NEWS

On Friday, September 13, the Fall 2024 Graduation Ceremony took place, and a total of 498 undergraduate and graduate students representing 52 countries successfully completed their degrees. The ceremony was held at B-con Plaza, where the graduates, guardians, faculty, and staff attended to celebrate their new beginnings.

At the ceremony, President Hiroshi Yoneyama sent the graduates off with the following message:

As you embark on your next chapter, I encourage you to:
Embrace Diversity: Use your experiences at APU to bridge cultural divides and foster mutual respect and understanding.
Pursue Lifelong Learning: Continue to seek knowledge and growth, adapting to the ever-changing world around you.
Act with Integrity: Uphold the values of justice, democracy, and human dignity in all your endeavors.
Innovate and Lead: Be bold in your ideas and actions, driving positive change in your communities and industries.
Graduates, you have the power to change the world. The challenges we face today are opportunities for you to make a difference. As you leave APU, carry with you the spirit of our university and the mission to create a better, more inclusive, and peaceful world.　Congratulations, Class of Fall 2024! We are immensely proud of you and excited to see the incredible impact you will make.

―――You can read the rest of his message here.―――

Our honored guests, Yasuhiro Nagano, Mayor of Beppu City, and Morse Caoagas Flores, (College of Asia Pacific Studies Class of 2006, Chairperson of the Alumni Association), High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Office of the United Nations, delivered congratulatory speeches.

Representing the undergraduate students, this year’s Ando Momofuku Award-winner NGUYEN Kieu Chi (College of International Management, Vietnam) reflected on her studies at APU:

during my leadership at the Hult Prize, one of the largest entrepreneurship competitions, and Vietnamese Week, a week-long multicultural event at APU, sometimes I was overly focused on getting things right and pushing people to follow my vision.
My perspective shifted when I was so ill and isolated in my apartment with COVID-19. When I contacted my teammates for help, one came with medicine and food and put it at my door. We argued at work before that because of my nonsensical obsession with numbers, but they were present when I needed them the most. They have shown me that organizing events is about more than just the to-do list, the budget, or several participants; it's about building connections, befriending people you have not known before, and being present for them in life. Like 金継ぎ ('kintsugi'), the Japanese art of mending broken vessels with gold, I realized that the cracks in my leadership and our teamwork weren't flaws to be hidden but opportunities to create something more substantial and more beautiful. As we move forward, let's not strive for perfection but for connection, strengthening the bonds that bring us here today.

Then, representing the graduate students, MTIKA NATASHA (Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies, Malawi) addressed the audience:

Fellow graduates: At APU, we have had the privilege of experiencing a miniature version of the world. The diversity we have encountered here is a reminder of the richness that comes from different perspectives, each one like a unique gem in a vibrant mosaic. May we go with a deep appreciation for this diversity and a commitment to addressing global issues with sensitivity.
As we step into the next chapter of our lives, may Ashe’s words continue to guide us. The world we are entering into may be complex and unpredictable. But we are ready and determined to face the challenges ahead. We will start, we will use the resources available to us, and we will do our best. We have the power to create a better world for future generations.
Congratulations to us, let’s go and shape our world.

The ceremony ended with the traditional cap toss with many flying red caps and voices declaring, “We are APU!” The graduates left the venue with smiles on their faces as they set off on the next stage of their journeys.

You can watch the ceremony on APU’s official YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/live/sSFQwGucrTU