Graduates advised to have faith and peace of mind when leaving school

College graduates are advised to have faith and peace of mind as they are to enter society and encounter various opportunities and challenges.

Wang Shuguo, president of Xi'an Jiaotong University headquartered in Xi’an, Shaanxi province in Northwest China, emphasized three sentences to graduating students in his speech at the school’s graduation ceremony held on Saturday: to have faith, to have a common heart, and to have some foresight and not have to make belated efforts to cope with a situation that could have been foreseen.

Citing the example of Marie Curie, Wang told the students that people should have faith, pursue and persevere in their career.

"We should persevere in pursuit of our careers so we do our best to realize the value of life," the president said.

And he hoped that the graduates would integrate that innocence and kindness into their life and career, not to be confused by fame or fortune, not to be self-righteous, not to think that only they are the best in the world, and not to be conceited after making a little achievement.

"Anyone who is engaged in a great cause is in awe of his colleagues, society and the future, and always keeps an ordinary heart," Wang said.

At the end of his speech, Wang told the graduates that there would be many difficulties and setbacks along the way in the future.

"We must have some foresight and be ready for future challenges. Opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared and make their minds more mature. Only in this way will you be free of danger when you face difficulties. This is a quality that a successful person must refine," Wang said.

According to reports, 3,531 undergraduates graduated from Xi'an Jiaotong University in 2019. The number of them choosing to continue their postgraduate studies is 2,441, with 1,952 in China and 489 overseas.

Those choosing to study overseas are mainly distributed in 19 countries and regions, such as the United States, Britain, Singapore, Australia and Japan. Among them, 284 people (58.08 percent) will attend well-known universities (top 100 in QS), including Stanford University, Imperial College of Technology, London University College, and Nanyang University of Technology.