GDUFS’S Graduation Ceremony: Be a Dream Chaser

Our youth was blossomed with the bauhinias; we ourselves grew into mature adults in the company of each other. Another year came the hot sunshine and the drifting Xiangsi River. On 23rd June, the first session of GDUFS’s summer graduation ceremony of north campus was unveiled in the Yunshan Hall. During the speech of President ZHONG Weihe, he expressed the wishes that the graduates could dare to dream, to chase and to fulfill their dreams. Diplomas were conferred on the graduates by ZHONG.

The 2015 GDUFS graduation ceremony was unveiled at the Yunshan Hall of the North Campus and the Great Hall of the South Campus sequentially. There were seven sessions in all according to the departments, centers or institutions. The first one was held for the Center for Foreign Culture, the Center for Art, the Institute for International Education, the School of English for International Business and the Faculty of European Languages and Culture. Those attending included GDUFS Party Secretary CHEN Jianping, Vice-Presidents LIU Jianda and LIU Haichun, and the delegations of tutors, alumni and parents of the graduates. The first graduation ceremony was hosted by LIU Jianda.

During his speech, ZHONG Weihe fondly recalled the students’ bitterness and happiness that they could only have in GDUFS. He said it was the four years in GDUFS that enriched their beautiful youth and strengthened their abilities. It was the four years here that creates the unique memories for every graduate.

President ZHONG speaking

Facing the graduates, ZHONG encouraged them to be dream chasers. He said the lives with targets were called voyages, otherwise they were vagrancies. With the examples of Yimi Team led by MIAO Zhuangzhi and Wukong Campus led by CHEN Jincheng, he explained the significance of dreams. “Youth should not be regretted. You are all awesome today!”

In addition, ZHONG encouraged the graduates to sustain their dreams, “You can only drink in the beauty of life after hard work, but not meaningless waiting. If you are caught in a dilemma by your dreams and the reality, the only thing you can do is to narrow the distance by your own work”, “What shows you’ve grown into a mature adult is the silence of tears”, and “If there are hopes in your mind, the world cannot be dark; if you don’t surrender, nothing can hurt you.”

Again, Zhong told the graduates to fulfill their dreams with steady steps, “Do not complain the status when you first step into the society. The eagle in your heart will help you fly in the sky.” He wished they had a bright future and said, “The wonderful world is worth having a look; but don’t forget to come back home!”

The alumni representative Jiaping JIN giving his speech.

Jiaping JIN, an alumni representative graduated from the Faculty of European Languages and Culture, told the graduates to be a professional person. Only a profession could make you a professor. He said they should be an interesting person, treating people genuinely and taking issues seriously. He said they should be a person that kept making progress and sustaining their dreams.

Wei PAN, a parent representative from the School of English for International Business, on behalf of all the parents, expressed gratitude and respect to GDUFS’s officials and teachers. He thanked GDUFS for its combining professional knowledge and practical activities. He said it was GDUFS that made students grow into mature adults. He hoped that wherever they were, the graduates should keep the school motto in mind.

The international student representative giving a speech

Majoring in Chinese for International Business, the international student representative from Russia described the story about her days at GDUFS, in fluent and funny but genuine Chinese, which triggered rounds and rounds of applause. She said, “Thank the teachers and friends who have given me their hands. I’ll keep the school motto in mind and keep going on.”

CHEN Jianping announced the award decisions.

During the ceremony, CHEN Jianping announced the award decisions of Excellent Graduates, Excellent Postgraduates and so on. Haichun LIU conferred the awards on student representatives.

LIU Haichun presenting the volunteer award.

Weihe ZHONG conferred diplomas on the graduates.

Weihe ZHONG conferred diploma for every graduate, among whom there were seven graduates on their birthday. On this very special day, there was birthday surprise already prepared for them: ZHONG presented birthday gifts for them. Huahui WANG was one of the lucky students who was given two chances to at the stage. He said, “I was a little bit nervous at the first time, but then I was very happy.” He also gave the advice that no matter how well you were on your studies, do not ignore your friends.

President ZHONG presenting the birthday gifts.

Many families of the graduates came to attend the ceremony from a long distance. To attend the graduation ceremony of their daughter, Graduate LVLIANG Damei’s parents set off from Daqing, Heilongjiang province. Damei’s Dad was deeply moved by the four-year life in GDUFS of his daughter. He hoped Damei could meet the standard of school motto. A graduate from Russia, Zurab, described his feeling on graduating, “I feel really happy to receive the diploma, and glad to meet my classmates and teachers here.” He has studied in GDUFS for five years and would live in China in the future.

The innovative graduation ceremony of the School of English for International Business

There were many volunteers devoting themselves to the ceremony. DENG Chongzhe, grade one from the Faculty of Asian Languages and Culture, was responsible for the security work. “I was moved by their graduation.” He said although the work was really exhausting and he wasn’t one of the graduates, he was still moved by the President’s speech and the ceremony.