[Video] Chen Zhihua: Former-Shepherd-Turned-Engineer

Chen Zhihua has always been fascinated with the world that lay beyond the horizon. As a boy growing up in the north-central region of Ningxia, China, where the ancient Silk Road once passed through, he spent his days working as a shepherd to help support his family.

His true calling, however, lay in the machinery and electronics he had a knack for fixing. He was fascinated by how the intricate systems worked, but despite his skills, he lacked access to the type of formal education that would nurture his natural talent and open doors to a world of new and exciting opportunities.

That all changed when the aspiring engineer found the Samsung Tech Institute and made the 2,000-kilometer journey from his remote village to the Suzhou-based campus.

Today, having excelled at the institute and become a full-fledged engineer, the former shepherd works at a Samsung customer service center in bustling Shanghai, where he spends his days utilizing his diverse skills to help customers stay connected. Follow Chen’s dream from inception to realization in the video below, which serves as more proof that sparks of talent may be found in all places.

The Samsung Tech Institute works with universities and governments to create jobs and nurture young, local talent with the formal training necessary to fill them. Since 2013, the institutes have opened doors for nearly 40,000 students in 32 countries.