Megan Lynn Thomas

2013 GBJ Graduates, awarded for the Excellent Student Thesis at school level during the academic year of 2011-2013

Dean Professors and Students, honorable school administrators and faculty members, distinguished parents, friends, guests, fellow graduates, it is my honor to stand before you today for the Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication graduation.

Two years ago, I was given the privilege of giving a speech at the school’s opening ceremony. I never expected to give that speech, let alone another one at graduation. Seven years ago, the dream of going to China was planted in my mind, but I was unsure if it would ever come to fruition. Three years ago, I came to China for the first time and saw Tsinghua, but I thought I would probably never set foot on its campus again. Yet here I am before you today, a head full of fresh knowledge, dozens of new foreign andChinese friends, about to receive my graduate diploma. This goes to show that for all the hypothesizing and planning that we do, the future can still surprise us.

Our futures are ones of unlimited possibility.If I were to impart one thing to you today, it is this: make plans, work hard to create opportunity, but allow the future to surprise you. Most importantly, have the openness to embrace those surprises when they happen.

China also faces a future full of beautiful possibility. From spaceship launches to the ascension of a new president,the acquiring U.S. pork companies to the spurring upward economic mobility for thousands of people, China has changed substantially even in the short time we have been here.

For us and for China, embracing uncertainty and surprise will not always be easy. There will be miscommunications and mistakes. We will get discouraged, face trials and difficulties, for nothing worth doing come easily. There will be times when we wish to cling to what is certain and definite in the face of the unknown.

But we will rise beyond that because we have been given the gift of knowledge. Our professors at Tsinghua have taught us, as Confucius advised, to think while learning and to use our learning while thinking. They have taught us to question what seems obvious, to be open to different ways of thinking and doing things, to make sure the numbers add up.

We have also learned from each other. Confucius once said 三人行必有我师, which means if three walk together, one can be my teacher. All my classmates here have helped me learn more than I ever could have in textbooks alone and I am honored to call them my friends. For what I have learned from my professors and my classmates, I will always be grateful.

When I gave the speech two years ago, I quoted Tsinghua’s motto actions speak louder than words and some people laughed at the seeming contradiction of someone giving a speech encouraging action over words. But for us, our actions are our words. We believe that information and knowledge is power and that life should be a state of perpetual education. We share the information we gather with the poorest farmers to the richest world leaders through our words. With our words, we shape the first drafts of history, make markets rise or fall, calm or inflame the relations between countries, open or close people’s minds to the world around them. The great power and responsibility we have cannot be understated. As we face our own ambiguous futures with the courage provided to us with our Tsinghua knowledge, we can use our words to help others navigate this quickly changing world and make them see the future not as one of fear and uncertainty, but one of possibility and promise.

Today, we sit here on the precipice of a new chapter of our livesas China experiences the dawning of a bright new era for its country,twelve students from ten countries united in our love of China and our desire to make the world a better place with our words regardless where weend up on the globe. The support of our friends, professors and parents has led us to where we are today. I’d like to thank my own parents for their support as well as my first business journalism professor Andrew Leckey and my advisor Professor Shi Anbin, whom without I wouldn’t be here.

The future belongs to those who can welcome the new, the foreign, the unexpected with open arms.With the wisdom and open minds we’ve gained from Tsinghua, the future will belong to us. Congratulations, Tsinghua Global Business Journalism Graduate Class of 2013!