Geography Commencement 2006
The commencement ceremony for the Class of 2006 was held on Saturday, May 13, in the Zellerbach Playhouse.

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Undergraduate Address: Lijun Tan

Lijun Tan commencement speech, 13 May 2006 Distinguished faculty, honoured guests, geography department staff and fellow graduates I am honoured to be given this opportunity to stand here in front of you to share my experience as a Berkeley geographer- something that is unique to each individual, and yet also a shared process. Many a time, when I tell people that I major in geography, the reaction I get is “that's nice..” “So what is geography? What exactly do you do?” I suppose they figured I couldn't have possible taken that many classes where I examined rocks and memorised the names of capital cities across the world. It feels good, to be standing here amongst fellow geographers, people who know what I mean when I say I am a Geography major. After all, I am sure most of us, or at least the undergraduates like myself, have taken Professor Walker's 110, where we were first exposed to the ups and downs of the business cycle, or professor Cuffey's 140a, where I could proudly tell my friends that my professor's office was not on campus, not even in Berkeley, but in Antarctica. Geography is also very much a personal experience. It covers such a broad scope, that in its diversity, it has come to mean different things to different people. Well, this is my story. Coming from Singapore, much of what I learnt about the rest of the world was through the rose tinted lens of the tourist and the somewhat biased perspective of the newspaper reader. This allowed me to see where I what was going on, but did not allow me to understand why., Geography changed this, ie became my window to understanding the complexities behind events and issues in the rest of the world I studied the urban sprawl in L.A., the rich poor divide in brazil and the one chilkd policy in china. I looked at wondrous pictures of karst formations and memorised the names of the different types of volcanoes. From my seat in a classroom enclosed by four walls, I was shown the world and its intricacies. I realized how big and how different the world was. This sparked off my passion for travelling, seeing new places and experiencing new things. I wanted what I studied and what I had read about to come to life. And yet, having seen and understood, I want more. Sitting back and watching is insufficient. Perhaps, that is why when I return to Singapore, I will hopefully be involved in policy making with the Singapore government. They say that knowledge is power. What will you do with this power that the study of geography has given you? What is your personal narrative? All of us here today, have been equipped with the finest tools, as we conclude one chapter of our lives and embark upon another. As we write our stories, we can only be glad of what our past has taught us, and the memories we hold dear. Geography is very much part of our everyday lives, so much so that we do not even realise it. I see many proud parents here today. I am certain a campus map was extremely useful in guiding you around. That is Geography. I am also sure many of you marvelled at the beauty of the bay as you made your way here. That is Geography. Geography is also the study of human nature and experiences. It has shaped my views and my life, much more than I thought it would. I am stil writing my story and I look forward to watching yours unravel. Thank You.