“Leaders, not ordinary people”--Vincent Chang’s opening ceremony speech

......(Beginning of speech omitted)……

Let me briefly talk about our faculty.   

They are different from other mainland Chinese business schools’. How so, one might ask. Because they are on average younger than other schools’? True! Because a higher percentage of them graduated from internationally renowned schools? This is also true!

But the most important reason that we have assembled this group of unique faculty members is that they will challenge you, and they will make you think.  They can make you become a better thinker, a better independent, critical thinker.  This is why our faculty are here. So in the next 2-3 years, please treasure this resource. Be open-minded and be engaging with our faculty.

Now about our 1^st year students.

We have a very diverse group of students.

Here are some statistics.

We have 253 Chinese students, coming from 27 provinces.  They represent 93 different undergraduate majors.

Our 36 international students are from 27 countries, and literally from the four corners of the world. The Northwest corner is Iceland, 8,000 km away, the Southwest corner is Ghana in Africa, 11,000 km away, and the Northeast corner is New York and Toronto, some 10,000 km away. But by far, the longest distance traveled is by a student is from Chile at the Southeast corner. The distance from Santiago, Chile to Shenzhen is 19,652 km, nearly 20,000 km, or 10 times the distance between Shenzhen and Beijing.  

We’ll soon find out about our first year students in the new students’ self-introductions later.  Perhaps we can also learn about their ambition and passion.

But before their self-introductions, I’d like to say a few words to our first year students.

Although you chose the school, don’t forget it’s also the school that chose you.

Why did we choose you? Good grades, yes. Good extracurricular activities, yes. Good research experience, yes. But most importantly, we chose you because you have the most potential to become a leader. And we expect you to become a leader.

Keep in mind that you are not the customers of the school. You are the products of the school.

First, we expect you to study hard in the next 2-3 years.  At PHBS, there are no short days. Every day is a long day. Every day is a long day for studying and a short night for sleeping.

Second, we expect you to behave in a disciplined way. We have codes of conduct, which I have elaborated on in the orientation. We expect you to maintain full disciplinary points until your graduation.

Third, we expect you to serve.  We expect you to serve in the school activities and various community services because business education is not mere classroom learning.

Fourth, we expect you to think.  Think differently, unboundedly, critically, and independently.

How? By reading more, traveling more, talking to our distinguished faculty more while you are still here at PHBS, and daring yourself to think out of your comfort zone.

Lastly, we expect you to make good decisions that demonstrate your integrity even at difficult times, not based on net present value calculation, not based on your utility maximization, but based on simply whether your actions are right. This is perhaps both the easiest and the most difficult. So let me share with you a true story, one that I personally experienced last month.

It’s a baseball story.  For those who are unfamiliar with baseball, just hang in there with me, you’ll have no problem understanding what I try to convey.

At the bottom of the last inning, your team was behind by one run, with two outs and runners on the 1^st and the 2^nd bases. You were the runner on the 2^nd base. One of your teammate was at home plate batting; he then hit a line drive down the 3^rd baseline. It was good.  You ran the fastest you ever did and safely came back to home base. Your teammate at the 1^st base ran very hard as well, and he just beat the throw safely sliding into the home plate.

Unbelievably, your team had just scored two runs, so the game was over and your team won. You team has just earned a trip to the world championship games for a once-in-a-life-time opportunity. It’s true that one has to be at an exact age, not one year older, to be eligible to play in such championship games.

The whole stadiums erupted. Your teammates were jumping up and down. Your parents on the stadium were proud of you, so were the hometown audience. You were their hero.

However, there is a problem.  The problem is that when you ran from the2^nd base to the home base, you were too nervous. You forgot to touch the 3rd base. If you did not touch the 3^rd base, by rule, you’d be out. And the game would be over and your team would lose.

You teammates were jumping all over you. You were the center of the gravity at this moment.

One minute later, the coach of your opposing team appealed and claimed you did not touch the 3^rd base when you ran from the 2^nd base to the home plate.  So all the umpires got together to discuss his appeal.

Since they could not decide whether you had actually touched the base, they decided to just ask you.

Now, you have a choice. No one knows for sure, except yourself, whether you have touched the 3^rd base or not. So it’ll be your answer against your own answer. It’d be you vs. yourself.

If you’d say “Yes, I did touch the 3^rd base,” then your team would win. You and your team would earn a trip, offered only once in a lifetime, to play in the world championship.  You and your teammates have practiced for so many years, it’d be a dream come true.

If you’d say “No, I didn’t touch 3^rd base,” then your team would lose. Your teammates might be very disappointed and you might lose their friendships.

So what would you say?

Now imagine you’re only 12 years old. You’re just a kid. If you were him, what would you say?

Sometimes in life, the choice you make defines who you are as a person. The choice you make at the age of 12 may define you as a person for the rest of your life.

In a case like this, we expect you as PHBS students to make the right choice. We expect you to make the right decision even at difficult times.

In short, we expect more from you. We expect you to become an honest and reliable leader. We expect you to become a leader, not an ordinary person. Because after all, you are PHBS students.

Oh, about that kid. He said “No, I did not touch the 3^rd base.” So his team lost. And he lost. But did he?

Thank you. Good night. Wish you a great academic year ahead of you.