“A Spark That Finds Its Ground — For Yale-China’s 125th Anniversary
My name is Wu Yujiao, from the People’s Hospital of Huayuan County—a remote corner of western Hunan. When I was named a 2026 Western Hunan Chia Fellow, I left my hometown with a pounding heart. The truth is, I was terrified. On my first day at the Third Xiangya Hospital, my colleague Peng Qian and I walked into Professor Xie Jianfei’s research group. We didn’t know what to expect. Then we saw the cake. “Welcome to Sweety Town,” the theme read. In that small, warm ritual, I felt something I had not dared to hope for: You belong here. The fear did not disappear all at once, but it began to loosen. Days turned into weeks—graduate courses, research design, clinical shifts. Then came March 14th: the 120th anniversary of Xiangya Hospital and the 24th Chia Fellowship Annual Conference. I listened to leading experts and past Chia Fellows. My heart swelled. But the moment that broke me was Professor Xie’s own speech: “Our story is a testament to how small lights ignite a prairie fire. I carry forward Mr. Chia Peiyuan’s love—across mountains and oceans. I choose to be a spark, burning on Chinese soil, generation after generation.” And then she wept—out of gratitude, not sorrow. In the audience, I wept with her.Today is my 66th day here. I am no longer the timid nurse who arrived from a faraway county. I feel lucky. More than luck, I feel rooted. I now know that I can become a spark too—one that will travel back to western Hunan, to the people waiting for care. Let me become light. Let us pass this light on, unbroken and undimmed. That is how we remember. That is how we love.”
— WU Yujiao, Chia Health Fellow (Xinagya, 2025-'26)
