Acceptance Speech by Gary Zhao
Good to see all the Quakers here today. We want to take this opportunity to thank Loretta for her many years』 service as the President of Penn Club of Beijing. Thank you, Loretta, let’s give her some applause, and thank you, Tara, and thank everyone here today.
1300 years ago, in China’s Tang Dynasty, there was a Wiseman who defined a teacher or University, by 「師者，傳道，授業，解惑者也」 (A teacher or University is to teach principles and values, to teach specific skills, and to resolve students confusions and doubts), now we should also add frontier and scientific research activities. In this regard, the University of Pennsylvania has proved to be one of the best in the world. We all share great memories at Penn and my greatest investment in life was my investment in the Wharton MBA education many years ago, for that I am forever indebted to the Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania. Today, I am honored and humble to be appointed as the transitional president of the Penn Club of Beijing. In six months, the club will have a democratic election, by then, we will elect an official president and the leadership team.
Penn Club of Beijing should be a community for our alumni to be connected to the School for life, a place we share ideas, experiences, funs, continuous education, and career opportunities, a bridge for the University to be connected with other Educational Institutions in China, A channel to enhance the publicity of Penn, to help the University to raise more funds for new educational programs, and to assist the University to select and interview student candidates, and a community to connect with Penn student parents.
As a Club, we should have a rolling calendar for announcement and regular club activities such as seminars, social events, and mixer party with other University Clubs. For that, we need all your support, both time and enthusiasms. For that I pledge I will do my best.
Now, we are open for business and we have many things to do! We have many accomplished and enthusiastic alumni in Beijing with a thousand strong. We are honored to have Scott Pagoda (Penn Wharton Undergrad), 張宏冰 (Medical School PhD), 嚴望佳 (Computer Science PhD), Alice Huang, and Ben Cheng as our Club Board members.
We also need volunteers for some of the club leadership positions:
1. Vice President
2. Director for Communications
3. Director for Penn Alumni Data
4. Director for Events
5. Liaison to PWCC
6. Liaison to Ivy League Clubs and other US University Clubs
7. Liaison to Local Top Universities
8. Treasurer
(Please email Gary Zhao at garyzhao99@yahoo.com if you are interested.)
The Penn Club of Beijing is our club, that includes everyone. Please don’t be a stranger, for those of you who are willing to serve the club, please stay so we can get to know each other and spread some work. I want to conclude with a famous statement from President John F. Kennedy, 「Ask not what your club can do for you! Ask what can you do for the club!」 Thank everyone! We are open for business!