NEARLY 1000 students graduated from Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) in the college’s annual Conferring Of Awards Ceremony on Friday.
Students from the following departments graduated – Computing, Nursing & Health Studies, Design & Creative Media, Civil Engineering & Construction, Electronic & Mechanical Engineering, Science, Law & Humanities, Business Studies and Life Long Learning.
Speaking at the conferring ceremony last Friday, Mr Paul Hannigan, LYIT President, said graduating was a ‘team effort’.
“I want to congratulate your parents, husbands, wives, partners and all friends and relatives here today on your achievement as we realise the team effort that goes in to getting you to this stage of your career.”
“The majority of those graduating today came to LYIT directly from secondary school. You didn’t know it at the time but you still had a lot of maturing to do.
“Your objectives varied, some wanted to get away from home some didn’t, some were very interested in their course of study, some weren’t, some came for the ‘craic’ but managed to deal with the workload as well which brought us here today.
Mr Hannigan also referred to the growing number of mature students graduating. “A growing percentage of you came back to college at a different age for whatever reason.
“There may have been demands of upskilling, looking for new opportunities, career or personal development. The challenges of sitting in a classroom with a group of 18-year-olds should not be underestimated. But this is where the strength and beauty of higher education emerges.
“Without planning it specifically, you begin to learn from each other and you can appreciate each other’s different life stages and the challenges that each group has to meet.
“At LYIT we hope that we provide the atmosphere for that engagement and development to take place. Yes we provide very challenging programmes, yes we contribute highly to economic development in the region but our main contribution is through the development of human capital,” Mr Hannigan said.
The president said LYIT was confident its graduates had all the attributes necessary ‘to make it from here’. “We hope the experience you have gained, the programmes you have studied and the craic you have had has contributed to the development.
“There is nothing that gives me greater pride than to see our graduates succeeding. We know your capabilities now we want you to take advantage of them,” he said.
The School of Tourism’s departments of Tourism & Hospitality and Gastronomy & Culinary Arts graduate this Friday, October 31, 11am.
See Friday’s Donegal News for extensive pictorial coverage
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