I am honored to be here with you today and wish to thank President Chen and his colleagues for this opportunity.  On behalf of my university, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I congratulate you for having been admitted to Xi’an Jiaotong University City College, and I wish you the best in your studies here. 

Please allow me to offer you two pieces of advice as you begin college.

First, learning is not obtained by chance or by merely showing up in a classroom and taking a seat.  While your teachers here are wise and capable, and they can and will do much to help you learn, in truth, learning is your responsibility.  There is no shortcut to learning.  You must give yourself fully to your studies at Xi’an Jiaotong University City College in order to leave here in four years with both a degree and an education.

Secondly, your futures will require a kind of global competency―knowledge about the world and an ability to work across cultures and languages.  Those of you who develop this global competency will become increasingly important to the world―and increasingly attractive to employers.

To develop this global competency, find opportunities to engage the world―the various people of the world―and develop fluency in at least one other language.  My university’s partnership degree program with Xi’an Jiaotong University City College offers you one option for doing that. You can study here for two years, taking courses in your major and improving your English.  Then, if you are successful, you can transfer to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln―located in the heart of the United States―and complete your degree―just as 75 of your classmates are now doing.

Of course there are many paths to global competency.  Look for the ones that are right for you―and you will own the future.

Again, congratulations.  I wish you much success in your studies.