Fendell – The Head of Development Cooperation at the Swedish Embassy in Liberia, Ms. Elisabeth Harleman, has encouraged graduates of Liberia College to take steps to distinguish themselves rather than waiting for opportunities to come by.
“Do not wait for the opportunity to come to you. Take steps to distinguish yourselves,” she urged.
“Be willing to learn new skills and build your experience. Become more self-aware, by this I mean know yourself better, your strengths, weaknesses, and seek opportunities to learn new skills.”
Ms. Harleman delivered the keynote address at the start of the 97th Commencement Convocation of the University of Liberia on Monday, December 5, 2016, where 405 students in eight academic disciplines in the college graduated.
Liberia College is the oldest College at the University of Liberia established in 1862.
Ms. Harleman spoke on the theme “Stand up and Stand Out for the Values that will Serve You Better and Your Communities.”
She tried to provoke some reflections from the graduates when she asked rhetorically – “What aspects of you have changed because of your educational journey—and what aspects of your community, society, will be positively changed because of you?”
But the guest speaker said her goal in putting a speech together was to inspire the graduates; however, she said the more she learned about the university and the way in which the students and faculty and administration have had to overcome obstacles along the educational journey, she was inspired by them.
She told the graduates that a major challenge she faced when she got out of college was the difficulty in finding a job.
“Prospective employers asked for years of experience as a requirement, which I did not have.
“This placed me, like most new graduates, looking for my first job experience, at a disadvantage,” she said.
She said determination on her career goal was the key to all her subsequent decisions.
“I took a job as a receptionist at a Swedish NGO. Then enrolled to learn a new language-Swahili.”
“This was because I had my interest in the field of international development,” Ms. Harleman said.
So her message to the new graduates was straightforward and she summed it up this way.
“Don’t wait for someone to do it for you, you are the only one responsible for your own success.”
A second focus of her speech was on the upcoming 2017 elections and told the graduates that Liberia’s upcoming elections in 2017 are being described rightly as a milestone event because it will be the first since 1944 when a sitting president will hand power over to another administration.
“Often time when the uniqueness of the elections are cited, there seem to exist a dominant sentiment of anxiety,” she said.
“Yet recent developments in Liberia show otherwise. Elections were held in 2005, then in 2011 and even as Liberia fought the Ebola virus disease in 2014, special elections for 15 members of the Senate were successfully held.”
The guest speaker explained further that elections have become increasingly the new norm in Liberia.
“The success of the elections is undoubtedly linked to Liberia’s continued journey on the path to sustained peace, stability and economic development, conditions that are all important to increase the choices and possibilities that will be available to you as you exit the wall of the University.”
She urged the graduates to play an important role as positive agents for change to preserve Liberia’s peace.
“My simple message to you is to reject violence and hate speeches in the exercise of the democratic process,” she said.
She said Sweden stands with Liberia both morally and financially for the successful conduct of elections, but warned that no amount of outside help can replace the commitment, desire and motivation of each Liberian toward a peaceful outcome of the elections.
For his part, the valedictorian Saye Carson Zarwolo of the Sociology Department spoke on the theme, “Resilience, the cradle in the pursuit of education.”
He praised the graduating class for their dedication and commitment in achieving their goals. He lauded the administration for its resilience in providing quality education to the student body and at the same time improving the academic profile of the faculty.
But Mr. Zarwolo urged the UL Administration to improve facilities at the institution, including Internet connectivity, the registration process, provide transportation for students and solicit more internship opportunities.
In his remarks, the President of the University of Liberia Dr. Emmet A. Dennis said his top priority when he assumed the presidency of the university was to recruit qualified faculty to train/produce qualified graduates as the mission of the university envisages.
During the three years of his administration, he said 62 persons were sent on scholarship for advanced degree.
“I am happy to state that they are all back with their masters and teaching at the University of Liberia which has improved the faculty profile,” he said to much applause.
Additionally, Dr. Dennis said 42 persons are studying abroad on similar scholarship and are expected to join the faculty soon.
Dr. Dennis’s leadership at the University resulted into major changes at the institution including the reduction in academic malfeasance, the improvement in academic profile, a paradigm shift in student enrollment, the attraction of external grants, the creation of an Honors Program, the establishment of two new colleges, and most recently, the reacquisition of more than 5,000 acres of the UL Fendall land in Louisiana, where the University college-based commencement is being held for the second year in a row.