Valedictorian urges fellow graduands to be trailblazers

–to try uncharted waters, rather than ‘go with the flow’

THE 47th convocation of the University of Guyana (UG) turned out 1,376 graduands, who were conferred with their degrees and diplomas yesterday in a ceremony conducted at the Turkeyen campus.

‘No achievement by any of us derives from only what we put into the pursuit… Whether or not you take the time before now to appreciate this, I remind you that your success in graduating today is attributable to the work done by many people before yourselves’
-Dr Ivelaw Griffith

Eileen Marray from the Faculty of Social Sciences copped the President’s Medal and was this year’s valedictorian. In her address to the thousands gathered for the occasion, Marry said the importance of education becomes clearer with its pursuit at a tertiary level; and it is an awareness that was accompanied by questions that would shape the direction of the graduands’ lives.
She noted that the first step towards having their lives shaped was their enrollment with the University, which led to a journey marked by hard work, long hours, and many stressful moments.
Quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson, Marray urged her peers to use their knowledge, and “not go where the path may lead; but go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail.”
She acknowledged that, after graduation, each individual heads off to a different path, be it furthering their education or pursuing a profession; and she encouraged that they relentlessly pursue the next chapter of their lives.

Marray called on her peers to maintain the curiosity of a child, and embrace opportunities that come their way as they move forward.
The Prime Minister’s Award for the best graduating student in the School of Medicine was taken by Linbert Anslem Lewis.
Jewel Cheong took the Prime Minister’s Medal for the best graduating student with a Degree in Public Management.
Felina Sarah Maikoo of the Faculty of Social Sciences was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal, while the Pro-Chancellor’s Medal went to Eleanor Luckhoo, the best graduating law student.
Several other awards were given to graduates who had recorded noteworthy performances.
Dr. Ivelaw Griffith, President of the Fort Valley State University, lauded the accomplishments of all the graduands as he delivered the feature address. “Your

dreams have come true. Your basis for moving up socio-economic and career ladders have been affirmed and confirmed,” he said.
Dr Griffith, however, quoted Sir Isaac Newton as a reminder to the graduands: “If I have seen further, it’s because of standing on the shoulders of giants.”
“No achievement by any of us derives from only what we put into the pursuit… Whether or not you take the time before now to appreciate this, I remind you that your success in graduating today is attributable to the work done by many people before yourselves,” he said.
Dr Griffith’s charge to the graduands was a simple one: that over the next 30 days, each should take the time to express appreciation in a tangible way to 12 persons who assisted them in some way. In other words, the graduands should take time to thank the giants in their lives.
“They are the ones who would have inspired you; sacrificed so you could have the time, treasure, or both to pursue your educational journey…. Whoever have been your giants, this convocation is about recognizing them too,” he said.

Dr Griffith said the future may see the graduands themselves becoming giants for others, and they would want, as well as deserve, to be acknowledged.
“I am sure many of you already are enabling others to stand on your shoulders; you are already other people’s giants,” he said.
Dr Griffith also pointed out that while individual dreams have come true, the university’s marking of its golden jubilee, 50 years, is evidence of institutional dreaming.
He referred to the then Premier, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, whose brainchild it was to create a basis for citizens to leverage tertiary education for social and economic mobility, and to provide a fillip to national development.
Dr Griffith said: “Clearly, the dreamers and doers of the early 1960s and over the ensuing five decades acted in ways that resonated with the words of wisdom voiced by the late American educator Benjamin Mays, who said: ‘the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream’.”
He added that the achievement of the dream has not been without its challenges, including those related to budgetary allocations, facilities, staffing, quality assurance, labour relations and leadership, among other things.
However, Dr Griffith maintained that the way forward must see focus on three “maturation imperatives”: economic viability, academic credibility, and diaspora engagement.
“The economic viability imperative requires attention to UG’s business model in relation to revenue generation and more. No state university can afford to rely solely on the state….The state must match platitudes with practice, it must put its money where its mouth is. But whether for fiscal or political reasons, budgetary estrangement can result in circumstances akin to being simply state-affiliated; or worse, state-castigated in both financial and non-financial terms,” he said.
He underscored that, in terms of the economic viability, more has to be done to enhance the university’s prospects, which, by extension, will impact its academic credibility.
The class of 1980 alum left the gathering with the words of Martin Carter: “I come from the nigger yard of yesterday, leaping from the oppressors’ hate and the scorn of myself… I come to the world with scars upon my soul, wounds on my body, fury in my hands. I turn to the histories of men and the lives of peoples. I examine the shower of sparks, the wealth of the dreams. I am pleased with the glories and sad with the sorrows, rich with the riches, poor with the loss. From the nigger yard of yesterday I come with my burden. To the world of to-morrow I turn with my strength.

(By Vanessa Narine)