The ceremony started off with opening remarks by Chinese Co-Director Chen Yunsong. He welcomed the guests to the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and thanked the staff, faculty, and students for their hard work. He wished the students luck for the future, and reminded them that graduation is not only the ending of one chapter, but a new start for their next endeavors.
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| Elizabeth Knup congratulates the graduates during her commencement address |
Elizabeth Knup, Country Director and Representative for the Ford Foundation in China, and former American Co-Director of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center (1998-2001), gave a commencement address congratulating students on completing their studies at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. She reflected on her time in Nanjing and stressed the importance of patience and passion. She explained the cultural differences that she encountered during her time at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, and noted that it is important to meet these challenges with patience. She added that these cultural differences are prevalent in politics today, and graduates now have the tools to finesse complicated, cross-cultural situations. She emphasized that by living in a multicultural environment, students have learned patience, and it is important to remember this when embarking on the next steps in their careers. Finally, Ms. Knup stressed that it is important to live life with passion: whether it is in future studies, a new career, or otherwise, be passionate! This is the key to success, she noted. Most students at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center share a common passion for Chinese and English, she concluded, and it is important to carry this desire for learning and for improvement through to the next stage of life after graduation.
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| Zhang Zhihong emphasized the importance of communication in his address to the graduates |
Following Elizabeth Knup’s remarks, Zhang Zhihong, Chairman of the Nanchang Tongchuang Real Estate Development Co., Ltd., gave a commencement address about U.S.-China Relations and cultural conflict. He stressed the need for communication. If countries and people refuse to talk with each other, he noted, progress certainly will not be made. He urged the graduates to continue communicating and to help U.S. and Chinese cultures come together for the advancement of both countries and the world.
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| Nanjing University Chancellor Yang Zhong highlighted the Hopkins-Nanjing Center’s achievements over the past 33 years |
Yang Zhong, Nanjing University’s Senior Vice Chancellor, delivered congratulatory remarks to the graduates. He noted the great achievements at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center over the past thirty-three years and emphasized the importance of a place like the Hopkins-Nanjing Center in today’s world. He mentioned that the strong Sino-U.S. relationship has lasted nearly 40 years, so it is not unexpected that there will be some ups and downs. He noted that today, the relationship may be “down,” which means that the Hopkins-Nanjing Center is more important now than ever, and its graduates have the keys to solve these problems.
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| John Glasgow (left) and Zhang Qiurou (right), International and Chinese Student Representatives, speak to their peers in their target languages |
Zhang Qiuruo, a Chinese MAIS student, and John Glasgow, an American MAIS student, delivered remarks in their target language to their peers. These speeches were well received and enjoyed by students, as they highlighted some of the most memorable moments from their two years at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center (see full transcripts of the speeches below).
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| American Co-Director thanks Milo Manley, American Deputy Director, for his 30 years of service |
American Co-Director Adam Webb delivered closing remarks about the long-standing reputation of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. He stated that the Hopkins-Nanjing Center is a special place that brings people together, and alumni tend to stay closely linked to the Center. He hopes this cohort will also stay in touch. Co-Director Webb concluded his speech by honoring Milo Manley, Deputy American Co-Director, for his 30 years of service at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center.
Transcripts of Student Speeches
Zhang Qiuruo’s speech:
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, dear professors, fellow schoolmates, good afternoon! I’m Zhang Qiuruo, a second-year master student. It’s my great honor to deliver this speech on behalf of the Class of 2019.
In the past two years, I have committed to my fond memory much of my life in the HNC family. This year, thanks to the banwei [student committee], we reveled in leisure on the second-floor yangtai [balcony] and watched movies in the lounge every Friday night. We witnessed the memorable costumes of Professor Armstrong-Taylor and Professor Simon at the Halloween Party and spent our cozy moments with friends at the Christmas Eve Party. Led by our banwei, we made an outing to Jiming Temple and Niushou Mountain, where we were immersed in the fragrance of plum blossoms and the gentle touch of spring breeze. Thanks to the staff of the career service office, visits to Huawei and Suning broadened our horizons for possible career choices. Thanks to our field trips to Yunnan, Dandong and Heilongjiang organized with Professor Christofferson, we saw first-hand the boundary line of the vast expanse of the Chinese territory. Thanks to our co-directors and volunteers, the hamburgers and hotdogs at our barbecue parties tasted even better than Skyway’s. I will never forget the brilliant HNC band and Professor Renouard. My heart is still resounding with every song you played at every HNC party. I will never forget the excellent HNC dragon boat team. You practiced over and over again despite the baking sun, and when you won the competition, we couldn’t help but bursting into loud cheers. Most importantly, I will never forget you—HNC, and you—every member in the HNC family. We have so many shared beautiful memories, and we will hold them dear to heart.
But in the past two years, our memories are not always fun and rosy. HNC is by no means an easy place where you can muddle along. Today, every student sitting here is a hero. I can still remember the intense pressure I faced when struggling to meet the deadlines for three papers coming my way at the same time. I can still recollect the outpouring of frustration when failing at job interviews once again and crying in fear for a bleak prospect in job hunting. But today, when looking back at the past years that taste both sweet and bitter, we nevertheless also appreciate the days when we toiled at the HNC.
It is the HNC that equips us with keener understanding about the world around us and the world we are going to explore. Here, it is common to find Chinese students who will go abroad for further study and international students who will stay in China for work. It is the HNC that teaches us nothing is impossible as long as we start doing it right at the moment. It is no surprise to see an ERE major going to work in a bank and an econ major going to a tech-company. It is the HNC that nurtured our willingness to respect, our drive to appreciate and our passion to bridge different cultures. It is more than usual to see that, no matter our social backgrounds or nationalities, here we can sit together to take courses in different disciplines and discuss issues from trade war to Brexit, and from criminal law to religious practices. Most importantly, it is the HNC that offers us a platform to break down stereotypes and to understand another culture through real-life interactions rather than merely through magazine articles or TV news. Among our HNC family, even though sometimes we may interpret a Wechat sticker or an idiomatic slang in quite different ways, we never shy away from or reject altogether our communication. And that is the tenet of cultural exchange.
However, today, after we go out of this building, we are to say goodbye and put the finishing touches to our HNC story. We will begin our next chapter. Maybe in the future--actually I am pretty sure of this—we will miss all the memories that we have about this place, all the people we met, and all the beautiful days we spent. But no matter how unforgettable it is, the HNC will just be a single page in our long life story. That is why this ceremony is called a “commencement.” It is not an ending, but the beginning of a new page of life. It is not just a time to say goodbye, but a time to say hello to our new life.
Thank you, my dear professors and schoolmates! Thank you, HNC! My best wishes for all of you! I wish you all have a good memory to cherish, and a good future to chase.
John Glasgow’s speech:
各位教授们、同学们、嘉宾们，大家下午好！我是中美中心毕业生苏信容。这个学期的班委邀请我来代表大家做毕业典礼演讲，讲一讲这两年来的一些记忆、经历和感情。
在开始解释讲话的主题之前，我首先需要承认一个发现：做个这演讲比我预料得难得多。原来，我以为回忆两年在南京的经历并且深思中美中心的独特方面可能特别好玩还会很有趣，但是很快就发现我根本不知道怎么开始完满总结我们在中美中心的时刻。到底我怎么知道我同学的最真实的想法呢？我自己不太知道对世界的看法，我代表各位同学和老师的看法可能是不可能的。实际上，我更多地思考了中美中心的性质和特色，慢慢了解我对你们想讨论什么体现中美中心经历的主题：“家”，home. 由此，这次毕业典礼演讲会概括讨论找到，保持并且弘扬家的重要性。
虽然“家”这个主题好像比较简单，但我们如何找到或者创造“家”还是一个很复杂的事情。我们能说“家“就是一个地方或者空间。可是众所周知“家”也是那些包围你生活的人。具体来说，“家”是一个可能结合你生活要求、志愿以及希望的地方、人、时间和空间。或者说，真的“家”能够提供那些素质能够体现你的状态并且导致满足感和目的感。“家”之所以非常罕见而且非常美妙是因为只有在特别的条件下，我们才能实现这些情感。不幸的是，由于我们在课上学到的问题，在周日早上谈论的事务而且熬夜深思的情况，一辈子很少有机会创造“家”。
按此情况，找到或者创造某个“家”显得很不现实。可是每天到处都有人宣称一个地方还有一群人为“家”。对我来说，这个现象解释“家”的最基本的方面：“家”为你怎么它的、home is what you make it。我认为这个概念就指导了我两年的南京经历，还有我的同学们和老师们也可能理解这个道理。我们通常没有能力选择自己的情况。我小时候，我爸是一个士兵，所以我的家庭常常没有能力影响我们去哪儿。尽管我们四口人缺乏权力确定自己的情况，我们不断利用任何条件创造“家”并且寻找生活中的目的及满足感。
我的个人经历也好，可是我奇怪的故事跟你们、跟中美中心和全球有什么关系呢？在我看来，我们中美中心培养跨文化交流而且理解中美关系的任务也能算是怎么找到、创造并且改善“家”。学习如何跟全球不同的人们合作真是一个艰难的事情，怎么使整个国家这样经营更加难。其实，上个星期中国日报有一篇文章提出了一个问题“我们能不能得到有效的中美合作和对话“？我觉得答案是肯定的。这是因为，无论我们的世界如何动荡，中美中心这种的社群证明人们还能聚合创造”家“。不管情况怎么样，我们依旧创造“家”，然后由此“家”继续发现我们是什么样的人并且什么事务表现我们生活中的目的。虽然误解、看法差异和对立的意识形态还存在，由中心的周五晚上聚会、节日派对、学习旅行等等创造“家”的活动，我们的社群不断致力于作为拨云见日的例子。我不能说我们在南京的时间是最理想的，可我们还是见缝就钻。我们依旧致力于保持并弘扬中美中心的社群。就是说，我们创造了“家”。
虽然我们需要离开这个合作创造的社群非常不舍，但是在我们闯世界之前，我想鼓励你们记住这个事实：我们在南京的经历诉说自己的意志去创造“家”以便克服困境、得到满足感及生活的目的。
在此，我想感谢我的同学们、老师们、中心行政人员、朋友们和家人聆听，还有永远激励你们别忘尝试创造“家”。
