Honorable Chairman Kim, President John Endicott, Dean Yong-wook Jun, distinguished faculty, family, friends and SolBridge Spring 2012 graduates, we gather here today bound by a common ending and thousands of new beginnings.

Well, I never thought I would make it here! So, here we are, the graduating class of spring 2012, graduating from one of the best emerging business schools in Asia.

Even though I have been on this stage before, I am very, very nervous—as nervous as I was before I took a test in professor Kowtha’s class or when I was about to check my grade in Ms. Oleson’s accounting class. But the best thing about this speech is that it is my “last assignment” at SolBridge and I will never be nervous again!

So, today is the day that we are finally graduating! I mean, just about 3 and half years ago we came to see each other for the first time saying:

“I am from—where are you from? Nice to meet you.” “Oh, you’re from Russia?” “China? Oh, The Great Wall of China; sorry, I haven’t been there yet, but I hope so one day. Vietnam? I hear Hanoi is an exciting city. Indonesia, you say? I hear Bali is very beautiful. Kimchi? What’s that? And then, once we settled into our studies, hitting the books and staying up late exams became the stuff that nightmares are made of—we condemned or blamed our professors for the hard exams they gave us, but in the end, we all survived. Since then, honestly, we have grown together. We have laughed, played, cried together. And today, we celebrate together. We celebrate a transition, a bridge between our accomplishments of the last 4 years to our bright futures. I tell you now that I have never been prouder to be a part of this spring 2012 class.

Well, before I proceed, I need to thank to some people. First, I would like to say thanks to all the parents, families and friends who continuously encouraged and support us as it worked toward achieving our goals. Especially, my parents, brothers and my little sister, thanks a lot for all your great support. Thanks for being my inspiration and stay next to me during my hard times.

To the SolBridge faculty, I would like to say thank you from the bottom of our heart for your kindness, patience and unselfish readiness to help. You made each stage of learning something new, exciting and interesting and provided applications to our newly found skills. I can say no more than you are simply the best and we owe you a lot.

I would also like to thank President Endicott and Dean Jun for their unwavering leadership which has helped our school to become one of the best schools in Korea and in Asia. I would like to thank Michele Oleson, my mentor in SolBridge; 이 강록 선생님, my Korean teacher; Dr. Ju, the very first Korean person who helped me outside school; 관기남 교수님, my mentor in Mentor-mentee program at Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall; 이 선생님, my boss in Nuri Hall and 송용형 and 세현이 형, with whom I have worked more than 60 hours a week for the last year and a half. Without their kind support, I don’t think I would be standing before you today.

My fellow graduates, words cannot just describe our emotions today. The experience, friendship and memories we shared together over those years of study together will last as lifetime. I want to congratulate to each one of you. You should be proud of yourself for your endeavors and determination. I wish you all the best in whatever you decide to do in the future. Now, as we are secure in gowns and caps, excited for ready to move on, I would like to leave you with the following advice:

Let’s try to be a better people toward ourselves and towards others. Let us put our efforts to make this earth a better one. Let’s dream for it. I truly believe in each and every one of you who are seating before me. I have a faith that you are having a capability to inspire yourselves. I know that you have your own dreams. Keep them alive.

You have the dream. Now, you have the education. You have your friends. Do you have the desire? I believe you do, because, I keep my faith in people and I keep my faith in mankind. So, Class of 2012, dream on, and dream bigger. Keep your SolBridge spirit with you at all times. I love you all and always stay blessed!

Thank you very much.