Dear Graduates of 2009,

This is a time to celebrate. Celebration may mean festivity and commemoration; it may also mean honor and tribute. It is the second meaning that I would like to emphasize. This is the very appropriate time to know how to honor yourselves; to recognize how to honor your mind, your heart and your body; to realize the significance of honoring your intellectual abilities, your sympathies, compassions, and sensitivities. This is the right moment to rejoice and be pleased about your brain power, your empathy, your flesh, as well as your wisdom and analytical aptitude. While celebrating, in this particular sense, don’t forget to recognize your differences, and to respect your diversities. Remember that your future depends on such celebrations, and such recognitions and respects.

Congratulations for ending successfully a previous phase of your lives, and starting, or commencing a new one. This is the commencement of embracing life, the commencement of accepting complicated challenges, and the commencement of assuming commitment to your values and beliefs. ” 

All the best,

Prof. Ameen A. Rihani,
Vice President for Academic Affairs