Commencement Speeches - Song Tao Zheng

Song Tao Zheng - Salutatorian Speech

Dear President Foote, teachers, families, and friends. Thank you for joining us tonight at the Long Island Business Institute graduation ceremony. Graduation is a time to look fondly upon memories which have been made over the past two years. I am sure all of us have our own memories which we hold close to our hearts and make us smile when we think of them. I remembered that two years ago, when my younger son was ready for kindergarten, I couldn’t wait to go back to school to absorb all of the new knowledge that I had missed for years. One of my friends asked me how I felt because most of my classmates are ten or fifteen years younger than I am and I said I feel great. Their vitalities make me feel like I am so much younger than I really am. My classmates that are ten years older than me inspire me to study harder and do better. Every day is a learning process, no matter how old we are, and knowledge will help us to figure out ways to achieve our goals and fulfill our dreams. I appreciate Long Island Business Institute for providing the opportunity for all of us to continue our education.


I have met so many great teachers at LIBI, and I would like to give special thanks to Ms. Carol Kotliar, Ms. Joanna Wang, Ms. Daisy Tavera, Mr. Daniel Huang, and Mr. Frank Leone. Thank you for your encouragement, and for helping us come this far. Mr. Frank Leone made College English my favorite course. His great sense of humor makes me laugh, the way he teaches grammar is remarkable, and I never got bored in his three hour class. He is the best English teacher I have ever had. Mr. Leone said he is going to wirte a book about grammar; please don’t let us wait too long.

I would like to thank my family. Thanks to my parents for helping me take care of the children, thanks to my husband for his support, and a lot of thanks to my two sons – Aaron and Brendan. They give me the great motivation to study hard, to achieve, and excel. As a working Mom, I challenge myself to do my best at work and school. When I showed my report card to my children, they said: Wow, Mom, you are crazy; you got straight “A’s” in every subject. I know when they say their mom is crazy; they really mean their mom is awesome.

I have seen so many parents studying at LIBI. We work hard to support our families; we study hard to achieve our goals. We are the role models for our children and we set a good example for the younger generation. Congratulations to all of us. Thank you very much.