2006 March Maori Pre-Grad Speech

Pre-Graduation is an event of pride….honour…and above all personal recognition of the journey through tertiary education that you have completed.

To be a able to celebrate such an event in an atmosphere that you consider to be comfortable and for your friends, family and lecturers to be able to personally congratulate you for your successful completion along a journey that has consisted of hours spent huddled over books, essays, computers, projects and having to learn to deal with the stress that is placed upon students in today’s society. There has been the early morning rush to find a car park or the last minute rush to put the finishing touches on an essay. You have had to fit your studies around such things as looking after your children, running a household, and spending time with friends among a huge array of other things.

For those that have made the decision to end of their journey along the winding road that is tertiary education, as an Otago Polytechnic graduate you will go on to inspire many more Maori in today’s generation and in future generations to realize their full potential and allow them to succeed as our graduands have succeeded today.

Moving into the work force can be as daunting and sometimes even more daunting than the decision the undertake tertiary education, but as you join today’s fast pace workforce you will continue to learn skills that will enable you to better yourself not only educational but also in a personal and professional sense.

For those that have decided to continue on your journey, you will gaining further in-depth knowledge in your chosen area and will continue to improve yourself both educationally and personally.

Whatever decision you have made, from today you are a benefit to society both now and into the future. The skills you have gained whilst here at Otago Polytechnic be they from a lecturer or from your fellow students will be skills that you will always be able to depend on whether you encounter a personal issue or a work-related issue.

Always be proud of what you have accomplished and no matter what anyone else tells you, you have managed to complete a journey in the face of a fair amount of pressure.

In closing, let it be one alone that stands among the other stars in the sky.

Thank you.