Valedictory Speech

Editor's Notes

1. Honorable guests, Faculty Dean, Professors, Parents and Fellow Graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon. To my fellow graduates, congratulations on your graduation!A valedictory speech is normally about “thanking people”. Well, who to thank? Can you name them? For sure, there are many to thank; the name list certainly is long but please relax, I’ll make it short and sweet; just to express heartfelt appreciation, and in no particular order. My dear Department of ISE, thank you for this opportunity allowing me to speak at this moment. I am honored to be a valedictorian, and feel humble to be standing here in front of so many accomplished graduates. Now let’s turn to those who are close to us; our families and loved ones. There is no doubt that we students have learnt so much in all sorts of areas; technology, planning logistics, enterprise systems, and management. I am very proud of being a member of this student body. However, without the support of our families and loved ones, none of us would have come this far. Please allow me to ask two questions. Have you ever had your little boy or girl rush up to you and say “daddy, mummy, come to play with me” when you were so busy with your assignment? Before you say “later”, your little child fetched a piece of homework, sat next to you, and start working like you did?? How sweet?? Have you ever had your wife or husband says to you at the moment when you open your book, “Hey honey, try not to work too late.” Then, went out and came back with a cup of coffee. Your answer may probably are NO, NEVER, but these are in fact, true stories. Perhaps, the following stories are more familiar. Your mum tiptoed into your room and urged you to go to bed at two in the morning while you were studying, or you complained when your boyfriend kept playing his online games next to you whilst you were buried in your papers. Did they bother you? Try not to think this way, they never stopped you, they did this because they were concerned about you and wanted to support you. Our accomplishments are definitely built upon their care and silence. Therefore, I would like to thank all our loved ones for providing us with their support so that we can succeed. A million thanks to all our parents, wives and husbands, brothers and sisters, and honeys!! Who else to thank? I remember when we first entered university, we were full of doubts. All of us were pulled out of our comfort zone, and pushed into a new environment, with new teachers, mentors, and peers. Some of us soon realized that things were going to be different in adapting to these new environments, while others struggled with their old values, and had problems adjusting. Whoever we were, the staff in ISE were always there for us, and gave us every support, whilst we undertook the journey of our studies. Have you ever experienced a situation, after you had prepared for a project presentation, and after all your efforts, you were expecting your professor to say “excellent” and “well done”, but then they said “I think you can do better”. How sad you felt, thinking ‘oh professor, I thought I did better than that!’ I guess you have also come across the case that when you got lost in writing an assignment, the librarian showed you the books you needed, and your mentor told you, that you were on the right track and carry on, you felt great and full of strength!! On this afternoon, we must thank all the staff in the PolyU, who have helped make this graduation ceremony possible. With their guidance, wisdom and motivation, piece by piece we learned, pace by pace we succeeded. Apart from our studies, one of the most important things we have learnt from them is "how to build relationships, and respect each other's differences". This will no doubt be valuable to us as we go forward in life. Professors, teachers, mentors, we are proud to have been your students; a million thanks to you all!! Now, who else to thank on this afternoon? In time, we progressed as individuals to form a unified community. And for this afternoon, we are here to graduate as a united whole. As we learned how much we need each other to succeed, there are peers and classmates we need to thank. Thanks to those who arranged study groups and helped us with past papers. Thanks to those who generously shared their experiences and fiercely debated with us. Thanks to those who teamed with us in completing our projects. And thanks to those who always reminded us of assignment deadlines. My dear peers and classmates, a million thanks to you all! Is that all? Am I finished? Not quite yet! Please don’t forget to thank yourself! Please, be proud of what you have devoted to pursue your goals, and be proud of what you have achieved! As we graduate, this is the start of a new part of our life, pursue what your heart believes, treasure the people around you, and lead a life to the full. Confucius said, "Wherever you go, go with all your heart"! I wish you all every success, work hard, play fair, and hold your heads high. May our paths still cross, and may we meet again in the future. Thank you for listening to me and I wish you all a pleasant and fruitful tomorrow.