Professor Emeritus Tengku Dato’ Shamsul Bahrin, the President of Nilai University College, Professor John Raftery, Pro Vice Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, Dato’ Dr. Sothi Rachagan, Mr. Gan Eng Hong, our visitors from Oxford Brookes University, Academics, graduands of Oxford Brookes University and Nilai University College, family and friends.
Good Morning. We stand here today with much to be thankful for and I am honoured to be given the opportunity to address you this morning. I welcome you to this memorable and prestigious ceremony. To those who have had to travel halfway round the world to be here today, thank you.
When Henry Ford was bringing his vision of the motor vehicle into our world, people around him ridiculed him and thought he had gone mad in pursuing such a wild vision. But he knew much more. He said, “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it”. We are sitting here today, a testament, that we can win against all adversities, provided that we learn to conquer our minds, particularly when our will is weak.
In the course of our long journey, we reached many crossroads which have taken us to different paths. Some of us have failed, while others have flourished. When faced with adversity we should remain steadfast and strong. Don’t let the regrets of yesterday destroy our hopes and dreams of tomorrow. No circumstance should force you to live in despair.
To my fellow graduates, we’ve made it. We’ve finally made it! Congratulations. What honours we are about to receive today will be ours forever, so congratulations for all the achievements we have accomplished in academics, athletics, the arts, both in Uni and out. I hope that we will all continue to grow to be exemplary ambassadors of Oxford Brookes University and Nilai University College and that we will carry messages of morality and knowledge as we contribute towards the evolution in society – even if only through simple ways and means.
My fellow classmates, I’d like to thank you for your friendship and support. I am who I am today because of you. We are who we are today, because of each other. I pray that we will continue to learn from the experiences that we’ve shared in the past, as I have. I hope that each of us finds the right opportunity for ourselves; and that peace and good will prevail – for ourselves and our loved ones. The years we have spent together will forever be etched in my memory - the fun, the laughter, the sweat, the tears, and the sleepless nights. At times the road had been a rough one but we plodded on and perseverance prevailed. As I look back now, I know I wouldn’t have it any other way. So thank you and congratulations to all of you once again.
Distinguished guests, parents, teachers, families and friends; we are all proud and greatly honoured to have walked the halls of Nilai UC – blessed for being provided a healthy environment, conducive for study and growth of the mind with a balance of hard work, fun and good friends. For that, thank you Nilai UC. But the honours that we receive today could not have been achieved without the hard work of many people. Congratulations and thank you to our teachers and University personnel, for our success is your success. Thank you for giving us the opportunity and the freedom to explore. For the support and faith you have in us, thank you. Allow me to also extend my gratitude to the University’s Administration and its faculty for their perseverance and hard work – they have truly changed our lives. To the Corporate Communications department of Nilai UC, thank you for giving me the wonderful opportunity of helping out with the EXPLORER magazine. Special thanks to the department of Marketing and Economics – the Head of Department, Ms. Gowrie Vinayan and our many lecturers – thank you for all of your support and for making us who we are today. I shall forever cherish you and I wish you the best life has to offer.
Of course we would all not be here without the self-sacrificing contributions of our parents. For all that we are and have today, we owe it to you. Thank you for believing in us even when we didn’t in ourselves. So my dear friends, I now invite all of you to stand up to show our appreciation by giving them a round of applause. Thank you.
My fellow graduates, today, I wish you comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth and love to complete your life.
I had some of the best experiences of my life here and I hope you did too. Today, I dedicate this victory of ours to our parents and families, and to our teachers and friends.
Thank you.
Ms. Pomme de Terre
