23-year-old graduate of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) is one of the first seven female university students to join the world’s first standing peacekeeping police force set up in China.

The graduate is Zhang Zixuan majored in French. She has completed six-month training of combat and peacekeeping services, and is ready to accept the United Nations’ request to perform missions.

Zhang said she was in awe of police and soldiers as her mother was a police officer. A personal experience of terrorist attacks made her aware of the importance of world peace and reawakened her dream of joining the army.

It was November 2015 when she exchanged at University Lumiere: Lyon II, France. Terrorists carried out deadly attacks at the Paris Opera House, which threw the whole country into panic. “At that time, I became aware of how closely peacekeeping was related to everybody,” she said.

In December 2016, she happened to see a notice for recruiting female university graduates to the peacekeeping police squad, and signed up without hesitation. Mastering bilingual skills in French and English helped her pass the examination on the first try and became a member of the force.

After graduation, Zhang and other six members went to Xinjiang, northwest China, for six-month intensive training. She said she didn’t get favored treatment, although female members are an all-too-rare sight there. She got not only military training and physical exercise, but also artistic activities there. “The special missions give me a sense of responsibility and strength, encouraging me to challenge myself, ” Zhang said.

At the outset of training, she nearly always failed to run three kilometers in the allotted time, but now she can finish it within 16 minutes. Besides, she is able to understand most of the professional vocabulary abbreviations which she almost knew nothing before.

Different from what she thought of the army previously, now she sees more of the dedication and loyalty of soldiers behind the glory. “These people are not as artistic as they’re depicted in movies. Instead, they are also ordinary people who stick to their post,” she said.

For her, the future goal is to take full use of her linguistic and artistic advantages, promoting world peace as well as intercultural communication.

Meanwhile, she encouraged college students to cherish the present, and enhance their abilities. “Follow the heart and keep moving forward”, she said.