Breeze in the spring brought sunshine and vibe into our campus, and brought the signal of farewell. In the days of flower blossoming, we came to graduation. In split of seconds, we were at the destination of this four-year magical trip.

On Apr.21st, 2023, the 2023 Diligentia Graduation Dinner was held. The students of the class of 2023 wore bachelor's gowns and college ribbons. Their eyes were firm, and their spirits were high. They were chatting with their friends, envisioning their future and savoring the past years together. Looking back, all the laughter and tears were vivid. Looking ahead, the road to their dreams was paved.

Teachers and students Together

Before the Ceremony Dinner began, the students welcomed all the distinguished guests attending the dinner with warm clapping. The guests were there to celebrate that moment of happiness, and to witness the achievement and glory of the graduating students. 

Prof. Gu Yang, the Mater of Diligentia College, delivered a speech, marking the beginning of the Graduation Dinner. She mentioned the obstacles in the past 3 years of the pandemic, and this was the first Graduation Dinner after the pandemic. She congratulated everyone on conquering their challenges, especially the class of 2023 who would be exploring new journeys of their life. Master Gu pointed out that in this crucial time and era, there would be huge opportunities for us to take, and many unknowns for us to explore. She hoped that we could remember our motivations and always be a Diligentian. She wished everyone could express the happiness of success and could share stories of hard work with teachers and peers when success came to them.

Prof. Zhu Shiping, the Vice President of CUHK(Shenzhen), also sent a graduation message to the class of 2023. He mentioned the importance of physical health. He shared his most memorable saying in his student life: “Don’t neglect to do small but good deeds; don’t do small yet evil deeds.” Prof. Zhu also gave kind advice to the graduating students: be humble, be nice, and be grateful. In the future, he said, I hoped everyone could have a good mindset when striving and could have an open mind when facing challenges. In the end, he mentioned that our university would always be a home for fellow students, and he welcomed every student to visit this home once in a while.

Mr. Deng Xueqin, the doner of Diligentia College, also expressed his best wishes to the Diligentia graduates. He said that in the future every Diligentian would have great potential no matter their grades in school. He shared a line in the book Story of Tencent: “This generation is like a child on the edge of a cliff. On the plain of youth, they suddenly see the light. They run fast on grasslands and in muds. They create the garden of freedom with their hands. Time is the rose, and they are the spines.” Mr. Deng believed that every generation had their light. He hoped that everyone could chase their light, run fast, and achieve success.

Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony

Since the customs was reopened between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, more communications took place between the two sister colleges: the United College of CUHK and the Diligentia College of CUHK-Shenzhen. The communications included visiting management teams and visting of students from both colleges. Under this era of corporation in the Greater Bay Area, the two colleges reached a consensus, signing the Memorandum of Understanding at the graduation ceremony. After the performance by students from Diligentia College and United College, the signing ceremony began.

Prof. Stephen H S Wong of United College and Prof. Gu Yang of Diligentia College signed the MOU, representing the friendship between the two colleges. Guests and students from CUHK and CUHK-Shenzhen witnessed this moment of history together.

After the photo was taken, Dr. CHAN Man Hin Tony, the college secretary of United College and Mr. Wang Yiwei, the secretary of Diligentia College exchanged college T-shirts. We hoped that the two colleges would uphold the Greater Bay Area spirit of win-win cooperation and would have deeper communications and cooperation and greater development in the future.

After the MOU was signed, Prof. Stephen H S Wong, the Master of United College, delivered a speech for this special moment. He expressed his dearest hope for the communication and visiting between two colleges in the future, and he hoped Hong Kong and Shenzhen could continue the communication. With the Greater Bay Area corporation development, the collaboration between the two colleges had historical meanings. We hope that the 1+1>2 effect can be achieved for the sister colleges.

The Diligentia graduates chatted with teachers, took photos with friends, and watched graduation videos together. The past experiences living together, and the past stories of laughter and tears were cherished and remembered on this night. Many students chose to capture the four-year friendship with a camera, leaving precious memories for the future.