On February 13, UNIST held the 2018 UNIST Matriculation Ceremony to officially welcome the incoming freshmen into the UNIST community. A total of 350 new undergraduate students were admitted in the presence of their families and professors who held witness to this important milestone.
The ceremony featured the awarding of newly-admitted students with outstanding entrance scores, followed by greetings and remarks by President Mooyoung Jung and other distinguished guests. The Oath of Freshmen was also delivered by student representatives, JongMin Choi (Gyeonggi Science High School) and NaHee Kim (Gunseo High School) on behalf of the incoming freshmen for the year 2018.
The 2018 Matriculation Ceremony took place in the UNIST Gymnasium on February 14, 2018.
President Mooyoung Jung welcomed the Class of 2022 and advised them by saying “No matter how hard life is, encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune [because] your life is what you make of it.” He adds, “Every member of UNIST will do our best to support you, so that you can fully demonstrate your talent and creativity during your time at UNIST.”
Following the ceremony, the newly-admitted students of undergraduate and graduate programs will attend the 2018 New Student Orientation program from the 20th of February to 23th, 2018. This program is to help the incoming students adjust to life on campus and features welcome activities, community building exercises, and presentations on student success and campus safety.
From left are President Mooyoung Jung and JongMin Choi (Gyeonggi Science High School), a student representative who delievered the Oath of Freshmen at the ceremony.
Below is the complete matriculation speech by President Mooyoung Jung:
To Proud UNIST Freshmen!
Today, we celebrate the arrival of new freshmen and transfer students. Please allow me to express my warm welcome to all of you to this auspicious occasion. We are delighted that you have accepted our invitation to join this community and to become the present and the future of UNIST. I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge the contributions of your parents, family members, and teachers who have supported you on your roads to UNIST.
Dear UNIST Freshmen!
Today, you embark on a new, exciting chapter in life and I congratulate you on your achievements thus far. In the next four years, you will have the best possible opportunity to deepen and extend your knowledge. Your future depends on how effectively you manage this time.
Today is a time of great excitement and anticipation. I know that all of you have worked hard to get here, but please allow me to take this moment to offer you a few words of wisdom.
First, the future belongs to those who prepare for it today. To meet your goals in life, you must prepare yourself now and learn as much as you can because the decisions you make today are the determinant factors for your circumstances tomorrow.
Bill Gates dreamed of having a personal computer in every home, in every business, and in every school since he was a teenager. This vision has helped turned Microsoft into the multinational behemoth it is today.
Gates also once said, “If you are born poor it’s not your mistake. But if you die poor it’s your mistake.” To have a worthwhile life, you should never stop putting limits on your life. Set the bar high, and give it your best.
There is a saying that “Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, and your words become your actions.” For the dream to become reality you must first imagine it to be. Dear incoming freshmen, follow your dreams, believe in yourself, and most importantly never stop working toward your dreams.
My second piece of advice is to make positive thinking a regular part of your everyday life. Your life is what you make of it. No matter how hard life is, encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune.
You cannot dream yourself into a character, you must work steadily to build one for yourself. The 21st century leadership is about leading with the heart and to serve rather than rule. I want each one of you to learn to understand other people by putting yourself in their shoes.
Honesty and morality should be the initial basis that make a leader successful in the 21st century and responsibility is an essential element of moral lives. I want you to learn the importance of taking responsibility for your actions.
To Proud UNIST Freshmen!
In a short history, UNIST has truly grown to become a world-class research-oriented university. Under its vision to become a “World-leading university to advance science and technology for the prosperity of humankind“, UNIST has recruited distinguished professors, built state-of-the-art research facilities, and provided excellent education and diverse benefits to its students.
UNIST has also improved its global competitiveness by taking 1st place and 5th place, both nationwide respectively, in the 2017 Leiden Ranking and the 2018 THE World University Rankings.
In addition, three UNIST researchers have distinguished themselves with inclusion in the annual listing of world’s most Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate Analytics. All these show that you have every reason to be proud of yourselves for being a UNIST student.
Every member of UNIST will do our best to support you, so that you can fully demonstrate your talent and creativity during your time at UNIST.
On our campus, we have ‘Nine Bridges’ to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of those highly intelligent, hard-working researchers that are equal to that of Nobel Prize Winners. We hope these bridges will soon be named after one of you
Let me once again reiterate my sincere congratulations on your admission to UNIST. We wish you every success in your studies.
I thank you all for listening.
Mooyoung Jung
President, UNIST
