Grads celebrate at Victoria University graduation ceremony
“YOUR parents must be very proud of you,” said Sunway University chancellor Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AO in commemorating the grandeur of the Victoria University graduation ceremony.
The words rang true as shown by parents’ expressions as their child’s name echoed through the hall.
Many of them were seen with triumphant smiles, glistening eyes and craning necks to get a glimpse of their son or daughter heading up the stage to receive the scroll.
More often than not, graduation ceremonies rightly celebrate the graduates.
However, this ceremony marked a different story as the people most often forgotten were given the highest accolade by Victoria University chancellor George Pappas.
To honour the attending families and friends – and adding a touch of warmth to the ceremony – he prompted the graduates to turn to them, gave them a thunderous applause and said “Thank You”.
Graduands also gave booming applauses to cheer on their fellow mates who went up on stage to receive their scrolls.
The loudest applause was reserved for Dr Jason Cheok Boon Chuan, a senior lecturer from the Victoria University Undergraduate Programme, Sunway College Kuala Lumpur, who was conferred his doctorate.
“My feelings can only be summarised with one word – ‘overjoyed’. Graduating with a PhD is the best birthday gift as my birthday was just a day before. Furthermore, my family came all the way from Singapore and having my colleagues and students cheering for me were the highlights of my day. It made all the hard work and effort worthwhile,” said Dr Cheok.
In his valedictory address, Jason Tan Yie Jiat thanked families, friends and lecturers for their love and support.
He kindly reminded his friends to remain true to themselves in the journey of creating their own stories and more importantly, to love and fall in love.
He also added in jest a huge gratitude to the unmasked “heroes” – Google, Wikipedia, Sunway library, Ramli Burger and Redbull – for which he was greeted with a thunderous applause and loud cheers from his fellow graduates who were in full agreement.
The occasion was a celebration of the graduates’ hard work and success on the completion of a milestone and a tribute to the families and friends who stood by them throughout the journey.
At the ceremony, Cheah was awarded the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award by Victoria University.
The Distinguished Alumni Award is awarded each year in
■ For more information about the Victoria University Bachelor of Business programmes at Sunway College, e-mail info@ sunway.edu.my, call 03-7491 8622 or visit http://sunway.edu. my/college/vubusiness.