On June 12, at the gymnasium, in the midst of brilliant flowers and balloons was the unique sentiment of commencement – a mixture of excitement and a bit of melancholy. Proud parents, joyous graduates, and dignitaries abounded. Among the celebrities was Mr. Jen-Shyong Ho, CEO of Tung-Ho Steel, to whom an honorary doctorate was conferred. Also, Dr. W. D Lee, class of 1984 in Nuclear Engineering and the donor of the "Green Energy Teaching and Research Building", was on hand to share his views on contemporary would affairs. President Chen first congratulated the graduating class for their successful completion of all the academic challenges, and to the parents who had given so much to support their children!

President Chen noted that the key difference between a graduate degree and an undergraduate degree lies in the requirement of an academic thesis for the former. The graduate thesis is nonetheless a logical and systematical rendition of a problem, and such training is designed to prepare the graduate for their future endeavors. As to the baccalaureate recipients, President Chen reminded them to follow the spirits of the school motto: "To Oneself Be True; Give Nature Its Due ". The President commented that a college degree is an important milestone in life; in college, not only does one mature physically, socially, intellectually, one also learns how to function in a group. President Chen quoted the distinguished alumnus Hong-Wen Chen, who is receiving a Distinguished Alumni Award at the commencement, that in building an enterprise, one's classmate connection can be of critical value.

Among those who deserved special notices was Shi-Tsi Penn, a victim of spinal muscular atrophy. Following the step of his sister Tsen-Hua, an NTHU Ph.D. graduated in 2008 and also a victim of the same disease, Penn completed his Ph.D. in spite of his physical challenge. "They are our role models in the face of adversity," said President Chen. In his closing remarks, the President quoted the legendary American basketball couch John Wooden: "Make each day a masterpiece!"

Dr. W. D Lee, who gave 150 million NTD for the "Green Energy Teaching and Research Building", spoke of his days at NTHU: "I was never an outstanding student. Now I am further humbled by the opportunity to speak before you as an alumnus." He said that his impulse while on the podium was to do a street dance flip, or to perform Bruce Lee's Kung-Fu chop to entertain the deserving graduates, but he couldn't do it because he was still undergoing chemotherapy. He did not fear cancer, he said; he feared, however, for not being able to rejuvenate intellectually. Over the past six months, he contented himself with the realization of "regret not, self-center not, and fear not." Dr. Lee said that life is precious and each and every one with the full endowment of life should set a goal and goes after it with all one has.

A total of seven outstanding undergraduates received the "Mei Yi-Chi Memorial Award". Afterward, the valedictorian warmly recalled his four years' on campus, "It is we who do most the reaping; it is we who enjoy the good fortunes. But behind all the good times is the devotion our teachers, our parents, and our society. We will part from our beloved school, but we shall not be alone on our journal—for NTHU is always with us."