Good afternoon, faculty, distinguished guests, families, and fellow graduates,
I'm Han Yutong from the Finance Programme. It's my great honour today to stand here and deliver this speech on behalf of the graduating Class of 2024.
Looking back on the four years in UIC, I am convinced that each of our graduates has achieved significant growth. Allow me to illustrate this with my own journey. Four years ago, my heart always beat fast when I spoke in classes, and as a result, oftentimes, I just remained silent. I didn't think my English was fluent and my words mattered. However, today, I can stand here and express my ideas confidently. Four years ago, my thinking was confined to a single, limited perspective. Four years later, I am able to think flexibly and critically from multiple perspectives. Such wonderful growth also happened in many other parts of me, and I believe my fellow graduates here all share similar feelings that we all emerge from our own cocoons into butterflies through these continuous breakthroughs.
Behind the growth, we have to thank some important supporters, who have made our growth possible. Firstly, we owe a debt of gratitude to ourselves. Our days and nights in the library are best answered when we get our desired postgraduate offers, job opportunities, or other promising options for the future. We also need to thank our teachers, who listened to our voices carefully, answered our questions patiently, and gave important guidance in our lives. Moreover, our friends and families have stood steadfastly by our side, offering unwavering emotional support. Most importantly, we should thank UIC. It is UIC's liberal arts education that empowered us to grow into a proud version of us with both professional knowledge and comprehensive abilities, with a solid national anchoring and international orientation.
Now it's time to set sail again with great memories and experiences at UIC. As graduates from UIC and contemporary youth, we should leverage our combination of national anchoring and international orientation to become a strength in the world. Our youthful energy and zeal can be further energised as we discover the world around us and it can lead us to come up with new ideas and creativity. I'd like to share with you a favourite saying of mine: "To shine, not be illuminated". Tomorrow is in our hands! Our future has no walls or no borders. May we all carry the energy gained from UIC into the brightest future.
Thank you! Happy graduation!
