Le Hoang Yen did not know what piece would come next.
That was precisely the point.
Standing before her new classmates at Duke Kunshan University’s convocation on Aug. 21, the student from Vietnam compared the journey ahead to one of her favorite games: Tetris.
“We do not know exactly what the upcoming piece will look like,” she said. “Some experiences will fit perfectly into our plans, while others may challenge us in ways we never expected. But that’s the beauty of starting something new.”
Yen knew something about stepping into the unknown. Before coming to DKU, she spent seven years at a newly established school, while many of her peers competed for places at top schools in Hanoi. She became part of its first graduating class and came to believe, she said, that taking risks also requires trust.
Yen is one of about 580 students from 50 countries across six continents joining DKU this fall, including students from countries such as China, the United States, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, France, Brazil, South Africa and New Zealand. Of the incoming students, about 390 are from China and about 190 are international students. U.S. students make up the largest international group, accounting for about 35 percent of the international cohort.
The Class of 2030 was selected from nearly 12,000 applicants representing 148 countries, the university’s largest applicant pool since DKU launched its undergraduate program in 2018.
Over the next four years, the new students will pursue DKU’s liberal arts and sciences curriculum, with opportunities to study at Duke University. Upon graduation, they will receive degrees from both DKU and Duke and become alumni of both institutions.
Welcoming the class, Chancellor Yaolin Liu said the students were beginning their university education at a time of profound global change.
He encouraged them to try difficult courses, ask important questions, engage with unfamiliar perspectives and learn from classmates whose experiences differ from their own.
“Success will come not just to those who know the most, but to those who can continue to learn, adapt, and work intelligently with people whose experience and perspective are different from their own,” Liu said.
Executive Vice Chancellor John Quelch urged students to approach their DKU education through three ideas: “Think across. Learn across. Act across.”
He encouraged them to make connections between disciplines, learn from people shaped by different countries, cultures and perspectives, and put their education to work through research, community engagement and experimentation.
“Education is not ultimately about accumulating knowledge,” Quelch said. “It is about learning how to use knowledge responsibly, and how to turn what you know into something that matters.”
Duke University Provost and Chief Academic Officer Alec D. Gallimore, chair of the DKU Board of Trustees, and Wuhan University Vice President Yufeng Yuan, vice chair of the board, also welcomed the new class in video messages.
DKU was established in Kunshan in 2013 as a U.S.-China partnership between Duke University and Wuhan University.
Speaking on behalf of the faculty, Fan Liang, assistant professor of media, recalled the unexpected turns in his own career, from newspaper journalism to doctoral study and eventually university teaching. He also shared the stories of two former DKU students whose paths after graduation differed sharply from what they had once expected.
Their experiences, he said, showed why students should make plans without defining their futures too early.
“Uncertainty is not a problem to be solved, but a condition of learning,” Liang said. “Take a course you never imagined taking, talk to people whose views differ from yours, and say yes to opportunities that were never part of your plan.”
Class of 2029 student representative Renhao Guo offered another challenge to the new students: “search for what is real” in an age increasingly shaped by AI.
“Years from now, when you look back on your time at DKU, you may not remember every assignment or every exam,” he said. “But you will remember the people who walked beside you, the questions that changed the way you see the world, and the choices that helped you become who you are.”
The ceremony was hosted by Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Scott MacEachern and concluded with the DKU choir performing the university alma mater.
DKU graduated its fifth undergraduate class of 327 in May. Many are heading to universities including Duke, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Oxford and Tsinghua, with dozens admitted to Ph.D. programs, while others are beginning careers at global companies such as Bank of America and Texas Instruments.
Click the left or right arrows to browse through the photo slides
Words of encouragement for the Class of 2030
Alec D. Gallimore
Duke University Provost and Chief Academic Officer; Chair, DKU Board of Trustees
“Look on those differences as an opportunity to step outside of your comfort zones and learn from each other. Take time to question your assumptions, engage with novel ideas, and make space for unpopular opinions.”
Yufeng Yuan
Vice President, Wuhan University; Vice Chair, DKU Board of Trustees
“The pursuit of truth is one of a university’s most cherished values. I hope you will respect science and facts, approach your studies and research with rigor, and not be daunted by difficulties or setbacks.”
