TIANJIN — Seeing her son's image on a banner hanging at the roadside on the campus at Tianjin University in North China's Tianjin municipality, Esther Samosir Pakpahan from Indonesia could not help but feel a strong sense of pride. "It's so inspirational, and a huge honor for my family," says Pakpahan, a businesswoman who arrived in Tianjin to attend her son's commencement.

Her son, Timothy Joseph Hutagaol, was among the first five international students recognized as outstanding graduates of the university, with their photos displayed on banners along the main road on campus. He achieved the honor not only for his academic performance in chemical engineering but also for being a student ambassador, helping the university recruit international students.

He has shared his campus life in China through hundreds of posts on social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WeChat and Bilibili, drawing more than 1 million views. His online presence also helped attract more than 50 international students to enroll at the university.

Raised by his single mother, Hutagaol studied hard and graduated from high school with excellent scores in the Indonesian national examination in 2019.Then, he decided to pursue his undergraduate studies at Tianjin University.

"I love science and engineering, and nothing combines the two better than chemical engineering," he says, adding that his choice won his mom's full support.

In the summer of 2020, he received an admission letter from Tianjin University with a chemical engineering scholarship, making him the first and only one in this generation of his family to earn a fully funded undergraduate scholarship abroad.

During his studies, he collaborated with doctoral and postgraduate students from the lab and published a paper in the Journal of Food Chemistry as the first author and another in the Journal of Applied Energy as a co-author.

"This experience cemented my passion for chemical engineering research," he says.

His journey now continues as he has been awarded a full scholarship from the Chinese Government Scholarship to pursue a master's degree in chemical engineering at the university.

For him, the recognition banner and his mom's presence at his commencement brought a perfect close to his undergraduate studies.

"I wanted my mom to be part of this wonderful journey in China. Without her love and support, I wouldn't be here," he says.

During their free time, he took his mom on a city walk in Tianjin.

"Tianjin is clean and well-organized," Pakpahan says. "So much modern technology everywhere. Even payments are made through QR codes. It's impressive."

The excellent facilities and welcoming environment she observed both in the city and on campus reinforced her support for her son to further his studies at the university.

"I'm really grateful to the university for bringing out the best in my son," she says.

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