lot of knowledge, had many valuable experiences, and also gained invaluable friendships. I believe that in the future, we will all shine in our respective fields and meet a better version of ourselves.
two thousand and twenty-three
ending
The School of Statistics and Management is deeply innovating its talent training model, actively reforming practice, consolidating professional foundations, deepening school enterprise cooperation, attaching importance to collaborative education, and striving to promote students to combine theory with practice. It is committed to cultivating first-class composite statistical talents with firm ideological beliefs, strong political positions, profound professional foundations, and solid research abilities, and contributing statistical wisdom to the construction of a world-class university with distinctive financial and economic characteristics.
