He Jiang, the first Chinese graduate to ever speak at Harvard’s commencement ceremony, has become a star on Chinese social media.

    Last Thursday, Harvard commencement addresses welcomed their first-ever Chinese orator — He, a 2016 PhD graduate in biochemistry, who delivered a speech representing the graduate students at the commencement.

    He began his address with a childhood memory from his small village in central China’s Hunan Province. He was bitten on the hand by a poisonous spider and his mother treated it with an old folk cure — setting his hand on fire — rather than going to a doctor, because there were no doctors.

    Studying at Harvard made him see how scientific discovery could help others in simple ways and got him thinking of the uneven distribution of science and technology in the modern world and wondering what scientists could do to change the situation.

    He was among the three graduating representatives to speak at the commencement. Other guest speakers sharing the podium this year included Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg.

    To win the opportunity to speak, He went through three rounds of fierce competition, including drafts and auditions. The three orators were chosen by a panel of judges to deliver an address — from memory — to an assemblage of approximately 32,000, including members of the governing board, honorary degree recipients, faculty, parents, alumni and graduates.

    He grew up in a small village with poor educational opportunities. His father, who didn’t finish high school and was locked out of many work opportunities in big cities because of it, impressed upon He and his younger brother from their boyhood the importance of studying hard, using his own experience as an example.

    “My father was always strict with us so we’d avoid repeating his experience,” He said.

    Unlike his father, He’s mother was more like a friend, who always encouraged him through the challenges of learning and life. “One of the biggest problems for rural students is that the available educational resources are limited and students lack motivation,” He said. “So thanks go to my dad for pushing me to study in that environment and to my mom, whose encouragement helped keep me focused on my studies.”

    He graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China — one of China’s top universities — with a bachelor’s degree in 2009 and was accepted into Harvard’s PhD program on a full scholarship the same year. All he knew about America was from books and films and he was in for some culture shock.

    He took a job as resident tutor for undergraduates and through that he learned about the commencement oration competition.

    Apart from working and studying, He took part in activities both on and off campus, including start-up and innovation sharing sessions, activities held by Chinese student associations and reading clubs.

    (SD-Agencies)