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| Mohammad (right) with his mother (left) |
Today,
I am honoured to stand before all of you representing the Class of 2012 as we
celebrate our success. We worked hard
for it, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the help and support from
TP, our families and friends.
Success has not always come easy for
me. After receiving my “O” level
results, I went the JC route, the obvious choice for a teenager with good
grades and no particular career path. Needless to say, it was the wrong path
for me -- the one year in JC seemed like torture, because I hadn’t figured out
what I was passionate about.
Being
a “JC dropout” was difficult for someone who had done well in secondary school.
But I didn’t let the failure set me
back. As I researched polytechnic courses, the Aviation Management &
Services Diploma at TP caught my eye. The road ahead suddenly became clear and
inviting…. three years later, that road has led me here and I can say with
certainty that I have found my passion in aviation.
Fellow graduates; all of you are from
diverse fields of study be it aviation and aerospace, biomedical or clean
energy. I am sure you have been lucky enough to find your passion these 3 years
in TP.
Nothing great has been
accomplished without passion. I challenge you to name a great individual who
didn’t follow their passion. People like, Lionel Messi, Einstein, Beethoven, you
name any; they pursued their respective passion. If they had switched fields I guarantee
you, we would not be talking about “Einstein: The footballer or the musician”.
Too many of us just opt to
live our lives passively, just “getting by” hopefully “surviving” each day.
That’s not enough. Do what you love and love what you do. And then I think one
will never feel it is work.
At the start, it’s
difficult for some to identify what to be passionate about.
Have the courage to take a
risk. Discover your passion through trial and error. Then, if you haven’t found
it yet, as the late Steve Jobs said “keep looking, don’t settle. You’ll know
when you find it”
Looking back, the choice
to enter JC proved to be a blessing in disguise from God. Without that failure,
I wouldn’t have found my passion in aviation.
With this, and the invaluable support from people around me, I think
I’ve managed to make my parents proud today. My fellow graduates, you’ve
certainly done the same. On behalf of graduating class of 2012, I’d
like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the lecturers and staff of TP for
your passion in teaching us, your patience, care and support.
Ladies
& Gentlemen, I ask you this, what would life be today, if the Wright brothers had given up on their dream
of flight or lost their passion? Orville Wright’s short flight of 12
seconds on 17 December 1903 forever transformed transportation and the world we
know today. So let us not be deterred by failures. Let us all find our passion.
Allow me to quote famous
rocker Jon Bon Jovi:
“Nothing is as important
as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate….Mediocrity
is nobody’s goal and perfection shouldn’t be either. We’ll never be perfect.
But remember these three P’s: Passion + Persistence = Possibility.”
A bright and
shining future lies before us, full of possibilities. Let us grab it with both
hands, and dare to soar. Thank
you.
-Mohammad B Kamarudin, Valedictorian of AMS graduates '2012
