Congratulations to the graduating class-2010

I am honored on this day to say a word of congrats to all fourth years who will be graduating this Friday. It has been a worth-while ride as much as it may have seemed tough. I guess everyone looking back where we have come from has a reason to smile for the work well done. For me it has been a privilege to serve you as one of your representatives for the past four years; holding various leadership positions in various clubs and more so where my heart always dwelled in Community Outreach Program. It was a great opportunity for me to learn, working with you people was one of the best experiences I have ever had and inside me it's just a simple prayer that you continue being the same people you were in Strathmore and you integrate for the better as you step into the job market and the society at large. Never forget your life is on your hands and everything you do sums up to something. Stephen Covey, author of the Habits of highly effective people, says that 'the beginning with an end in mind provides a clear understanding of your destination.' It means to know where you are going, you better understand where you are now and it helps in taking steps in the right direction. Moreover, acting with the end in mind gives greater meaning and purpose to what you do each and every day. Therefore this calls for planning, staying focused and strategizing well in order to attain the goals which have to be backed up by action otherwise they won't make any sense. As you move along every decision you may opt to make, be careful, because some of the decisions will tend either to aid in building or destroying your future. As Shakespeare puts it: 'There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries.' For a good life always try and make the right decisions at the right time and if need be its worthy to seek advice from relevant persons. Never forget your mentors in Strathmore they will always be available in case of any problem seeking their attention, you can always fall back onto them; they will always be there to support you up the tree of life or any other mentors you may find in the corporate world. It is said knowledge is acquired; wisdom is infused. Knowledge comes from the outside whereby it's learned and absorbed while wisdom is infused and comes to us as an illumination. We need wisdom to make big decisions and the right answer comes from God who has destiny for us, for He wants to fulfill it in us for the benefit of ourselves and others. As you step into the corporate world, change your focus from what you do to who you are. It is no longer sufficient to let your work speak for itself. You are your greatest strength and your biggest asset. When you recognize and appreciate your personal power, you will have great control over how others perceive you even in the job market. What you need to do from this point in time is to introspect yourself. Acknowledge your strengths, talents, personality traits and whenever you can, work on your weaknesses to become a better person each day. There is no vision without provision. At times if you may take a second or two, visualize this beautiful country you may think it's in a state of confusion, stand still or a crisis and when you evaluate it you will find most of the problems we have are caused by actors who do not think and thinkers who cannot act. What I know is if you decide, you will be different because where this nation has reached now it is looking at people like you to deliver it from the miseries it has undergone and I believe you have the capability, having gone through Strathmore to be role models of the society in this generation and generations to come. Dear friends, brothers and sisters live the dream and don't just dream it. A life of endless dreaming and no action will just result into a life full of frustrations and unhappiness. It is just like living without a purpose or a goal in life and when this happens people generally tend to concentrate on motion. Instead of working toward an ideal, they keep changing the ideal and calling it progress which best describes the youthful life in Kenya at the moment. It was once said that our schools are, in some way, factories in which the raw products are to be shaped and fashioned into products to meet the various demands of life. The specifications for manufacturing come from the demands of twentieth century civilization if not the twenty-first century e-civilization, and it is the business of the school to build its pupils or students according to the specifications laid down. If this also applies to the universities I don't know but what I know education is not an end in itself and there is more than our eyes can perceive. As Joseph Stalin puts it 'education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed,' which applies to what we have attained in the four years we have been here in Strathmore. Let us make good use of what we have learnt, and it should be apparent that you are not the same as the first day you joined the university. You are moving out as a very different person, a person who is expected to contribute positively towards building this nation making it a better place not only for ourselves but also for our brothers and sisters out there. Eric Hoffer said, 'the central task of education is to implant a will and facility for learning; it should produce not learned but learning people. The truly human society is a learning society, where, parents, teachers, and children are students together.' In addition E.E. Cummings said 'To be nobody but yourself-in a world which is doing its best, night and day to make you like someone else –means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.' Finally let me say you can always make it to the next level as long as you acknowledge there is no barrier too great; no ceiling too high for all who work hard with determination and dedication; never back down- always keep going, have faith in God and in all people they happen to interact with. I wish you all the best and as one of my friends would put it the 'BEST-EST' in everything you do and may God bless you abundantly. Class 2010 kudos. Mokembo .A. Wallace. Class Representative (BCOM)