Friday, March 18, 2011
Graduation Speech by my husband
Sumber: http://hanumrais.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much; it is really a
tremendous honor for me to stand before you, all the distinguished
ladies and gentlemen. Allow me to extend my warm greeting to the
rector council, professors and all faculty members of WU, His
excellency Indonesian ambassador to Austria, family, friends, guests,
and of course the very reason of our presence today: the fellow
doctoral graduates of March 2011.
Dear my fellow graduates,
I know we are here to celebrate our
achievement for our doctoral degree, but let’s take a moment for a
while to thank the unspoken heroes of today: our families, parents,
husband or wife, brothers or sisters. These are the people who always
believe in us, people who are willing to listen to all our problems,
our complaints and difficulties. These people are our family whose
love and care always encourage us in each and every day. I believe
today is not only our own day. This day is theirs too…
So let’s give our warm applause to all of our families.
Unfortunately, my parents aren’t able to
come here, as for myself, the journey for being here is much more
than taking 10.000 kilometers flight across three great oceans. I
remember 3.5 years ago, when I stepped in to this building, I was
haunted with deep anxiety and uncertainty. I knew that I have to cope
with different languages, different food, different people with
different values and different way of thinking. At that time, I wasn’t
sure if I could survive another 3 or 4 years to come to finish my
PhD.
But today, I must appreciate the tireless
effort from all employees and faculty members at WU who helped me
throughout the difficult process. Thanks to the commitment from the
rector council for increasing the internationality of this university.
The number of international students, international partners, and
international faculty members are increasing year by year. The ratio
of the international faculty will reach to 30 %, and the number of
international students has passed to a quarter, which means that every
fourth student you meet here is from abroad.
During my study here, I also witness a
great transformation of this university. This institution has
transformed from a Viennese college of economic and business
administration, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, into a World-class
University, abbreviated as W-U.
So I think we are here today, not only
to celebrate our achievement for winning a PhD, but also to sustain an
example of the possible success of world class school which holds the
spirit of professionalism and equality. Here, we’re showing to break
free the tiring debate about race, religion, ethnicity and gender that
dominates our politics and newspaper in the last decade.
I’m coming from a third world country
called Indonesia. I was born in a very small village, which was no
electricity and running clean water; more than half of the people in
the village earn less than 1 euro per day. My parents are only medium
class civil servants, who never even dared to dream sending their son
to study abroad. It’s finally Professor Wolfgang Obenaus who convinced
me to come to this prestigious university, in the heart of Europe,
using the scholarship from the Austrian government for third world
countries.
I am also glad that finally I am allowed
to wear ‘Batik’, our traditional clothes today, as I always believe
that the graduation committee will embrace diversity. Because they also
hold the value of our university, that the single most important
factor determining people achievement is not the color of their skin,
the religion of their life, it is not who their parents are, or how
much money they have. I believe the promise of the education system
here. No matter how we look like, whatever our nationality is, or our
religion, each of us, should have the chance to achieve our dream, to
enjoy the same opportunity.
Dear fellow graduates,
We know that we’re living in a global
era. It’s the time where people in Vienna are also competing with
people in Shanghai or Mumbai, India. Jobs can be located anywhere in
this planet. It’s finally our skill and knowledge that become our
global passport. The most valuable things you can sell are skill and
knowledge.
Living in this globalization era should
make us aware that we are breathing in the same global village. In this
village, every belief and value can be found. Insignificant
differences can spark into conflict, chaos even war. But I’m sure that
everybody in this room won’t let this happen. Because, despite these
differences, we share the same hope, same belief that we are connected
together as brother and sister from the past.
Driven by this belief, I am also calling
on you to be an agent of transformation, who always seeks to make
this world a better place to live, a safer place for diversity; as
being shown by the great transformation of this university.
Within these few weeks I am flying back to Indonesia…
I’m a Moslem and I will speak loud and
clear to the people in my country that I am proud to be part of this
great European education institution; where I do not learn about
business and economics only, but also about tolerance and respecting
each other.
Sooner or later you will also make your
own journey. For some of you, the journey ahead will not be easy. But
the truth is that none of us knows how the future will look like. What
I can tell you for sure is that the future is not someplace we will
discover, but rather something we will create.
I believe that we can survive anywhere
in this world, because we are the graduates of WU. We were trained
with high international standard, by global-minded faculties which
hold the spirit of professionalism and tolerance.
Today, we are all proud to receive our
doctorate certificate, a reward for our effort that we will treasure
for the rest of our life.
But as a famous saying says: the greatest
treasures are not those visible to the eye but found by the heart.
Knowledge and happiness are the true treasure for a wise man; indeed,
tolerance is the real treasure for humanity.
It is my sincere hope that your next
journey will take you to the summit of your hope, to the highest peak
of your happiness, to the ultimate blessing for humanity.
Again congratulation, have a pleasant journey, and may God always be with us
Thank you.
Vienna, 11th March 2011
Rangga Almahendra
“Contoh Graduation Speech by Rangga Almahendra (Suami Hanum Rais), Friday, March 18, 2011″
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