2009年年初，在我忙着毕业论文期间，在facebook上，几个来自福建福州的大学生老乡发起老乡聚会。在我离开学校之前，先后聚会了两次，认识了几个老乡。后来在毕业典礼之后，一些老乡在家乡餐馆吃饭时，George Dong说，在我们初次聚会，打麻将的时候，他才开始构思参加毕业演讲的竞选。他花了不少功夫去准备，最后被校方选为2009届毕业生的学生演讲者，这在海外众多留学生中是罕见的。在能够容纳11万人的密歇根大学体育场举行的毕业典礼上，他的演讲感染了全场4万多参加毕业典礼的毕业生、家长和朋友。 后来，他家乡的《福州晚报》要采访他。他写了些英文内容，因为跟他认识了，让我先看看，为此我才对他有更多的了解。也把他的信件有关内容贴后面，感兴趣的可以读一读他当时是怎么准备这个演讲的一些不为人所知的过程。 把他的情况贴在这里，如果你也是海外留学生在读大学，希望能够给你点鼓励。不是你不能，而是：yes we can! 美国华文报纸《侨报》的报道： http://www.usqiaobao.com:81/qiaobao/page/1/2009-05-29/A07/58041243582199701.pdf watch the speech video . 链接： http://www.ns.umich.edu/podcast/video.php?id=832 Read the speech transcript Good morning. First let me express my deepest gratitude for my unusual presence at this podium today. I came to Michigan from Fuzhou, China, about 7 thousand miles away. When I first came, I barely spoke English. In fact, I was so confused that I thought the Fishbowl was an aquarium, the Big House was a prison, and that North Face jackets and UGG boots were the unofficial school uniforms. As it turns out, I was only right about the last one. Standing here today, I am extremely proud of Michigans rich tradition, I am grateful for my parents unconditional love and profound sacrifice that made this moment even possible, and I am aware of the diverse culture and heritage of all 50 states and 120 countries that are represented in the audience today. Although our hometowns may be thousands of miles apart, it is the same Michigan experience that connects us all. It is the same Michigan Time that always saved us ten minutes of more sleep. It is the winged football helmets and the Hot Dog Man that we worshipped. We have learned to speak different languages, learned to appreciate and celebrate different cultures, and learned to use our knowledge, talent and passion to engage our communities. It is the Michigan experience that has taught us to dream, that has taught us that yes we can and yes we will change the world one day. It was October 14th, 1960, when President John F. Kennedy addressed students on the steps of our Michigan Union and proposed the establishment of the Peace Corps. Almost five decades later, Michigan men and women have continued to answer his call. For example, this past summer, the Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates ( GIEU ) started a maternal mortality prevention program in Ghana. A student group called the Youth Hope Organization traveled to Anhui, China, to work with the AIDS Orphan Salvation Association. I know many of you will work to alleviate poverty in Asia, to provide humanitarian aid in Africa, and to transform education and infrastructure in Latin America. As for me, a Chinese student who barely spoke English years ago, I will be teaching English in the inner city of Chicago after graduation. With the education and experience that this University has given us, we have learned that we share the same desire for peace and prosperity, the same quest for justice and equality, and the same love for openness and opportunity. This past November, students of every color and every nationality united on the Michigan Diag to celebrate the historical election of the first African-American president, Barack Obama. That chilly night on the Diag, I heard cheers and I saw tears. Not only was I watching a moment of excitement, but a movement for service to those less fortunate, both here and abroad. As President Obama said: Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this world. You and I, my fellow graduates of the Class of 2009, my Maize and Blue brothers and sisters, and my fellow citizens of the world, let us embrace all the peoples of the world with the binding force of our warm Michigan spirit and love, with courage and devotion, with strength and sacrifice to make a true Michigan Difference in the world. To me, that is why its great to be a Michigan Wolverine. Go Blue! ＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝ http://alumni.umich.edu/get-active/clubs-and-affiliates/international-clubs/chinese-alumni-relations-program/george-dong George Dong Watch the speech on the U-M News Service Web site or YouTube . When George Dong, 09, came to the US, he struggled with conversational English. Hes come so far since then that he was selected as the student commencement speaker at Michigan Stadium on May 2. Dong attended Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but the language was still a challenge when he enrolled at the University of Michigan four years later. He soon discovered how different U-M was from high school. Dong often felt isolated in high school, which did not help him overcome the language barrier more quickly, but that changed at U-M because of how soon he got involved. His confidence grew by leaps and bounds in one of his first English classes, as did experiences like an internship through the New England Literature Program and a semester in Washington, DC, through the Michigan in Washington program . Eventually, Dong decided to major in English literature and minor in Asian Studies. His selection as the student commencement speaker is a major achievement, and his speech was very well received. He worked hard to make it a success, writing countless drafts and working regularly with a retired U-M speech professor to develop his public speaking skills. Now that he has graduated, Dong will teach through Teach for America at Urban Prep Academy , an all-male school in the inner city of Chicago. He has forged an unusual path to fit his unique talents and interests. At the school, he plans to use unusual teaching techniques that will appeal to his students, including through the use of slam poetry. And he will seek every opportunity to pursue his newfound interest in public speaking. Read the speech transcript or watch the speech video . ＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝ 他给福州晚报采访写的英文内容（初稿）： My answer can be divided into 3 parts: 1. Commencement Speaker 2. Someone who barely spoke English 3. From Someone Who Barely Spoke English to Commencement Speaker Commencement Speech On February 17, 2009, I received an email from the Office of University and Development Events looking to select a student speaker to represent the graduating Class of 2009 at the commencement ceremony. The criteria of selection was a speech that emphasizes experiences unique to the University of Michigan, has an over-arching theme, is well written, and adheres to the time constraint (4 minutes). Anyone who would like to speak at the ceremony must submit a copy of speech transcript, an audio recording of the speech, and a copy of the resume. This opportunity was open to more than 4,000 U-M students who would receive a bachelors, masters, or doctorate degree this year. At first glance, this seemed to be a daunting task. How can I to be the one who represents all 4,000 students? I thought to myself. I did not decided to apply until one day I came across a student commencement speech on Youtube given by Abdul El-Sayed, a University of Michigan student graduated two years ago. His speech was so brilliant that keynote speaker that year, former President Bill Clinton was so impressed and praised, I don't want to embarrass your senior speaker, but I wish every person in the world who believes that we are fated to have a clash of civilizations and cannot reach across the religious divides could have heard you speak today. I wish every person in the world could have heard you speak today. After watching Abdul's speech, I was so inspired by his exceptional eloquence and optimistic message and I thought to myself that I also had something to say about the transformative experience during my times at this University. Hence, I sent Abdul a personal email to express my deep admiration and my interest in writing a commencement speech following his foot step. At the time, Abdul was a doctoral medical and public health student at the University of Michigan medical school and not long ago won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship (罗兹奖学金). He had to be very busy. To my great surprise, he offered to assist me in with my speech. He said once you've gotten something down, feel free to send it to me, and we'll go through it. The speech writing process was rigorous--I went through at least ten drafts and revised constantly. In addition to Abdul's assistance, I took my draft to many faculty members for comment, editing and feedback, especially Jesse Jannetta and Jen Michaels (she even wrote a nice blog about my speech and her experience working with me over the years). I made sure every sentence was meaningful, relevant and refined. I examined every word meticulously to get it just right. The month before the submission deadline, I must look at my speech hundreds of times. On March 23, 2009, I received a phone call from Jenny Freels, the senior events manager form the University, to congratulate me for being selected as the student commencement speaker after my speech was reviewed along with all other submissions by a committee of students, faculty and staff. As soon as I was informed of the news, I almost started crying. I remembered I was overwhelmed with joy and excitement. It was just such a relief that all my hard work paid off. After the wonderful news, I worked even harder. I began reading books about speech giving (one of the most helpful reads was The Elements of Speechwriting and Public Speaking by Jeff Scott Cook), listening to famous speeches in the past (Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, Malcolm X and Barack Obama), analyzing what made every speech resonant with the audience, persuasive and unforgettable. I remembered listening to President Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address so much in my I-Pod that I could memorize almost every line. The University provided me a great deal of support. From end of March to the evening before the commencement on May 2nd, I worked with Dr. Al Storey, a retired professor of speech, several times a week, 9am in the morning before my Spanish class. He taught me everything about speech delivery, from articulation to pacing, from words to emphasize to phases of transition. Furthermore, Professsor Roann Altman and Sonya Choi from the English Language Institution helped me with pronunciation. And Amer Ahmed and Linh Nguyen from the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs (MESA) also offered me many excellent advice, and my friend Stephen Gao helped me every step of the way. Therefore, my short speech was not just a result of individual accomplishment, but the entire University supported me and good-hearted individuals made everything possible. This is another illustration of the Michigan Difference that I talked about in my speech. Weeks before the commencement, I would practice my speech in front of the mirror, in the shower and in front of my close friends. When I practiced giving my speech with Dr. Storey in the Michigan Student Chamber and because there was no podium that would resemble the one at the ceremony, we used a trash can and put it on the top of the table instead. Furthermore, I proactively searched for every opportunity to practice public speaking, whether is facilitating a workshop or hosting an event. After all the practice and preparation, I was not nervous on the stage that day because I was sufficiently prepared. Thankfully, it all worked out well on that day--the most importantly day of my life. My fellow graduates really enjoyed my lighthearted jokes at the beginning, which gave me an extra boost of confidence. It was an unbelievable honor to represent the student body, Fuzhouese immigrants, Chinese students and the international community. And it was incredible to hear the proud reverberation of It's Great To Be A Michigan Wolverine, to get the standing ovation and to receive heart-warming emails and Facebook messages from students, parents, teachers and alumni. Looking back today, the whole experience still seems to be surreal. Someone Who Barely Spoke English On September 5, 2001, I came to the United States. I barely spoke any English back then. Because of family relatives, I went to school at Huron High School in Ann Arbor (安娜堡), Michigan. Huron High school is a great public school, about 10 minute of drive from the University of Michigan, and is ranked as the Best Overall Academic Performance in the state of Michigan according to BusinessWeek (商业周刊). I remembered my first ever class was Art and Design. I did not understand a word the teacher said. But the teacher and students were very nice and offered a lot of help to me through body language. The only class I was able to understand a little bit was ESL (English as a Second Language) with Mrs. Schewe and Mrs. Kleiman. We learned various grammar structures and spoke English to other foreign students. They came from different countries in the world: Korea, Mexico, Niger, Switzerland, Uzbekistan and etcs. Gradually, they became some of my closest friends in high school because we shared a lot in common: language barriers, global perspectives and cultural differences. From Someone Who Barely Spoke English to Commencement Speaker I am grateful not only for the support of the people from our University, but also for the variety of opportunities and resources it offered. Undoubtedly, the University of Michigan is the best university in my mind, with over 200 degree programs offered by 12 undergraduate schools and colleges, with several thousand research opportunities, with one of the largest football stadiums in America (official capacity of 107,501) and a football team with the most all-time wins in the NCAA history, with over 900 student political, social, service, ethnic, religious student organizations, with over 400,00 living alumni (more than any university in the world). Anywhere you go in the world, you see Michigan hat and sweater, you feel the warm spirit and camaraderie, and you hear hearty Go Blue. The diversity of the student body hailed from all 50 states and 120 countries exposed me to different culture, background and perspectives. While maintaining academic excellence, I always found time to challenge myself by taking leadership positions in many student organizations that celebrate diversity and promote social change through service. As the community historian for the United Asian American Organization (UAAO), I worked with other leaders to mobilize the community politically and built a coalition comprised of more than 30 Asian American student groups on campus. In the process, I learned to write press releases, develop meeting agenda, plan programs, schedule speakers and direct editing for a student publication called Proactive. Furthermore, I was the co-chair of Migrant and Immigrant Rights Awareness (MIRA). MIRA is one of the only student run pro-immigration groups at the University of Michigan that is dedicated to increasing public understanding of the obstacles immigrants face. I worked with many Hispanic immigrants to advocate immigration policy reform, fair labor practices, and improved border conditions. Out of all my extracurricular activities, I found my leadership and involvement at NAACP (全国有色人种协进会) to be the most challenging and rewarding experience. When I walked into my first ever NAACP meeting two years ago, I found myself to be the only Asian student, more remarkably, the only non-black student in a small meeting room. I must admit that I was extremely nervous and uncomfortable at the time. Other students were all staring at me: a stranger, an outsider, a man out of his racial boundary. However, I was deeply passionate about students of color issues, I feel there was a tremendous need for me to be there. For that reason, I joined NAACP. Because at the University of Michigan, like many other universities in the United States, it is diverse in number, but students are extremely segregated by racial and social identities. I wanted to be a personal ambassador to break this current status quo of segregation on my campus. I wanted to take myself out of my comfort zone and demonstrated to everyone that we are all capable of breaking racial lines, cultural differences and national boundaries. Fast forward to months after my first NAACP meeting, my conscious effect had paid off. I had been accepted and respected by every NAACP member in the group, and my unique presence was greatly appreciated. But my vision of community service and my desire to serve disadvantaged minority did not stop there. That is why I decide to join Teach For America after graduation. TFA is a non-profit program that places new teachers in schools in low-income areas across the country that desperately need highly qualified teachers. Applying to Teach For America has become very popular and competitive among educated and idealistic seniors at some of America's top universities. According to New York Times, total applications are up 40 percent (this year). Eleven percent of all Ivy League seniors applied, 16 percent of Yales senior class, 15 percent of Princetons, 25 percent of Spellmans and 35 percent of the African-American seniors at Harvard. In 130 colleges, between 5 and 15 percent of the senior class applied. In 2008, a record 35,000 applications were received for approximately 3,700 positions across the country. Despite a large number of students from Ivy League schools like Harvard, Yale and Princeton applied to Teach For America, the University of Michigan still made up the most accepted Teach For America Corps members in the nation last year. The University of Michigan is so unique because the campus environment fostered students not only become talented and trained professionals, but more importantly, urged us to make a change in the global community. Like I said in my speech, It is the Michigan experience that has taught us to dream, that has taught us that yes we can and yes we will change the world one day. President John F. Kennedy proposed the idea of the Peace Corps at the University of Michigan in 1960, a program that sends volunteers to developing countries to promote world peace and friendship. Since then, 2,100 U-M alumni have served as Peace Corps volunteers. U-M alumni is also the number one producer of Fulbright awards in recent years, another global research and service program. After U-M, other universities in the top 10 were Yale University, Brown University, Northwestern University, the University of California at Berkeley, Harvard University, Cornell University, the University of Chicago, the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University. My commitment to serve low income minority in the inner city of Chicago has a lot to do with the progressive education, diverse experience and the tradition of community engagement at the University of Michigan. Next year, I will teach English at Urban Prep Academy at East Garfield Park( http://www.urbanprep.org/ ). Many of my friends and relatives often puzzled and asked how and why I became an English major? I think that one teacher was influential in my decision. English was my third language behind Fuzhouese and Mandarin Chinese. I still could not speak English fluently or articulate my ideas clearly when I was a freshman in college, and I was very nervous about taking my first English class. But in my freshman composition course with Peggy Adler, I was deeply impressed and touched by her professionalism, her passion in teaching, and her dedication in writing. Peggy was always excited about the materials and manifested her passion for teaching in her interaction with her students. She always encouraged me to write from my heart, to exhibit my true self in my writing, to recollect my memory, and to creatively explore the world around me. Although I was the only non-native English speaker in her class, she went that extra mile to help me inside and outside of the classrooms, to make me feel comfortable and confident about my ability to write even better than other native English speakers. She helped me improve my writing remarkably. And she helped me realizing my talent and developing my skills in writing. And that was how I decided to pursue a major in English with my interest and passion. Without Peggy and that class, I would never be where I am right now. My transformation and improvement must attribute to our dedicated teachers and this nourishing academic and social environment that allowed me to grow, but also to my willingness to take advantage of various opportunities that the University had to offer. I would like to also point out a variety of programs that accelerated my growth. For example, New England Language Program (NELP) and Michigan In Washington program (MIW). Also I interned at The Princeton Review's national corporate headquarter at New York City last summer and at the Association of American Universities (AAU) this past fall. Besides that, I participated in the Forum for American/Chinese Exchange at Stanford (FACES) and Finding Leaders Among Minorities Everywhere (F.L.A.M.E.), and I was a Resident Advisor in a dorm, where I supervised more than 40 residents and built community in the residence hall through planning and implementing social programming. From someone who barely spoke English years ago to the commencement speech speaker, I don't think there is a magical or secret formula of success for me. I just always tried to throw myself into unfamiliar situations and struggle all the time. Because I firmly believe if there is no struggle there is no progress. And I learned so much from my failures. I got cut from the basketball tryout in high school the first time; I got turned down by the Finding Leaders Among Minorities Everywhere program the first time; I got rejected when I applied to become a Resident Advisor the first two times; I got rejected so many times when I applied to different internships that I lost count. The difference was I never gave up, and I learned from my mistakes and failures, improved myself and kept trying. One of my favorite quotations is If you never fail, you never learn that you can pick yourself back up again. And thats a lesson best learned young, while your center of gravity is low and it doesnt hurt as much to fall down. -Tamar Chansky 未经许可，请勿转载。转载请联系 agostic@gmail.com 版权所有 2009年6月9日
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