Grads urged to change world
UBCO president tells convocation crowd previous graduates have become prime ministers, judges, CEOs, rock stars
University graduates were urged Thursday to change the world while remembering where they come from during convocation ceremonies at UBC Okanagan.
Previous graduates have gone on to illustrious careers such as prime ministers, Supreme Court justices, nobel laureates, CEOs of major corporations, and rock ’n’ roll stars, UBC president Santa Ono said.
“What UBC graduates are doing is truly remarkable, and this is your future,” Ono said during one of five graduation exercises at the UBC Okanagan campus. “You possess the exact same skills, passion, knowledge and will.
“We can’t wait to see the impact you will have all over the world,” Ono told hundreds of students receiving doctorates, master’s and undergraduate degrees.
But Ono also suggested the graduates be humble as they go forward, recognizing they are among the most fortunate people in the world to get a degree from a prestigious institution.
“There are millions of people much less privileged than we. And with that privilege comes responsibility,” Ono said, adding he hoped graduates would return to the campus in the future as welcomed alumni.
“Come back regularly to see how this amazing campus changes,” Ono said, “and tell us your stories.”
For her part, UBCO principal Deborah Buszard said graduating students had already shown they were a “force for change in the world.”
She mentioned Muslim students helping to fill sandbags during Kelowna’s current flooding and students who were leaving halls of residence donating 5,000 pounds of items to the Salvation Army.
She also praised a decision by UBCO students to impose a tax on themselves to help refugees from countries such as Syria and Nigeria come to Canada for post-secondary studies.
In another selfless gesture, Buszard said, students contributed toward a $10-million expansion of the campus library, a construction project now underway.
“You did that knowing that none of you here today would benefit from the project,” Buszard said. “You gave funds to future generations on this campus.”
Sarah Nunis, chosen to speak for the students, said graduation was “a celebration of our resiliency, discipline and devotion.”