Dear faculty members, distinguished guests, friends, and today’s graduates, good afternoon!
My name is Xu Zilan. I’m a certificate student here. Today I am so honored to give this speech on behalf of the graduating class of 2013. I welcome you all and hope that you feel as proud as I do to be part of this great and amazing institution, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. I'd like to speak for a few moments about how important this day is to us all.
Isn’t it great to be done with finals? What a relief to be all finished! I can’t believe that we just did it! Looking back, though, I must admit it was challenging at the beginning. I felt intimidated to be speaking and writing in English. I felt frustrated to always have unfinished reading assignments. However, I was fortunate enough to have the help and support of my roommate, Marian Stacey, and other friends here, who all helped and encouraged me to get through the demanding workload. I think every student in the Center, both Chinese and international, has struggled at some point. We are all connected through shared experience, getting through the hard times as well as the good times. We are not alone. It is just as Co-Director Huang said: living in the Center is like being part of a big family.
We HNC’ers study hard, but we also know how to have fun. When Zoe and I were doing the Yearbook, we found it hard to believe all of the crazy things that we have experienced together. The beautiful Mid-Autumn Festival party; the crazy Halloween night; the big dinners over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s; field trips to Zhenjiang, Gaochun, Lishui and Xuyi; the city wall walk; and Career Day. All of our amazing interest groups—Calligraphy, Erhu, Taiji, and dancing. Also, the multitude of activities—cookie baking, ping-pong, badminton, the dragon boat competition, and, most recently, the block party. Life at the HNC is so colorful and lovely that even Thomas Mao, our HNC cat, chose this place to start a little family!
Moreover, I really enjoyed the intercultural environment here. Developing friendships with those from other cultures is such a great experience. One thing that I think is important is being open-minded and respectful. Don’t you think it’s amazing? We came to the Center from all different parts of the world to live, study, and hang out together for one or two years. I always feel grateful that I could have this great opportunity to get to know so many awesome people. I feel like everyday at the HNC is brand new and I can learn something, not only from classes, but also from all kinds of cultural exchanges. I can still remember my first time singing Christmas carols; I also got a present from Santa and was as excited as a little kid. I remember my first time going to a gay bar with some HNC friends. I began to realize how important it is to support gay rights, and with this realization, I ended up writing a course paper about the gay rights movement in America. I also remember my first time singing a cappella. It was amazing that we could make beautiful songs together! Some of the things I’ve done here may sound a little strange, but I’m certainly glad I tried them. You know, sometimes the best way to understand a country and a culture is not in a classroom, but rather through personal experience. That is exactly what the HNC provides for us everyday.
My friends, how time flies! It’s almost time to say goodbye. Now I suggest that you look around and remember this moment. Look at your classmates, your friends and your teachers, because from this point on, life will scatter us to different places all over the world, and some of us may only get a chance to see each other again at alumni parties.
Finally, I would like to offer my congratulations to the graduating class of 2013. I can’t wait to see where we go in the future!
Thank you very much!
