Time to give something back

by Meera Rampersad-Janglee

I would like to begin by saying that it is, indeed a great honour to be representing the graduates of the Faculty of Engineering and Law. We are all assembled here today to celebrate our success; what started as a dream has now materialized. We are standing at the portal of a bright new future. For some of us this may mean mastering our degree, while for others it may mean jumping into the world of work. Finally, we have achieved the qualification required to go in either direction.

Looking back at our time spent at UWI, I am sure you all will agree that this has been a turning point in our lives. Here, most of us have transitioned from being secondary school students to university graduates; from being dependent on our parents for clothing, food, and shelter to being independent which meant renting, cooking when required, learning to survive even if it meant eating KFC when mom’s weekly supply of food ran out. It also meant being responsible for ourselves without supervision, yet still making the right choices and carrying about ourselves in a manner which made our parents proud.

Some of us, like me, came to the University with work experience and an understanding of the bitter reality of not having a degree, which meant no progress in the workplace regardless of your aptitude. We learnt how to better manage our lives, juggling between school, our families and our commitments to them. We made some hard sacrifices. How often did we have to give up recreation time with our families because we had to study?

Collectively, doing the degree programme has changed all our lives. We are now higher educated beings with a greater understanding of life. We are now in a position to competitively vie for jobs in the workplace. Having this degree will open the doors of opportunity for us in ways that will increase our potential. We will be privy to a higher than average annual income.

I am sure you all are familiar with the saying “knowledge is power.” The more knowledge and experience you have the more willing employers are to give you better positions in companies and better salaries. We are now capable of having more control over our future and our outlook on life. Bettering ourselves and taking control of our future only stands to make us healthier and happier individuals.

So, my fellow graduates we are here today to close one chapter of our lives and to begin another. Some of us may have been employed already while others not. For those of us who have been fortunate to be gainfully employed, I want you to take this message with you: Strive for excellence in everything you do. Our great teachers all agreed to this. Aristotle teaches us, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” So, develop the habit. We can also be guided by the words of Confucius, “A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.” Make your actions speak louder than your words. Exceptional performance is what counts.

For those of us who haven’t gotten the opportunity yet. , be patient. Never think that God's delays are God's denials. Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius.

In writing my speech, I also came across this quotation from the Ancient Roman Poet, Horace who lived from 65BC-8BC. He aptly describes what we’ve all gone through and what we have achieved. He declares, “No man ever reached to excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation.” So for all the countless hours spent preparing for exams, working on your projects, writing up your labs, sharpening your skills, today you have achieved your moment of glory. You made the commitment and you stuck it out.

This success we have achieved today has not been attained without the guidance of persons who I will now make special mention of. I would like to first and foremost thank God. He has been there for me every step of the way and I know that He will continue to guide me through this new path in my life.

We cannot forget our parents and guardians who have been our anchors throughout this period of our lives with their continued support and understanding. Parents, how many times did you hear, ‘Mom/Dad I won’t be able to come home this week, I have a group meeting or project work to complete?’ Do you remember the many impromptu visits to UWI during these times? What about the traffic to get here? As you can see it was a sacrifice well worth making. One of the best gifts a parent can give a child is an education. To our friends who became our families during this time. Thank you for being there.

On behalf of the students, I will now express our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to our lecturers, tutors, administrative staff and members of UWI. You all contributed to our success by your mentoring, insights, advice, support, your ever open office doors, your concern and your caring. Our success is as much yours as it is ours.

I would also like to impart to you, the graduates, some words about your new role. How will you give back to society all that you have benefitted from today? Most of the engineers here tonight will be looking toward the energy sector for employment. In our country, we are currently in an age where we are looking for alternative sources of energy to sustain our economy. So engineers, I urge you to be innovative, let your brilliance shine, the time is here and now for us to make our mark.

To the lawyers seated here tonight, how do you intend to give back? Well if you haven’t thought about it, I have a suggestion to make. Work with us; lend your legal guidance by assisting us with developing legislation and regulations for the conservation of our natural resources and the preservation of our environment. Working together will not only ensure that we have a brighter today but a better tomorrow.

I would like to end by sharing with you a quotation from the late Steve Jobs who was a co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by the dogma which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”