AUK CLASS of 2007
By Velina Nacheva, Kuwait Times
Jun. 21–The American University of Kuwait’s undergraduate class of 2007 graduated with a ceremony held in the Radisson SAS Hotel’s Al-Hashemi ballroom on Tuesday. The event was held under the patronage of the Minister of Education and Higher Education Nouriya Al-Sabeeh, represented by the General Secretary of the Council for Private Universities Dr. Imad Al-Attiqi.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Nizar Hamzeh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, extended a warm welcome to the graduate students, their families and friends, diplomats, and the guests to the ceremony. He then introduced the president of the university, Dr. Marina Tolmacheva who opened the ceremony giving her welcome to all present to the second ever graduation of AUK students since its start in 2004.
Tolmacheva expressed a great sense of pride in the faculty members at AUK describing them as “dynamic, competent, and caring.” The strength of the university, she observed, was synonymous with the quality of its faculty and academic programs.
“Our faculty have set high standards for their students and provided a supportive learning environment for students to be successful,” she said. “Under the tutelage of the AUK faculty, these seniors have mastered the knowledge of their field, the ability to think critically, the art of effective communication, and the respect for diversity, be that national, ethnic, cultural, or intellectual”, and added, “Through personal growth experiences in and out of the classroom, this group of seniors is more self-aware and ready to embark upon leadership roles in their societies. On behalf of the faculty and staff of the American University of Kuwait, we congratulate you graduates and welcome your family and friends as we celebrate your achievement.”
Tolmacheva then dwelled on the university’s institutional merits such as obtaining Kuwaiti accreditation in 2006, the addition of a new classroom building, the licensing of new programs and the introduction of new majors in Arts and Sciences, the establishment of the new academic tradition of celebrating the Liberal Arts Week and the introduction of the first AUK academic serial publication — the AUK Occasional Papers.
She then highlighted the students’ achievements outside the classroom. As part of these, she mentioned AUK’s victory in the University Champion’s Cup, their participation in Model United Nations, the trips abroad to programs in Jordan and London, mentoring their peers by serving as orientation leaders, peer academic advisors and tutors.
Tolmacheva further emphasized on AUK students’ campaigning and fundraising capabilities, citing an awareness campaign for Darfur as one example. She also proudly mentioned that with the 2007 class, the university celebrated the graduation of the country’s first female student government president.
Commitment
Introducing the ceremony’s keynote speaker Faisal Hamad Mubarak Al-Ayyar, CEO and Managing Director of Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO Group), Tolmacheva said, “he possesses the qualities that we work to develop in our students: commitment to service, effective leadership, global awareness, critical thinking, and respect for diversity, all evident in his varying roles throughout the world.”
Al-Ayyar, who is also a member of the AUK Board of Trustees, addressed the graduates with an inspirational speech about his personal evolution as an entrepreneur. Saying that the graduation brought back memories of 31 years ago, he assured the graduates that there will be pitfalls along the road but that there is always knowledge to be extracted from experience, whether it is good or bad. Offering personal insight, he said that “most of the time, the first obstacle will be your own mind, so open your minds — you will be surprised, that once you do this, your destiny suddenly becomes larger.” He said, “Always raise the bar — in your conduct, in your ethics, and particularly in your execution.”
He focused on the few lessons he learnt in life. “Do not make big decisions by just listening to your friends. They probably do not have a full picture about you,” he said. Focusing on the next stage in his life Al-Ayyar said it started with fireworks. “Everybody, and I mean everybody, was busy with stock market trading.. even the butcher, the vegetable seller and the bukhour vendor,” he recalled comparing the time to the Internet bubble. “This was our bubble.”
“As quickly as the rise came, the fall came even quicker,” he said, adding that he learnt a lesson from the experience: “In good times you must always know how to strengthen yourself! And remember what comes quickly goes just as quickly.” He then dwelled on his first steps in the private sector. “I began working for the private sector in 1986 when I was 32 years old. This was the first time I worked for others. I had never done that. I had experienced over the last 10 years some success and some failures. Now, I was determined not to fall.” Speaking of the lesson he learnt in this stage of his life, he said this to be “Commitment, discipline and hard work will bring value sooner or later.” This, he said, was a good preparation for the corporate world. Al-Ayyar joined KIPCO in 1990 and three months later, he said, we were invaded by our neighbor Iraq. “The corporate world environment was very new to me — so intriguing. I decided to do more listening than talking. As a result I was probably the quietest CEO in Kuwait for the first year. Then we built what we built.. the KIPCO Group.”
He provided a brief overview of KIPCO’s history saying that in 1991 KIPCO began with two companies from the financial services sector; and today has 54 companies in the financial services, media, real estate, industrial field, healthcare and aviation sectors.
From operating in four countries today, KIPCO operates across 18 countries primarily in the MENA region. “The success we achieved over the last 17 years came from having the right vision, having the right people and working together in harmony,” he stressed.
On a final note, he remarked that team work is important and added “but it is more important to create a culture which encourages open and free discussion of thoughts and solutions in your team.”
He then concluded, “As you go into the market place with its great macroeconomic environment, quality of education and information technology.. with knowledge in your palms, it will be a great and exciting time whatever you choose to be. All you need is hard work, dedication harnessed with good ethics.”
Following his keynote address, Tolmacheva presented Al-Ayyar with a plaque on behalf of the graduating class of 2007. Dean of Admissions and Registration, Sean Dollman and Tolmacheva conferred upon the graduates their respective degrees.
Graduation
Also, in keeping with the academic tradition, the graduates were asked to move their tassels from right to left, thereby marking their official graduation from AUK. Each graduate proudly walked to be presented with her or his bachelor’s degree diploma by Tolmacheva and Imad Al-Ateeqi, the Secretary General of the Council for Private Universities, Dr. Dale Eickelman, AUK Dartmouth Relationship Coordinator, Hamzeh and Dollman.
The student keynote speaker and valedictorian, Tasnim Saleh, who was also graduating Summa Cum Laude, earned the highest cumulative grade point average of this graduating class. Saleh completed the bachelor’s degree program in Information Systems. She had won a full tuition scholarship, then went on to become the first President’s Award recipient in 2005, and has received the AUK 3D art first place award. She was the Division of Sciences award winner in 2006, a participant in Soliya Connect Program, was desk editor for the Voice of AUK newspaper and member of the French Club. Tasnim has tutored for the Student Success Center and worked in the Writing center. She has interned at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, worked as a student assistant in the Office of the Registrar before ending her career with AUK as a Records Services Coordinator.
The ceremony finished with the traditional cutting of the Class of 2007 cake in the reception area of the ballroom. The dinner reception was sponsored by National Bank of Kuwait, with whom AUK shares a longstanding memorandum of understanding.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Kuwait Times
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