Lilibel Gomez Martin, a Cuban student at Jiangsu University, drew tears and applause at the school’s commencement on June 21 as she gave a passionate speech about her love for Jiangsu and her alma mater.
A student representative at the university, Lilibel moved thousands of her classmates at the ceremony by sharing her story of her hard work over the years, the opportunities China and Jiangsu University have given her and the progress she has made.
Watching Jet Li’s martial arts movies first inspired her to learn about Chinese culture, the young Cuban said.
She started learning Chinese at the Confucius Institute of the University of Habana, where she took part in various Chinese language contests, received many awards for her excellent performances, and laid a good foundation for her further studies.
But her dream was always to study and live in China.
With the support of a Chinese government scholarship, Lilibel made her Chinese dream come true at Jiangsu University in 2013.
The school helped her overcome the initial culture shock by giving her an initial acclimatization course that helps overseas students better fit into campus life in China.
The first year of language learning helped her Chinese proficiency reach a new level. This allowed her to get involved in a greater variety of courses in her second year, and she decided to focus her studies on Chinese linguistics and literature for the next two years.
“I fell in love with Jiangsu University at first sight. The considerate help from the students and teachers here eased my feelings of strangeness and stress, and made it impossible to feel lonely,” Lilibel said in her graduation speech.
She mentioned the comfortable living and studying environment at Jiangsu University, which also helped her achieve so much during her time there.
Aside from taking the same courses and exams as her Chinese classmates, Lilibel also took part in various activities and competitions: She won third place in the “Shared Joy in Jiangsu” Chinese Speech Contest for Foreigners, and scooped first prize in the “China Exploration” sports and culture event organized by the Ministry of Education.
“I love my school, I love Jiangsu and l love China,” Lilibel declared.
