Xinya College holds Graduation Ceremony

On the evening of June 22, the 2021 Graduation Ceremony of Xinya College of Tsinghua University was held in the reception hall of the Central Main Building. More than 100 people attended the ceremony on site, including heads of the Academic Affairs Office and other departments, members of the administrative council of Xinya College, members of the teaching committee, teachers andform teachers, as well as the 2021 graduates and some 2020 graduates. In addition, teachers, students and parents participated in the ceremony online. Chen Fangqi, a student enrolled in 2018, served as the host.

The ceremony started off with a lively and heart-warming video, giving the students a chance to look back at their undergraduate years in Xinya College and Tsinghua University. After that, Yu Ting, a Creative Design and Intelligent Engineering (CDIE) student enrolled in 2016 and Xiong Weiqing, a student of the Politics, Economics and Philosophy program enrolled in 2017, represented the graduates to give speeches.

Yu Ting used the four characters making up "Xin Ya Shu Yuan (Xinya College)" to explain the meaning of education. He said that "Xin" stands for a new vision and innovative thinking established by the interdisciplinary education that combines general and specialized courses. "Ya" refers to the elegance of all-embracing and integrated education. He said, "I want to thank Xinya for teaching us that reading(shu) is a lifestyle that will never go out of style". He then finished up by saying that "Yuan" represents the warmest form of presentation exclusive to the Xinya community.

Xiong Weiqing recalled the lessons, books, confusion and growth that the whole grade had experienced together. "What kind of life is worth living? Xinya general education has led us to ask ourselves this question. It has become ingrained in our minds and become a part of our studies and daily lives, and we have kept trying to give ourselves or others an answer based on what we are going through at that time." She said that the more fickle society is, the more important it is to settle down and face the challenges ahead.

Next, Li Mu, the teacher representative of Xinya general education courses, gave his speech. In his usual friendly and sincere fashion, Li expressed his congratulations and best wishes to the graduates. He also led us to look back at the prints made by the 2021 graduates in the class of Art Inspiring in their freshman year, reliving the happiness and achievements from that time.

Gao Jin, who accompanied the 2020 and 2021 graduates through the entire undergraduate stage, gave a speech as the representative of theform teachers. She encouraged the students to not only care about themselves and their families, but also of Xinya College, Tsinghua University, China, the whole world, and everything beyond that in their future work and studies. She told the students that while striving forward, they should also "make concrete and practical efforts to solve specific problems."

Ma Sai, representative of the CDIE teachers, used the word "pioneering" to sum up the journey CDIE has gone through in the past five years. After five years of exploration, CDIE has laid a solid foundation for further development. Ma expressed his gratitude to the harmonious, happy and cohesive CDIE teaching team for their unremitting efforts in talent training. He also thanked the CDIE students for their trust and perseverance over the past five years and expressed how the students' growth and achievements made teachers feel gratified.

Afterwards,Dean Gan Yang of Xinya College gave a speech. Gan first mentionedWalden andThe Story of Art that the students had received as gifts from the principal when they enrolled. "Today, as my last lesson to you, I would like to spend ten minutes telling you how to readWalden." In the form of text interpretation, he encouraged students not to transgress the moral rules and to have goodwill and hope for the world, even when encountering frustration. Finally, he gave the students a parting message: Good-hearted people are blessed with life-long peace.

Next, Zhao Xiaoli, DeputyDean of Xinya College, announced the awardee list of the General Education Certificate of Xinya College and the awardee list of the Academic Award and Contribution Award of Xinya College. The two awards were set up in 2020. The Contribution Award aims to recognize students, instructors and teachers who have made outstanding contributions to the development of the teacher-student community of Xinya College. The Academic Award is awarded to students for their achievements in exploration and innovation in the academic field. According to relevant evaluation regulations and approved by Xinya College, the Contribution Awards of teachers and counselors’ categories were awarded toform teachers Gao Jin and Ding Li, and counselors Wu Jiayang and Ding Yue. The Contribution Awards of the students category were awarded to 10 graduates enrolled in 2016 under a five-year education system, and 16 graduates enrolled in 2017. The Academic Awards were awarded to three 2021 graduates, Yu Tianyu (CDIE), Pan Yu’ang (Politics, Economics and Philosophy), and Wang Xinyue (Psychology).

We wish all the graduates future success building on the achievements made during their undergraduate years.