Commencement Address for the Class of 2004, Kochi University
As we approach the 2004 graduation ceremony, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the graduating students.
I would also like to extend my congratulations to all the family members in attendance, who must be feeling particularly moved as you celebrate this joyous occasion of your children’s university graduation.
On behalf of Kochi University, I would like to express my gratitude to all the attendees.
As you graduate today, if you reflect on the time when you first entered Kochi University, you will surely realize just how much knowledge and skill you have acquired. You will also recognize that the level of expertise you have attained would have been impossible without the outstanding guidance of our faculty, staff, and senior students.
The faculty and staff would like to once again express their sincere appreciation for the efforts you have made during your time here.
On this graduation day, what we, the faculty and staff, expect of you now is that you will use the knowledge and skills you have acquired to identify the challenges involved in realizing a true civil society in the 21st century, analyze them, and continue to devise and propose solutions. We also hope that you will continue to seek feedback and maintain a spirit of striving for further progress.
When we look at the state of the world at large, and more specifically at the local communities where we live, we realize that each moment is passing not in diversity, but amid widespread confusion. I believe that at the root of this confusion lies an overly flippant attitude toward cultural differences and fundamental ways of thinking. The prevalence of superficial rhetoric, coupled with a lack of genuine consideration for others and a failure to reflect humbly on one’s own perspectives, is a major contributing factor.
I believe that if you build on a foundation of understanding others and reflecting on yourselves, and mobilize all the knowledge and skills you have acquired, you will not only be able to overcome many challenges, but also create your own 21st century with your own hands.
With that in mind, as a parting gift to all of you graduating today, I offer you these words: “Know others, then reflect on yourself.”
It could be five or ten years from today. It could be when you’ve achieved something. Or it could be when you’re weighed down by worries. I hope you will visit your alma mater, Kochi University. On the campus where you once spent your days, you are sure to find a version of your former self—the person you were just yesterday—in at least one of the students who have come after you. At that moment, new hopes and dreams will surely be born within you.Your alma mater will reflect the state of your hearts at that moment, welcoming you at times like a mother and at times like a father. And I am sure that even greater courage and hope will well up within you.
I urge you to take good care of your health, and I sincerely hope that, wherever you may be in the world, you will play an active role in shaping your own 21st century. With these words, I conclude my address as president.
Congratulations on your graduation.
March 23, 2005
Kochi University, a National University Corporation, President Yusuke Sagara