Good morning board of directors if Alcanta education, David Cao, Bob and Chris, government officials, members of AIC Parents Association, parents, guests and the graduating class of 2018.
I am very honored to be here today, thank you so much for inviting me. Being one of the pioneer students of AIC, I feel very blessed that I had the chance to spend one of the most wonderful period of time here. Although there were countless assignments, presentations, essays, and exams that made me think that I would never survive through IB. But I have to say when I got in to university, I feel so grateful that I still remember everything what IB though me, and I think you guys should be proud of yourself that you are graduating from AIC, because what you learnt here will make you stand out from all the other people. I believe you already heard these words a million times. To be a inquirer, a thinker, a risk-taker, a communicator, to be a knowledgeable, principled, open-minded, caring, reflective, and balanced person. I want you to always keep that in mind, because that’s what make you different from other people.
3 years ago, I was just like you guys, freshly graduated, looking forward to go to university, ready to start a new phase of my life, while feeling a little scared and lost. It’s absolutely fine that if you feel the same, because you are stepping out of your comfort zone, that also means no one’s going to chase you for your homework, you have to take initiative to do everything from now on.
I went to LASALLE College of the Arts to study fashion, it’s the top 3 fashion school in Aisa, but they don’t really teach you much there, because fashion is a very practical and subjective subject. In order to get an outstanding in every project is very difficult, you have to think beyond what the lecturers say in class, and be creative, show them something that they have never seen before.The only way to make it happed is to take initiative to go to museums, galleries, to do research, go on instagram to see what’s new out there. Trust me, the feeling of seeing surprised faces from your lecturer is so good.
I am never a smart person, but my dad told me that you don’t have to be smart to be the best, you just need to work the hardest, and don’t let go of any opportunities. When I graduated from college, I traveled for 3 month, because I wanted to see the world, to visit my friend, and to enjoy life. But let’s be a little more honest here, it’s also because I had nothing to do. So after traveling, my dad offered me a job to be his driver, I said okay, because I know I can meet some of his friend that maybe can offer me different jobs. I was right about that, one time I was driving my dad to a exhibition, and I was start chatting with one of his friend’s wife, she said “You study fashion?” I said “yes”, she said “I have a friend working in a modeling agency, that’s related to fashion, maybe you can get a job there.” So there opportunity came, I start working in my dad’s friend’s wife’s friend’s company. I got my first job. I worked there for 3 months with the mindset of being the most hard woking person in the office, and after 3 months, my boss offered me a new position, to be the manager and creative director of the Media PR department, and I started to do all kinds of social media platforms, and got almost 3-million followers in one of the platforms. A lot of my friend think I just got lucky, I think maybe I had a little luck, but hard woking is the key.
AIC is such a magical place that has changed my life, I have hated it, because of the insane workload I had for the younger me. I have loved it, because it gave me not only knowledge, but also friend from all over the world, and most importantly, the most precious memory of my high school life.
6 years ago, when there were only 12 students, I still remember one thing that Dr. Wei said, “cherish the time when you are here, because it will be the best time of your life”, I think that’s so true. So for the students who are not graduating, cherish the time when you are here, because it will be the best time of your life, and for the graduates, congratulations, you have the future in your hands, go get it with your hard work.
Thank you.