2025 Commencement Ceremony | Speech by JD/JM Student SHI Tong

Distinguished professors and faculty, cherished families and friends, and my fellow graduates:

尊敬的教授们、老师们，亲爱的家人们、朋友们，以及我的毕业生同学们：

Good morning! Thank you all for being here to celebrate this important moment with us.

早上好！感谢大家的到来，与我们一同庆祝这一重要的时刻。

It’s a great honor for me to speak as one of the student representatives.

我非常荣幸能作为学生代表发言。

I still remember arriving here four years ago as an English major with zero background in law. The night before orientation, I stayed up reading cases until 1 a.m.. As someone who has always been an extrovert on the MBTI scale, the first month in STL, when I felt life was strongly out of control, was the only time so far that I turned into an introvert.

还记得四年前，我作为一个零法律基础的英专生来到这里，orientation的前一天晚上，案例读到凌晨一点才读完。作为一个MBTI一直具有典型的外向型属性的人，至今为止，我唯一变成内向型的一个月就是入学STL的第一个月，因为我当时感觉自己的生活完全失控了。

I still remember that at our opening ceremony, our slogan was: “Suffer, Survive, and Succeed.” At that time, we were all in the “suffer” phase—and so was I. I often found myself in that classic scenario where I understood every individual word, but had no idea what the paragraph meant.

还记得开学典礼中，我们的方阵口号是“suffer, survive, and succeed”。当时，大家还都处于“suffer”的煎熬阶段中，我也一样。我经常出现每个单词都认识，但放在一起连成一段话就看不懂的经典场景。

Life is also a process of gradual construction, occasional breaking, and resilient rebuilding that allows us to realign with who we once were.

人生也是慢慢构建、偶尔破碎、又可以靠韧性重组再契合的过程。

If I were to use one word to sum up everything STL has given me, it would be a stronger and more grounded confidence.

如果用一个词来概括STL所带给我的一切，我想应该是更加坚稳的自信。

Beyond the development of professional legal skills, STL has shown us another possibility of education. Law itself is inherently uncertain—statutes evolve, and outdated values are constantly challenged by the progression of time. The ability to shift perspectives between law and fact, the mastery of logical and dialectical thinking—these are the tools of a legal professional to confront uncertainty. Furthermore, the foundation for legal professionals to promote the progress of the rule of law in society, is the values implemented through openness and inclusiveness.

除了法律专业能力的培养之外，STL带来了教育的另一种可能。法学本身就是具有不确定性的，法条会不断更新、陈旧的价值观会随着时代推进被挑战质疑。眼光在法律与事实之间反复流转、熟练的逻辑与辨证思维是法律人应对不确定性的装备，而开放与包容所落实出的价值观是法律人推动社会法治进步的根基。

STL not only equipped us with the tools, but also reinforced the values that ground us—and it was this shared foundation of values that first brought us together.

STL不仅给了我们装备，还夯实了我们作为根基的价值观，也正是这些价值观的契合，才让我们最初相聚在了一起。

Here, our professors believed in us as the best students in China. There was no arrogance or authoritarianism, but only equality, openness, and inclusiveness. In academic discussions, we all understood that there is no single right answer, yet we shared a common intuition for what is “right” and “appropriate”. Deep resonance between our minds and hearts often occurred.

在这里，教授们相信我们是中国最好的学生，没有傲慢与权威，只有平等、开放与包容。在学术交流中，我们都明白没有唯一的正确答案，但我们都share相同的对于“正确”与“妥当”的直觉，思维与心灵的深度共振常常发生。

All of these gave us the courage to choose paths that may be less traveled, but are true to ourselves. Amid all the external noise, it gave us the clarity and strength to stay true to our inner voice.

所有的这些，都驱使我们敢于选择少数的但适合自己的“不悔”道路，在众多外在嘈杂的声音萦绕时，给自己内心的清醒与执着增添了一份坚定的底气。

We must also admit that life does require a bit of luck. In an era where the broader environment is uncertain and available resources have become scarce, we have all experienced cycles of hope and disappointment, wavering countless times between holding on and giving up.

同时，我们不得不承认，人生是需要运气的。在大环境欠佳、可分配资源变得稀缺的年代，我们都经历了希望与失望的交替，无数次在坚持与放弃之间徘徊。

It is important to remember not to let temporary misfortune blur our self-worth. Remember to thank ourselves for already having been “survived” countless times after “suffering”, and remember that many moments of “surviving”, even without yet “succeeding,” are already an incredible achievement. Remember to tell ourselves “good good good.”

重要的是，不要让运气的暂时缺席模糊了我们对自己的肯定。要记得谢谢那个已经无数次在“suffer”后“survive”了的自己，也要记得，很多尚未“succeed”的“survive”本身，就已经是了不起的成就。记得和自己说“good good good”。

Finally, thank you to our parents and families. Your unwavering support has allowed us to look firmly into the distance. Thank you to our friends. Your companionship—regardless of geography or time—has made the journey shine with light.

最后，谢谢我们的父母和家人们，是后盾一直坚稳牢靠，才使得我们能够更加坚定地望向远方；谢谢我们的朋友们，是陪伴不分地域和时差，才使得我们在并肩前行的路上，眼里有光。

Be anyone we want to be, by always staying true to ourselves.

成为任何人，但始终做我们自己。

May we always carry the confidence to hold our heads high, the courage to start anew, and the luck to be lifted when we need it most.

祝我们永远有昂首挺胸的自信和底气，也永远有重新出发的勇气和获得助推力的好运气。

Thank you to our School of Transnational Law, a place filled with infinite love.

谢谢国际法学院，一个充满无限爱的地方。

Congratulations to us, Class of 2025!

祝2025届的我们，毕业快乐！

Thank you.

谢谢。