Profile of Du Linbo:
Du Linbo is a former level-four army master sergeant, an Administrative Management graduate from the Bayi School of the Open University of China (OUC),class of spring 2017, and a correspondent for the magazine Sergeant Distance Education. He has won third-class honours twice, and twice been recognised for his achievements in propaganda.

Having dreamed of joining the army, Du Linbo became a soldier, and because of his outstanding performance was assigned to become a driver. Later, while still a sergeant, he began to study in the Bayi School at the OUC. On top of his qualities as a soldier, he loves writing, and is recognised as a talented scholar by his fellows. When an opening arose, he joined the propaganda office and became a full-time reporter.

In order to adapt to his new work environment as quickly as possible, he filled his free time with writing, soon becoming a new star of the news team.

Interviewing a fellow solider

He has published more than 600 articles in outlets inside and outside the military, and for his outstanding achievements has twice been awarded third-class honours, along with other awards for writing and editing, with second-class group honours going to his reporting team.

In 2017, Du Linbo completed his service and left the army. By chance, he learned that the Propaganda Department of the Luanchuan County Party Committee in his hometown was recruiting news editors, and applied for a position. Attracted by his excellent writing skills, the news centre contacted him for an interview.

Military honours

When he was still in the army, once he was ready to return to the army after his vacation, he received a call from the director of the county news centre. They needed a press release, but had no staff to hand, and the director hoped that he could step in. Du Linbo returned his train ticket, did the interview, completed the report the next day, and had it published on the second page of Henan Daily. His work was appreciated by the news centre, and this strengthened his determination to return to work in his hometown.

At the end of the year, Du Linbo received an honorable discharge from the army, and a week after returning home, began to work for the Party Committee Propaganda Department of Luanchuan County. On his first day of work, he was given a reporting task directly by the leader of the news centre.

New position, new achievements

Diligence leads to success, laziness to failure. Du Linbo wants his work to be a career, not just a job, and his seriousness makes him stand out. While in the army, he gained experience writing for a number of online outlets, and also worked as an editor for the military network's politics channel, good preparation for undertaking civilian propaganda. He was singled out for praise for two consecutive years by the Cultural Network Centre of the Political Works Department.

Du Linbo believes that his 16 years in the army prepared him well for life afterward, and that even though a job may not last a lifetime, the abilities one gains performing it are not lost, and will enable one to continue to earn one's keep.

By Lei Mingming, OUC Bayi School