The 2016 undergraduate commencement of the University of Michigan- Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (UM-SJTU JI) was held at SJTU on August 12, officiated by Min Xu, Vice President of SJTU, Dean Peisen Huang and all JI associated deans. The special guest was Qun Mi, known as “the pioneer of Google China.” The milestone of the 200 plus graduates of JI’s Class of 2016 was witnessed by parents, faculty and staff.
Dean Huang congratulated the graduates on their big day and proposed a standing ovation to all the parents for their selfless sacrifice and loving support over the past four years. He thanked the graduates for leaving beautiful memories at JI. He was proud of their accomplishments and had high expectation of them as innovative future global leaders.
In his commencement speech, Mr. Qun Mi shared his experiences from a student to a successful entrepreneur. He has held senior positions at Intel, Google and other multinational companies, and has successfully invested in Baidu, “Public Reviews,” “Go to the Market” and other Internet companies. He gave the graduates a last lesson at JI, encouraging them to remain thirsty for knowledge, keep learning and make lifelong learning a life style. Based on his experience, he told the graduates to step out of their comfort zone and take risks. He used Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Bloom as examples of daring to think and daring to dream. Finally he hoped the graduates to be thankful because gratitude leads to pleasant surprises.
Mr. Jinfa Zhang, a parent representative recalled the growth of his daughter, Yuening Zhang, from being an ignorant freshman to becoming the confident graduate about to pursue a doctoral degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On such a special day, he expressed heartfelt gratitude on behalf of all the parents. To all the graduates, he pleaded, “Whether at home or abroad, I hope you can continue to use your wisdom, adhere to honesty, explore innovation and achieve more accomplishment. “
Peng Yuan, the valedictorian of Class of 2016, reminisced about his four years of chasing dreams at JI. He expressed deep gratitude to SJTU and JI where he found his passion, built confidence and learned to be strong. He recalled the encouragement of Professor Robert Parker at the freshmen convocation four years before: “I envy you because you are young and full of endless possibilities, so find your passion and enjoy your life now.”
To show their appreciation, the Class of 2016 presented a gift to the Joint Institute – a collage of all graduates’ class photos in the shape of JI’s tenth anniversary logo, which was accepted wholeheartedly by Dean Huang and Associate Dean Xinwan Li.
Vice President Xu congratulated the graduates on behalf of SJTU. She gave them three pieces of advice: “First: remember the SJTU motto of ‘Gratitude and Responsibility’ and be grateful to parents, to JI and to everyone who has helped you in your life; second: be a dreamer, follow your dream and fulfill yourself; third: associate your dream closely with China’s development and strive to realize the China dream.”
Finally, witnessed by parents, faculty and staff, every graduate received his/her hard earned SJTU diploma and JI learning certificate from the officials, ready to embark on the next stage of their life journeys.
