Speech Transcript for Dean’s Honours Awards & Prizes Ceremony

On June 1 2023 (last night at the time of writing), I attended the Dean’s Honours Awards & Prizes Ceremony at the Melbourne School of Design for the achievements of 2022. In early May or so, I was asked by the Faculty if I was interested in speaking at the ceremony, highlighting what awards mean to me and “inspire current high achieving students”. It was a very difficult speech to write, as I’m not in the position to “inspire” my peers (I’m definitely not better than them in any way, in fact, many of them have inspired me), and talking about awards can sound snobbish when the focus of the talk becomes just about myself. As there are not only award recipients from different disciplines but also award sponsors, faculty members and families/friends of award recipients, finding common ground for everyone was a challenge.

Here’s what I went with… enjoy.

The Dean, the award recipients, award sponsors, donors, staff members and guests, my name is Saran Kim, and it’s my honour to be speaking at such a special occasion, celebrating the achievements among amazing peers at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning. 

I’d like to begin my speech by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Country, where we gather tonight. I pay my respects to the Elders and knowledge holders of the past, present and emerging.

When I think of my time as a university student, I am reminded of a web link to a speech transcript my mother sent me long ago. It was by Tadao Ando, for the University of Tokyo’s welcoming ceremony in 2008. As he never got a chance to study at a university, his advice was to study as hard as possible for your life, go beyond one’s comfort zone to learn and meet people of diverse backgrounds, and continue to be creative and considerate of others. I still have that transcript printed and stuck on a wall in my room, and I’m happy to say that his advice has helped me be where I am today. 

Tonight, I’d like to talk about the meanings of awards in relation to my learning journey and the relationships I was able to foster through the university.

Over the years of my study, I’ve considered what an award means to me, and how it can easily be a purpose rather than a byproduct of hard work. By our human nature, seeking recognition is hard-wired to our self-esteem and confidence in our work, but having an expectation of receiving it can sometimes blind us from things that help us do what we love.

There was a time when I realised how we could frame moments of celebrating our efforts, such as tonight, within a continuum of our learning journey. Just like a part of the design process, these are opportunities to reflect on where we came from and where we’ve got to. It is interesting for me to reflect on my landscape capstone project from my Bachelor of Design and my thesis from Master of Architecture together, seeing the continuous interest in Indigenous landscapes and ways of understanding a place. While I had a more literal and simplistic application of pre-colonial vegetation in my undergraduate project, I can see that I now have a deeper and more mindful approach towards engaging with the Country, having had a chance to work with insightful Indigenous supervisors and stakeholders. It is exciting to think how the journey continues to develop into the future.

I also found myself responding to these special occasions differently now compared to the past; I became more conscious of utilising the occasion to thank people who supported my study beyond the circle of friends and family members. It is a recognition of the fact that we can’t achieve what we achieve without people around us, who may be directly or indirectly showing us a way forward.

It is, in fact, our relationships with people with diverse knowledge, skills and wisdom that I found invaluable throughout my university life. It is not straightforward, but it is a cycle of exploring our own personal interests and values, finding people with those values, reaching out to them and appreciating their mentorship and continuing a relationship with them, that has changed how I work. In a sense, receiving an award reinforces that we’re on the right track in determining where our strengths and interests lie, and how the community beyond the university, such as our generous sponsors and donors, appreciate them. From amazing mentors in different fields, I’ve learnt the significance of aligning the way we work and act with our beliefs and values, and that we see relationships as catalysts for care, future opportunities and respectful collaborations.

While I completed the degree at the end of last year and I’m currently navigating through new challenges as a graduate of architecture, the learning journey and relationships I could cultivate as a student continue on. They are accumulations of everyday actions, thoughts and learnings, so I hope we can all celebrate everyday moments as much as a special occasion such as tonight. 

To conclude, I’d like to congratulate every single one of the award recipients whose achievements are recognised, and thank the faculty for giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts.