Distinguished deans, faculty members, guests and all the graduates, welcome.

Today I take great pleasure in representing the Chinese graduates from the Global Business Journalism program. I’m Meng Dongxue, from the international journalism and communication class of 2012.

Three years ago, GBJ was only a concept that meant barely anything to me. I got the idea from the orientation that this is a cutting-edge program that allows us to learn from the best, but still, I wasn’t sure how I was going to be trained and what kind of path I was about to set foot on. So I asked some students who had previously taken GBJ courses, and their tips were like: “The professors are very nice, some will even invite students to lunch.” but on the other hand, “It’s very tough, you will get a lot of readings and assignments.” It’s funny how everyone seems to love and hate GBJ at the same time, and that just made this program even more attractive to me. So I said to myself, “Why not experience it on my own, just to find out if I will love it or hate it more?”

To the question that I asked three years ago, I now have the answer: I love GBJ much more than I hated the workload and all the readings and assignments that come with it. So what about you? Do you love GBJ? Did you get what you wanted to achieve as you began this journey? I hope your answer is yes, because I did. I have gained so much from GBJ.

I still remember the spring of 2013, when I and other two classmates decided to tackle the financial influence that H7N9 caused to local poultry business and food industry in our final project for multimedia business reporting. We interviewed egg vendors, meat butchers, market administrators, restaurant owners, consumers and economics professors. And we created articles, photos, videos, timelines, maps and infographics to tell the story. The website we finally built won the highest score in our class. And Professor James Breiner gave us a huge box of chocolate as a sweet reward for our hard work. The multimedia skills that I learned in this course were certainly a great asset. But besides that, I think the friendship established between me and my teammates was even more precious. I thank GBJ for bonding people of all countries together, leading us to learn and respect each other’s cultures and religions, and finally making us good friends who can support each other through difficult times.

I’m sure the story that I just told must have brought up some memories for you too: studying the supply/demand curve and the other ratios, using a flip camera to make video clips, working on a financial statement to write articles and, of course, spending hours in front of a Bloomberg terminal to explore its marvelous functions. I remember clearly the first day of my internship at the Bloomberg BusinessWeek Chinese edition. When the chief editor learned that I knew how to use a Bloomberg terminal, he started to ask me to help them find data and make charts with it, since no one in that office has been systematically trained to use a terminal. As Professor Lee Miller always said, “Knowing something other people do not know makes you an expert.” That’s what GBJ has equipped us with, and that’s what will make us stand out in our future careers. For that, I want to thank all the professors who have guided us through this beautiful journey and taught us everything we should know with patience and love (Professors James Breiner, Leslie Wayne, Margie Freaney, Lee Miller and Hang Min.) I also want to thank the staff members and all the TAs for their generous work, and thank our families and friends for their long-lasting support as we chase our dreams.

Finally, I want to thank my dearest classmates for their precious friendship and for being part of this unforgettable experience. Together we have been through thick and thin, shared happiness and sorrows. We have excelled and succeeded in this demanding academic environment through hard work, and today it is time to say goodbye to this beautiful campus, to this familiar building and to our dearest professors, as we are about to embark on a brand new adventure, leaving the past good times sealed in our memory.

May all of us seize our chances and have a bright future ahead. May our friendship continue to grow. Congratulations to all of us.

Thank you!