欢迎来到南科大，欢迎来到深圳，for our international students, welcome to China!

在深圳，有这么一种说法：来了就是深圳人。

我叫郝马克，你们都知道我是外国人，但我也是深圳人。我在海洋系工作，那是南科大最酷的系。

In ocean science, our students sail, scuba dive, and kayak. They have touched the Greenland Ice Sheet, they have ventured to Antarctica, and we have even sent an undergraduate to the bottom of the ocean. And brought them back. Alive!

Today I want to give you one message: without challenges there is no growth. 没有挑战，就没有成长。

Many of you have completed challenges to get here. But there will be more challenges to come. Your next challenge is hard. You must be fast. It is the challenge of optional course selection. Listen to your peers, take their advice. Look for 3 strong signs that a course is really excellent, for example: 1 students wrote great reviews, 2 students enjoyed the lively teaching style, or 3 the course was taught by Prof Mark Hopwood.

So why are we all here? Why did we choose science, why do we choose challenges, why do we need challenges?

When I finished high school, I applied to college to study business and law, because I thought it was easy money. When I arrived, I was interviewed by the head of chemistry, and 10 minutes later my application to study chemistry, math and physics was accepted. When I applied to university, I applied to do business because it was easy money. At a welcome dinner, I sat opposite the head of chemistry; 3 years later I was a chemistry graduate. After graduation, I got an offer from a bank in London- easy money. But somehow I ended up doing a PhD in ocean science.

Why am I, like you, drawn to the difficult challenges, the hard things?

Because without challenges there is no growth. When you have climbed a tall mountain, it is natural to take a break and enjoy the view. But there is no further growth until you find a new mountain. Remember. 没有挑战，就没有成长。

I heard a great quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger, 施瓦辛格, the competitor, actor, and politician. He said something that really explains what success actually means. "When winners get knocked down, they get back up again. When they get knocked back down, they get back up again. And again. A winner always gets back up. A loser gets knocked down and stays down." Winners have the inner resilience, the inner strength, the inner motivation to get up again. Winners need challenges.

Modern China, modern Shenzhen, our city, was not built by people who had an easy time; the challenges were huge, the difficulties were immense. But every time there was a difficulty, every time they got knocked down, they got back up again.

So welcome to SUSTech. I hope you find many hard, difficult mountains to climb while you are here, and that you continue to push yourself to find bigger mountains when you leave. Maybe next year I will see some of you in ocean science. And for those of you who are not that cool, no worries; some other subjects are probably interesting too.