CAS President Bai Chunli
UCAS President Li Shushen
Faculty and Staff
Distinguished Guests and Friends
Class of 2018 and Families
Today we celebrate the beginning, the commencement of a new chapter in the lives of 290 pioneering students, the Inaugural UCAS Class of 2018. CAS President Bai Chunli, UCAS President Li Shushen and everyone here today share the joy of your success. Congratulations!
You have completed a journey of 16 years where the standards and directions were set by your family, teachers, professors and society. At UCAS, you studied under top professors in various disciplines. You’ve been taught to master a set of knowledge from textbooks, online resources and class lectures. You’ve been judged by grades.
On this journey, you have done well and on this day, you will receive your degrees.
As one journey ends, another begins.
You made a good decision in choosing UCAS. Now, you have more decisions to make.
In the time since you arrived at UCAS, the world has changed. The world today is less absolute, no longer black and white. It is multi-hued, complex and challenging. To succeed in such a world, passion, wits, creativity, courage and resilience are key. I hope you’ve picked up some of these qualities while at UCAS, even though they did not count towards your GPA score.
From today, the world and your life are for you to explore and to shape.
Your professors and I have no lecture notes or past exam papers to offer for your journey ahead. The answer will emerge through your own exploration and discovery.
You will make many decisions in your lives. Oftentimes, your decisions may be in little steps. If your steps have neither direction nor purpose, you may end up in a random walk – lots of movements, but never getting anywhere. If, however, these steps have an overall direction and purpose, even though there might be mis-steps along the way, you can shape a meaningful course for a fulfilling journey.
I am grateful for the opportunity to share some thoughts on this special occasion. Let me close with a bit of personal advice.
Good fortune comes from connecting with others. Wherever your journey takes you – graduate studies in China or overseas, working in an enterprise, or joining a startup company – be open to meeting people. Expand your circle of friends. People and friends can open doors. People and friends can help you see windows of opportunity. People and friends can make your journey ahead richer, and more interesting and meaningful.
Members of the Inaugural Class of 2018
Congratulations. Best wishes. Abundant success.
