Good Afternoon Everybody.
It is such an honor to have been asked to speak at today’s ceremony. Honestly, Iwas just thrilled that I finished my thesis, but am so grateful to have theopportunity to stand up and share with you my thoughts on FudanUniversity. When thinking about whatFudan is and what it means to me, three words came to mind: continuity,opportunity, and community. These three words, despite their power of rhyme,are a strong representation of what Fudan University is.
Continuity:
Continuity is defined as the quality ofsomething that does not change as time passes: A continuous quality so tospeak. As we all know, this is FudanUnviersity’s 110th Anniversary. 110 years of continuous forefrontthinking. 110 years of continuous innovation, always seeking forimprovement. Fudan’s quality and prestigeis no secret to us, as it’s probably one of the major reasons that you chose toattend; neither is the pride we feel when asked by internationals why we choseour institution and we get to say that not only is Fudan one of the topuniversities in China, but that our School of International Relations andPublic Affairs is one of the top ranked in the world.
Opportunity:
Outside of academics, we all have our ownhobbies and passions that we like to pursue. For me, my passion has always beenis singing, ever since I was 3 years old. I have been overwhelmed by theopportunities presented to me in just my two short years here at Fudan.Overall, I have been able to give over 40 performances. I’ve done everythingfrom singing in competitions like the Foreign Song Contest hosted by SIRPA and Fudan’sannual 十大歌手 to being a judge for other competitionsincluding our first Mr. Fitness. From hosting the 2015 International Conferenceof Student Affairs to recording the Fudan Anthem and even breaking out in asing/dance flashmob on the east lawn, although admittedly, the dancing I am notso great at. My point is I have never seen a campus that lets you pursue yourpassions as openly as Fudan, where academics and 爱好exist soharmoniously. Whether your hobbies are singing, acting, piano, or parkour, thereis a place for you here. Which brings me to my last point…
Community:
When Ifirst set off from Georgia to Shanghai, I didn’t know how to feel. I knew itwas going to be the greatest adventure of my life thus far, but I didn’t knowyet what kind. Coming here alone without classmates or acquaintances uponarrival, and what felt like zero Chinese language skills, was a scary thought. Truthfullyspeaking, I’m a pretty shy person, and knew this was going to be a challengefor me to start over, make new friends; but it was an opportunity for growththat I knew I would regret if I didn’t at least try. Though I heard rumors thatmy family had started taking bets on how long I would last here beforerealizing that I was crazy and could not handle all of the stress, and emotionsthat came with my decision. Once I arrived I just assumed that I would glidefairly invisibly through my two years here, receive my degree, and head back tothe states. After all, I was just one person, one student, in a sea of over 44,000. However, that’s not how it happened at all.Shy or not, and slowly without me even noticing at first, Fudan showedpresented a phenomenon that despite such a large number of students, therecould still exist a close knit community where you are not just a number. Studentsand organizations here all made me feel like I was a part of a Fudan family.The more I felt this way, the more and more I wanted to be involved in thatfamily. In fact, I like to say I’m theunofficial member of DIA, and I am so proud to say that I am from thisuniversity.
Inregard to future plans after graduation—before coming to Fudan I knew thatafter graduation I wanted to return home and pursue a career in diplomaticwork, specifically in building even stronger relations between the U.S. andChina; however, after coming here, I fell in love with this community. Lastspring I jokingly said that if the students here don’t stop being so sweet andsupportive, I’ll never leave. And in part that has turned out to be true, becauseI have been offered a scholarship to stay here at Fudan as a language studentfor one more year as I set out to improve my Chinese language skills to help mein my future career path. So you can’t get rid of me just yet! I know thatafter this week, we will all be setting out on different paths. Some havedecided to stay and pursue higher degrees or certification programs here, somewill join the work force, and others will pursue different passions. So whilemany of us are here together today, I just want to say thank you to everyonethat I have encountered in my 2 years here, for being a part of a very largeand life changing experience for me. It has pushed me so much further than myown expectations, helped me to realize potential that I didn’t know I had, andhas shown me that love and acceptance are universal. And for that I ameternally grateful. I have said itbefore and will say it again. 因为有你复旦更美。
