A female student from the Sun Yat-sen College of Dalian Medical University in Guangxi started selling ice cream at a street stall and became a social media influencer three years after graduation. When the school discovered her activities, they called to ask her to delete the videos, claiming it was affecting the school’s reputation and enrollment. This incident has sparked public interest.
Popular TikTok blogger “Li Ya Who Came Ashore” posted a video on July 2, revealing that she had graduated with a bachelor’s degree and is now selling ice cream at a stall. In a video from May, she sarcastically mentioned how her mother worked at a stall to support her through university, spending tens of thousands of dollars on tuition to send her to medical school. However, she ended up coming back to sell ice cream after graduation, which she found quite bitter. Some netizens in the comment section questioned if she actually graduated with a bachelor’s degree. In response, she posted another video showing her graduation certificate from Sun Yat-sen College of Dalian Medical University and confirming her educational background. The video garnered over 5 million views.
On June 27, she received a call from a school counselor asking her to take down the videos, citing concerns about the impact on the school’s reputation and enrollment.
“After a more than ten-minute conversation, I was scared to tears,” she said. Despite wanting to delete the video immediately after the call, since it was the only one with over 5 million views, she chose to hide it instead. She thought the matter would end there. However, the school posted on its official account accusing some students of spreading rumors to gain popularity and claimed they had not contacted her, insinuating that she was seeking attention. Some teachers even attacked and defamed her in the comments section of her videos.
This incident had a significant impact on her, as she felt she was suddenly portrayed as the villain. She stated that she is willing to take responsibility for her actions and will release the original video that allegedly defamed the school for public review and judgment.
In response to the situation, a spokesperson from Sun Yat-sen College of Dalian Medical University stated to “Overseas News” that the school is still in the process of verifying certain aspects of the incident and is not available for interviews at the moment.
On July 2, the topic of “Female student asked by alma mater to delete video of her selling ice cream” trended on Weibo.
Netizens expressed various opinions, with some criticizing the university for being overly sensitive and lacking in understanding that post-graduation job choices are individuals’ own responsibilities. Others questioned the school’s reputation following this incident, and some suggested that educational institutions should be more accommodating towards students’ career paths.
According to the content shared in the videos by “Li Ya Who Came Ashore,” the 25-year-old Guangxi native worked at a local hospital after graduating from the Sun Yat-sen College of Dalian Medical University but was assigned to a position unrelated to her major. After resigning from the hospital two years later, she decided to pursue a career in civil service. Three months ago, she started selling mango ice cream at a stall after completing a civil service exam, documenting her entrepreneurial journey through videos.