Good evening everyone.
I am most honored, grateful and delighted to be given this opportunity to address you tonight not just as a member of the board of trustees of Haigazian University, but more so as a proud alumnus of 1976.
Yes, that was almost 50 years ago, when there were 105 elements in the periodic table, COBOL was the main programming language and there were no cellphones, no GPS, let alone Tik Tok or Chat GPT.
I spent almost 18 years of my life in this city block, from kindergarten through high school at AEC next door and then to my college years here at Haigazian. I said almost 18 years because unfortunately, like numerous students in 1975, circumstances here in Lebanon forced me to continue my higher education in the US.
I remember vividly my daily trek from home a few blocks away at Clemenceau nazlet el Daouk, up to Mexique street. Sometimes I used to make a stop at the patisserie around the corner from May Ziadeh for a chocolate eclair, or at Nonosh for a grilled cheese sandwich. Those were part of my sweet formative years. And other times I used to take the long way to Haigazian in front of what is now the CMC Clemenceau Medical Center where there was a building on top of which was a huge sign that always caught my eye. It was lit in red and it said Honeywell. Little did I know that later in life, I was to become one of the executives of this $35Billion, over 100,000 employee company. That is fortunate serendipity.
But serendipity is a process. And I quote from Christian Busch’s book on this topic “It’s an opportunity to turn chance into good fortune through your own efforts, which doesn’t always happen in a flash. It often requires an incubation period.” My initial incubation period was right here at Haigazian. I think we all agree that the foundation for good education starts at home. Consequently, university education is another stage in this continuous journey of lifelong learning. Not only did I obtain my bachelor’s degree here at HU, but equally important, I received the foundational knowledge, skills and traits imparted by this exceptional institution that have informed my life: compassion, tolerance, gratitude, true friendship, cultural sensitivity, service to community are a few qualities that come to mind. I hope that all of you graduates benefited from similar experiences and carry them forward as you start the next chapter in your lives.
I was asked to do 3 things tonight: be clear, be brief and be seated…in 4 minutes. So I will close here with three mantras that I live by that perhaps you may agree with. Take them at face value from a fellow alumnus:
– Be the best that you can be and make a difference. Make a difference for yourself, your family and loved ones, and for your community
– Be patient, knowing that some of your efforts could result in an immediate spark of serendipity while others will be more like planting seeds, for which the fruits will pleasantly surprise you in the future
– And…last but not least, wherever life takes you, never forget where you came from
Congratulations again to all the alumni of the class of 2023 and may the road rise up to meet you on your journey through life.