Good morning to you all. I am Zhang Yaqi, a master’s graduate from the Department of Biology. I am honored to witness this special day with you and present the graduation speech as a student representative.

Two years of graduate studies flew by fast, and we were about to graduate. The weather today is as hot as our passion for knowledge and love for alma maters – SUSTech and Harbin Institute of Technology. We genuinely appreciate the joint education program, which has provided us with top educational resources and thus broadened our horizons. From today on, we will embark on a new chapter of our life with best wishes from beloved faculty members and blessings from our peers.

We’ve spent two years of our splendid youth in this beautiful campus and shared many unforgettable memories at Innovation Park, Wisdom Valley, Lychee Hills, Lynn Library, the Green Pine Sports Ground, and the 24-hour research building. Every tree, every bird, and every building will be engraved in our minds forever. The friends we made here went through highs and lows with us, and our friendship deepened day by day through the countless all-nighters we pulled in the labs. I believe graduation isn’t the end of the fellowship, but instead, a new beginning.

Before coming to SUSTech, I never thought about what I wanted for my future and chose to fall in line. But  the faculty members here could really inspire you to plan your own destiny. I am grateful that my advisor didn’t just focus on academics, but also genuinely cared about my life plan. On top of that, the SUSTech graduate school held job-hunting training sessions and organized top enterprises’ open days. Through these experiences, I was able to connect with successful professionals from all walks of life, who analyzed our resumes from their respective perspectives. Thanks to the opportunities SUSTech provided, I was able to get multiple offers from Fortune 500 companies during both the spring and fall recruitment periods.

I am also honored to have studied with a group of outstanding schoolmates. Luo Ling, from the Department of Biology, was the first to analyze the key compounds’ high-resolution 3D structure during neurite triggering. Li Dongfang from the Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering attained extraordinary achievement in the theoretical and numerical simulation of LaGrangian statistical behavior in 2D turbulence. Ren Ke, a member of the Department of Mechanical and Energy, participated in national key projects and published several papers in top international journals within only two years.

My well-rounded classmates also excel in other fields. Materials Science student Hong Ying is not only an author of a series of international journal articles but also an excellent writer of detective fiction. Hong Ying’s novel “Dream of the Babel Tower” was nominated in the finalist of the 5th Shimada Shoji novels, and his short story “The Rise of An Underdog Writer of Detective Fiction” was shortlisted for the 3rd Chinese Reasoning Grand Prix.  Finance Department student Zhen Jiadi attended over 50 interviews and finally made a perfect transition from an engineering undergraduate to a finance professional. Ji Tingyi, a student of the Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, obtained two patents and won an Outstanding Paper Award of the 2018 International Information Display Association. What’s more, she finished second in the women’s team of the SUSTech’s Second Swimming Championship. Using these examples, I think the university has given us many opportunities to highlight our multifaceted talents.

I also want to say thank you to all the teachers, classmates and family who helped me. In traditional Chinese culture, mentorship, friendship, and kinship are the three most important relationships. The knowledge and morals taught by professors and teachers are indispensable to each step of our progress. Our friends offered us their helping hand and encouragement in times of need, which helps us overcome our obstacles, one after another. The power of our parents’ love motivates us to work hard and pursue our dreams, no matter how many miles away they are from us.

Even though we are part of the universe, a new sun is rising in this land. Despite the philosophical history of our nation, the opportunities are vast and unpredictable going forward. With all this uncertainty, we remain ambitious and high-spirited. In the past, we developed our strength and accumulated our knowledge; now we are honorable, and we are ready. Our emerging China is magnificent and ever-lasting; we, the young people, are looking at our promising future with a global perspective. With such a dream, we will certainly help bring the motherland’s future to an ascending level.

Thank you very much!