Use tough situations as motivation: Azam
Every tough situation we face in life should be a motivation to reach our dream, says Azam Abi Mohammed Qadir Khan. The 27-year-old from Nadi was awarded the University of the South Pacific’s Vice Chancellor’s All Rounder Prize last night. He will be graduating tomorrow with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Hotel Management. “Young people tend to go through tough and painful moments in life for the wrong decision they had made or people’s negativity. It comes to a point they feel like giving up on life.
“Use that tough situation or people’s negativity as a motivation to indicate that no matter how bad the situation is, you manage to stand up and reach your goal.
“Achieving greater things in life is the only way to prove people wrong and change how people look at you. It is all about being strong and not giving up,” he said. The former Brisbane Boys College student from Australia also thanked his parents for his upbringing. “I was very fortunate that my family had a very successful family business. My parents provided everything I needed to succeed and the values my father taught me are something that has carried me till today. “I know that I have made my parents proud tonight. I thank them for their endless support and this is the least I can do for them to make them happy and to see that their hard work had not been put into waste.” Azam said his biggest challenge was being far away from home. “The other challenge was staying up late nights to complete assignments; but it was all worth the struggle,” he said. Azam said plans to work at his family hotel after completing his studies and wants to take their brand to the new level. USP Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rajesh Chandra said he was delighted that 55 per cent of the award recipients were female. He said this was a one per cent increase compared to last year. “This is a progressive number for women from this region and I am pleased to say that USP is doing its part in ensuring full participation of women and girls in the area of higher education,” he said. Edited by Jonathan Bryce