Coming from a poor family, young Zhang's life was filled with loss. His father passed when he was only 5 months old and then his mother at 9. According to Zhang, his parents died from undiagnosed diseases due to inadequate healthcare in his hometown of Zigui county, Hubei Province.

Zhang lived with his grandparents until he was 17, when his grandfather then died of old age, leaving his grandmother as the only family he had left.
In 2007, Zhang was accepted to WP. Through "green channel", a State-sponsored program providing financial aid to poor students, and with donations from his teachers and classmates, he gathered enough money for tuition.

But Zhang was not as carefree as his new classmates. He had to cover his grandmother's living expenses and medical fees back home. Entrusted to neighbors while he studied in Wuhan, she depended on his help, for she had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for many years.

All Zhang could do was take low paying part-time jobs after school and during holidays to earn enough money to help her.

He was a janitor at the school cafeteria during his freshman year, receiving free lunch and dinner and 100 yuan ($15) a month. He worked as librarian at the school library for 4 yuan an hour, passed out flyers on the weekends for 30 yuan a day.

During his summer holidays, he sweated it out on construction sites, often denying himself a bottle of water just to save money.

Later he worked as tutor during his sophomore year, getting up early in the morning and taking a long time bus home.

At any given time, Zhang was earning only 400 yuan a month, most of it going to cover his grandmother's medical expenses.

"I was exhausted all the time, but was fulfilled because I was self-reliant. I was the back-bone of my family and had to be strong," Zhang said.

In addition, he would squeeze time in to go back home at the end of every month to see his grandmother and help her do housework.

And all this responsibility never kept Zhang from his studies, whose high test scores won him scholarships each semester.

"I have tried to absorb as much as possible in the classroom. I was so busy everyday, so the only thing I could do is to use of every minute everyday," Zhang said.

Though poor, busy and frugal as he was, Zhang was always a generous and loving student, volunteering both his time and money for others.
After the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, he made cash donations three times.

During weekends, he often organized his classmates to volunteer at rest homes for the elderly.

Last April, Zhang set up a family tutor group, which attracted 130 students to join in and provide free tutoring for children of migrant workers near the campus.

"The situation these kids are in reminds me of my own childhood. I received a lot of help from my teachers, classmates and other warmhearted people and I finally want to give back," Zhang said.

After hearing of Zhang's story last December, the leaders in his college decided to provide a room for him and his grandmother to live for free so that Zhang could better take care of his grandmother and spend more time on his studies.

Students and teachers in the college, moved by what Zhang has done, donated money and food to them.

Some students even took turns watching his grandmother while Zhang worked or was in class.

"I'm so grateful for all those who have helped me. Without them, I don't know what my life would have been like," Zhang said.