Words written before Graduation: My journey at ZUST

My name is Ikram Hussien. I am from Ethiopia. I came to China almost 4 years ago to pursue my Bachelor degree in international trade and economics. My love for economics started when I suddenly decided to join social science class under the influence of my older sister. But after I joined the class I never looked back I always did my best to understand all the courses given and I succeeded. I was always at the top of my class and I graduated high school with distinction. I decided to do my undergraduate studies in Hangzhou. Coming to Hangzhou was the biggest and scariest decision of my life because I have never spent a single night out of my parent’s house let alone moving out and going around the world to a new and unfamiliar environment.

Because of the sacrifices I have made I wanted to make my time in China worthwhile. I focused on my studies and worked hard to achieve a high GPA. I participated in different activities, volunteered at the office whenever I have free time, organized the culture day exhibition and entered different competitions. Because of my hard work I earned several scholarships and awards.

It is because of the challenges we face every day that we learn something new, and we can also change ourselves for the better. That is why I say coming to China changed my life for the better and I can say I am a better and stronger person than I was four years ago. Even though everything was scary and difficult at first I was able to learn a lot of things here. I met new people; I learned how to be independent and responsible. I learned how to manage my time and money.

ZUST has been my home for the past four years and I have seen and learned a lot ever since I came here. If I look back to four years ago I see myself when I arrived at Shanghai airport, confused and lost about where I am supposed to go but right now I know what I want to do and what my next destination is. I am where I am today because of my teachers and everyone I met at ZUST. “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” As educational and fun as it was my journey at ZUST ends here, congratulations graduates of 2019 we did it!!!