????The quiet 22-year-old An Yongrui, a paleobiology major at Peking University, became an Internet sensation recently after he post his graduation photo online. ????Unlike other college graduates, An posed for his graduation photo alone, as he is the only paleobiology graduate this year at the prestigious university’s Yuanpei School. ????An is the “sixth generation” of alumni carrying the legacy of paleobiology, since the major was introduced in 2008. ????Before him, there were a total of five alumni who majored in paleobiology — in each previous year there was only one graduate, as few college students choose it as a major. ????Paleobiology is a science discipline that combines biology and geology to study the history of life on Earth through fossils. According to a previous report, the school may be the only one in the country to enroll a single undergraduate student annually for a course of study — not from lack of trying but because few are interested in paleontology. ????The highly specialized field was in the limelight in 2014 after that year’s paleobiology graduate, Xue Yifan, posted a photo of only herself standing in front of a building on campus, captioned “Paleontology Class 2014, Peking University.” The photo soon circulated online and triggered a flurry of discussion. ????Xue has now completed her master’s program in computational biology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania and is looking forward to working on her Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh. ????Different but not alone ????Being the only student in the major doesn’t mean being alone. ????“An was not alone in class as people assumed. He took courses on biological and geological sciences with others,” said Sha Liman, director of the administration office of the School of Earth and Space Sciences of Peking University. ????An said he would attend courses at other colleges. “Plant biology was studied at the School of Life Sciences; ecology at the College of Urban and Environmental Studies, and petrology at the Department of Geology,” An told Xinhua. ????A choice out of interest ????For An, the reason he chose the major is almost the same as Xue Yifan’s — his great interest in paleobiology. ????A student who had a special interest in biology and physics in high school, An liked drawing maps, hiking and collecting shells and stones. After being enrolled in Yuanpei School of Peking University in 2012, he took all the courses in biology and geology that interested him. Inspired by these courses in the first two years, he decided to major in paleobiology in the third year. ????“I didn’t struggle with the decision. I chose it only out of my pure interest in the subject,” An said. ????An said he will continue his studies in paleobiology and oceanography after graduation.(SD-Agencies) | 