Fellow classmates, professors, distinguished guests, parents and friends, I want to thank you all for coming here today to partake in our graduation ceremony. I can’t describe how honored and excited I am to deliver this speech on behalf of this year’s graduating class.
My name is Yu Yangrundong and I’m a Certificate student here at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. What I want to express in my speech today are my own feelings about this very special institution that for the last nine months I have deemed my home, the same feelings that might be shared by most of the students sitting here today.
The past 9 months have been the most fascinating, inspiring, eye-opening and rewarding months of my life. I was able to study and work with the most brilliant professors and scholars from both Nanjing University and Johns Hopkins University, to truly experience first-hand world-class education and research. I was also able to enjoy
the high-quality facilities and services provided and maintained by our most dedicated staff. But most importantly, I have been so lucky to meet all of you: my wonderful classmates. Although we came from different places and different backgrounds, we share the same enthusiasm for learning and sharing. Our friendships have allowed us to
share with each other our happiest moments and times of sadness, the most exciting stories we’ve experienced and the most impossible goals we wish to achieve.
In the past 9 months, we have achieved many amazing things. Our excellent actors put on a wonderful show for the Mid-Autumn Festival in less than one week. The Center Jessup Team have impressed the audiences and the law professors with their excellent performances in the Moot Court Competition. Our warm-hearted volunteer teachers at the Bainian Migrant Workers School have demonstrated, through their constant dedication and devotion, that the essence of our education is to enable others and enrich the community around us. Those Gym rats who participated in the 100 day Burpee Challenge have showed us what team work and perseverance can achieve. Our
very own rock band Menergy has not only rocked our center, but also won a lot of fans in their campus concert at Nanjing University. And of course let’s not forget our Center cat Thomas Mao, the tireless sentinel of our courtyard.
I actually think I have to say a few more words about Thomas Mao. For those who don’t know Thomas, he is our dear communal center cat, who has ruled the courtyard for years. To me, Thomas represents the spirit of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. Every year students come and go, but Thomas Mao will always be here. He has guided us through dark nights, silently leading the way, and watches over us in our sweet dreams. Whenever he falls into that pond, there will always be someone in the center, seemingly running out of nowhere, to pick him up, dry him off, and make him shine again. And no matter how many of those feral cats challenge his authority, he remains steadfast and dignified, standing tall with pride!
After today, we will all be starting a new journey. Some of us will go back to our former schools and some will go to start work at new companies. Some of us will stay in China, and through our actions and ideas, will work to strengthen the link between China and the United States. Some of us will be in other places around the world, chasing our own Chinese and American Dreams. Surely, some of us will remain at the Center for another year or two, telling the future students stories about Professor Web’s wild journey in Pakistan or Professor Arase’s bravery in saving Thomas Mao. But whatever our future paths may be, it is new journey and nothing will be the same because of the knowledge we’ve gained, the memories we’ve shared, and the bonds we’ve forged these past 9 months. These bonds have surpassed national boundaries and social differences, and should make us feel proud to say that we are part of the Hopkins-Nanjing family. And with those shared moments and memories, we can start to weave together our better future.
In closing, I want to thank you all for a wonderful year and wish The Graduating Class of 2014 all the best luck!!
