We have reached the final days as a Tsinghua MBA student and our first days as alumni. Global MBA class of 2021 (21G) was recruited by Tsinghua during the height of the pandemic, at a time when the future felt bleak. And yet, here we are, all together, shoulder to shoulder, celebrating a new life milestone together.

Connecting China to the world

As alumni of the MBA program, we represent SEM as the network connecting China to the world. I was lucky enough to have known most of my classmates on a deeper level and I want to take this opportunity to share what the 21G class can offer to Tsinghua, China, and the rest of the world. We are a class of 84 students with an almost 50:50 ratio of international to Chinese students. Diversified backgrounds may be an admission criterion, but our chemistry with each other is, for sure, unique to us.

We are led by our class presidents, Johnny and Zhanchuan, who were vital in building our chemistry together. Their proactive mentalities to nurture our time together have created lifetime friendships. We may have had too much fun in the past two years, but none of us forgot our commitment to bettering ourselves. We are extremely competitive with one another, and yet we are still always cheering each other on.

What 21G offers to Tsinghua is unwavering loyalty and a promise to excel. What 21G offers to China is our unbiased, fair, open mindset to continue learning. What 21G offers to the rest of the world are shine resilience and excellence. I say this with confidence because of the zeal I see in us. So, I hope that everyone in Tsinghua will give us a chance, in the next few years, to prove our contribution to this community.

We will excel together

And to all my classmates in 21G, I want to say, Well Done! It was not an easy two years. Even as uncertainty grows, all of us have chosen to graduate today, and we have decided to take a big step forward back into the society. Your courage has inspired me to be brave with my ambitions too. Connecting with each one of you have humbly taught me one thing: I can still learn. Don’t forget to shine with our strengths. Choose to see the positives in the negatives. And even when we are apart, our emotional support for each other will be that energy pill that keeps us going.

In this new world we live in, sometimes we feel like we must take sides. We don’t. Although we come from different countries and backgrounds, Tsinghua and China are the reason we are united here today. We were never taught to take sides. We were taught to embrace diversity and change. We graduated from a global program. We must think global. Globalization rejects divisiveness. There is always enough “room” for everyone to excel. We don’t have to exclude or step on one another to reach the top. We will excel together. Often, we always feel misunderstood by the society. Judgement creates societal pressure, words carry weight, and actions have consequences. Why be judgmental when we are also afraid of being judged? Hence, let’s be kind to one another. Lift each other up. Give each other a helping hand.

And lastly, I want to say to all my friends, 好事多磨. Challenges make us stronger and closer to our goals. Let’s continue to elevate our resilience. And with that, I want to thank 21G for making this MBA experience the best decision of my life. I wish all of us the best!