To the honorary guests and to the families and friends of those who are graduating today, I extend my warmest welcome. And to our students who have successfully completed their academic programs, my congratulations and pride in your achievement. And finally, to the professors and staff who have taught, encouraged, and supported our students to success, my heartfelt thanks. Dear Graduates of Yonsei University, You have at long last come to the end of “school,” with which you have been so familiar since kindergarten days, and before you lies the world. You will stand alone in this world, with much less or almost none of the guidance and support your professors, staff, and parents have offered you through the years. From this moment on, you will be responsible for yourselves and your actions. I have reiterated time and again the importance of human resources in a country whose most important, resources are human. As an institution responsible for educating the finest minds in our country and also of the world, the quality of education at Yonsei may affect the fortunes of our country. We are therefore constantly working to make the educational experience at Yonsei University the most exciting and invigorating for our young scholars, as well as one that requires them to look deeply into their own beings and their souls, so that they may graduate with qualities that make them distinctly Yonseian. Let us, then, consider what an ideal graduate of Yonsei should be. First, an ideal Yonsei graduate would be a global leader possessed of lofty visions and dreams, a pioneering spirit and an indomitable will, in the mold of the founders of this University. 122 years ago, a young man in his twenties called Underwood gave up a successful career to come to this land, dedicating his body and soul to the well-being of the poor and the oppressed. In times of dire need, he turned to a passage in the New Testament for spiritual support: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). You should try to attend faithfully to the small things in everyday life and build your dreams one brick at a time. Enjoy each little moment as they come and you will one day look back with wonder at the great things you have achieved in your careers. Second, an ideal Yonsei graduate would cherish the virtues and core values that have endured the test of time and distance. The society that awaits you is a mass of confusion in which right and wrong are often turned upside down. Granted, a constantly evolving society requires us to readjust and adapt to changing conditions. At the same time, however, virtues that transcend time and place, such as honesty, integrity, diligence, humility, temperance, respect for others, are in greater demand. You must thus distinguish between what needs to change and what must not. Always keep in your hearts the words from the Bible: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2). Third, an ideal Yonsei graduate would never stop learning. In today’s information society, it is highly probable that new discoveries will make what you have learned in college obsolete, and you will need to keep up by becoming lifetime learners. Not only should you keep on acquiring knowledge in your specific fields but you should also read the classics in humanities and basic sciences, the foundations that will stand firm and enable you to keep on building your tower of knowledge. The whole sum of knowledge an average graduate acquires in college cannot even fill a memory chip that costs less than a US dollar. Knowledge itself, no matter how important, pales in comparison to the ability to understand relationships among scattered pieces of knowledge and perhaps even to discover a whole new way of thinking. Reading does not simply inform. It makes us think creatively. An ideal Yonsei graduate is open-minded, liberal, progressive, and creative because he or she does not stop learning. In closing, I wish you success in whatever road you travel and hope that you will honor your alma mater by making this world a better place to live in. May God bless you and guide you.