21 November 2009

It is my pleasure to be here with you today.

You are pioneers of SJI International. You are the first cohort of graduating students. Being the very first students to graduate from this school you are special. What you have done in the past two years will become legacies for your juniors to follow, to adapt, and to build upon.

It takes a particular kind of person and character to want to start off at a new school and to take on a programme that, while established internationally, is largely unfamiliar, and away from the mainstream path of the ‘A’ Levels. You have chosen a more engaging education that the IB Diploma Progamme promises. The path you have travelled in the past two years has never been trodden before. You have no seniors ahead to give you advice.

Your teachers were there to guide you, but you had to figure out many things yourself. Things your juniors, sitting here now watching you graduate, can turn to you for advice and help. Each of you has gained an ability to thrive in unfamiliar situations. You had no models to follow, no standard answers to questions, you had to think and use your God-given intellect, and your gut feeling and intuition. You are the better for it.

Much has been said about how being able to deal with uncertainty is important to thrive in the modern economy. While that is true, but for a Catholic and Lasallian school like SJI International, your school’s mission was not just about economic goals or about your future careers. Your school has set its sight far wider and grander, on how this experience has prepared you for your own journey in life.

Setting out on a journey into the unknown is exciting and unsettling. You plan, you research, talk to fellow travelers. However well you plan, the journey will throw up surprises. What you have experienced in the past two years will be good preparation for your journey. Don’t only use your rationality. Pay attention to what you feel. Listen at times to your innermost desires, and your intuition. There will be times when it seems that all you can do is put one aching foot in front of the other, long to arrive at a destination or milestone to stop and rest. Everyone wants to reach the mountain top, but the climb is the main challenge. The journey can transform you.

Be mindful of what you pack in your bag, and what you pick up along the way. Your mental and physical possessions are what you have to carry on your journey. But do see the sights and feel the experiences.

Approach your everyday life in the same way you approach your travels and journeys to strange new places. Keep a spirit of openness and sense of wonder. Albert Einstein said: “(He) who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”

I wish all of you a great journey in life. Look ahead and do your best. Be happy with yourself. And make others around you happy too.

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