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GRADUANDS’ ADDRESS BY MR UANTCHERN LOH
CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SINGAPORE ACCOUNTANCY COMMISSION
SIM UNIVERSITY CONVOCATION CEREMONY 2014
Mr Gerard Ee, Chancellor, SIM University;
Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, President, SIM University;
Graduands;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen
1.
Commencement is a grand occasion where individual achievements are
recognised and celebrated collectively as a group. I am indeed honoured to be
part of this joyful celebration with over 350 graduands at SIM University who
have been groomed to be the future leaders of Singapore. The term
commencement symbolises both the arrival at a destination and the beginning of
a new journey. Looking at all of you today, I see faces of happiness and
excitement as you eagerly await the end of an epic journey – graduation. You
have arrived at your destination.
I also see some of you who are quietly
reflective as you realise that you will soon embark on a new journey – an
exciting job, a career to build, new places to see.
2.
What do you do once you have arrived at your destination? Do you look
forward to the next destination, and the destination after that? This morning, I
would like to share with you some important life lessons that I hope would put
you in good stead for your journey ahead. The advantage of me being 50 years
old, which coincidentally is the same age as SIM, is that I have been on a longer
journey than you. I am no fortune-teller, I cannot tell you what are the next steps
to take, but what I can offer are a few life lessons that I have learnt during my
life journey.
Life Lesson 1 – The journey matters as much as the destinations
3.
Have you ever wondered if life was a series of destinations or a
continuous journey? Personally, I have always seen life as one great journey,
bringing me to various destinations, where I have a short rest at each destination
to recharge, before continuing on my never-ending journey. I recall the many
destinations in life that I have reached, such as the time I graduated from
university to landing my first job. Whenever I arrive at these checkpoints, I
always ask myself this question, ‘What do I do once I have arrived?’
4.
In 1987, I arrived at my own graduation ceremony, sitting in the same
position as you all are right now. I had butterflies in my stomach because I was
excited yet nervous to receive my scroll on stage. All I was thinking of was just
to enjoy this joyous moment with the people – friends and family - who had
accompanied me through this journey. At the end of the ceremony, we took
photos together, capturing the memories of our arrival at a destination.
5.
Thinking back, the images of my university journey still remain fresh in
my mind. The journey to our graduation day was not always a straightforward
one. There were times we went down the wrong path, we got lost and we turned
back. But along the way, we realised that it didn’t matter which road we
embarked on. If it were the wrong road, we would back-track and start again. If
it were the right road, we would keep going. Rather, what mattered most was
that we kept going on the journey through good times, bad times, happy days
and sad days.
6.
I believe that we will always arrive at our destinations if we keep going
on our journey. And I have applied this belief in all the challenges that I face.
In 2012, I was in a race across the Gobi Desert. In 2013, it was the launch of the
Singapore Qualification Programme.
In 2014, I trekked up a mountain in
Bhutan and did a second climb up Mount Kinabalu. Next year in 2015, perhaps
I will run across the Atacama Desert in Chile, reputedly the driest place in the
world. The journey is more rewarding than the destination and it’s the people
you meet along the way that enriches the experience. It's the journey that
teaches you a lot about your destination. It is in the learning, the doing, the
experiencing, the practicing, the being there, living each moment for what it is,
that makes our lives interesting and shaping us into who we are today.
7.
You will never reach your destination if you only travel on sunny days.
Focus on the journey with all of its ups and downs, not the destination. Joy is
found not in finishing an activity but having the triumphs and failures captured
forever in your memory. The road of life twists and turns, and no two paths are
ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination. It was
the same in your university life and will be the same in your working life. What
will YOU do once you have arrived?
Life Lesson 2 – A destination is both a finishing line and the start of another
journey
8.
As you may have gathered, I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie and I am
always going on adventures such as desert races and climbing mountains. When
you are at the base of a mountain, you only have one objective – to reach the top
of the mountain. Now, picture yourselves at the start of your career, at the base.
I believe all of you have a dream of reaching the pinnacle of your career.
9.
Just like climbing a mountain, your career starts from ground zero. Each
arduous step you take, each checkpoint reached will be a new destination and a
new learning experience for you. We all know that the sun always rises from the
east and sets in the west. Whether you are in the Gobi Desert or up on a
mountain top in Bhutan, the sun will still rise and set, and the views will be
spectacularly the same. But all mountaineers will tell you that every journey is
different, even if it’s the same mountain. That’s why viewing a sunrise or sunset
at the top of the mountain is not as awesome as the next journey.
10.
When you are at the pinnacle of your career, and you start admiring your
achievements, I hope that you will remember the journey there. Admire the
sunrise and go on your next journey. We always hear of mountaineers who
successfully conquer Mount Everest, the highest mountain on earth. But do you
know that Mount Everest is actually not the tallest mountain in the world?
11.
“Highest” is measured from mean sea level to the summit, while “tallest”
is measured from the bottom of the mountain to the top. Calculating from the
base to the top, Mauna Kea in Hawaii is actually the tallest mountain in the
world, measuring at 33,465 feet. Mount Everest only measures 29,029 feet from
its base to the tip, which is shorter than Mauna Kea by over 4,000 feet, or an
estimated 1.2 kilometres. There will always be the next tallest, highest, deepest,
driest, wettest, coldest and hottest destination. Success is not about reaching
these destinations, but the journey that you are on.
Life Lesson 3 – Never forget the people who were with you during your journey
12.
Recognise that you will meet many people with different backgrounds
during your journey. You make new friends, you learn new things, and you help
one another. The problem is, we get so occupied in the hustle and bustle of the
busy world that we are living in today, that sometimes we need to be reminded
of what is really important to us while we are accumulating and acquiring along
the way. So who do you want to remember during your journey? Is it the people
who were next to you when you were facing the greatest challenges of your
journey and were there to celebrate with you when you arrived at your
destination? Or is it the people who only appear in front of you when you have
arrived successfully?
13.
Today’s commencement is a testament of your achievement and
qualification, but never forget the wonderful support from your families and the
encouragement of your lecturers that took you this far. I urge all of you to enjoy
this special day with your family, lecturers and group of buddies. Take many
photos, jump and do all kinds of poses, upload them onto your social media
platforms! Capture this milestone and achievement!
14.
I would also like to offer my acknowledgement to all the marvellous
parents who have been there in your journey to this destination. Today, you’ve
arrived at SIM University where it’ll be a proud moment for you as you will
witness your beloved children receive their scroll on stage. Your tireless
dedication, love, support, and attention all these years has made them who they
are today. Now it’s the time for them to make you proud.
15.
To the graduating cohort of 2014, the peak is a destination that always
looks further than it seems, and seems harder than it looks. But it is not about
conquering the mountain, it’s about conquering the inner you. The journey from
the bottom to the summit unlocks the mystery to why people climb, because
only when you’ve been through the journey of the deepest valley and the
toughest slopes, will you only understand the triumph of being at the top of the
mountain. Remember that every mountain top is within reach if you believe in
yourself and have the perseverance to keep on climbing this journey.
16.
You are moments away from graduating, moments away from moving on
to your next destination and moments away from writing a new chapter in your
life journey. The journey of your life is now up to you to choose, to make and to
control. Think of how far you’ve come, how far you will go, and give
yourselves a massive round of applause.
17.
In ending, let me share with you a quote from Mark Twain, the famous
American author. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by
the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover.”
18.
Congratulations on reaching this destination, and I wish you all the best in
your journey ahead!