A virtual graduation ceremony celebrating the success of the Undergraduate Class of 2020, Tetso College was held on Monday, the 16th of November, 2020 with Dr. Dolly Kikon, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Melbourne, as the Commencement Speaker for the event.
A total of approximately 2500 participants including the graduating class, parents, teachers, staff, juniors, and well-wishers joined the ceremony in congratulating the passing out students which was held virtually on Google Meet and streamed live via YouTube.
The programme was chaired by Dr. Chikhosale Thingo, Assistant Professor, Department of Management & Commerce, Tetso College which began with an opening prayer led by Peter T. Kent, Youth Pastor, Rengma Baptist Church Sovima while Imkongtongzuk of BA 3rd Semester, Political Science Honours enthralled the congregation with a special song titled ‘The Climb.’
In her welcome address, Dr. Hewasa Lorin, Vice Principal, Tetso College began by warmly welcoming and thanking all the participants for gracing the auspicious occasion with their presence. While regretting that the ceremony could not take place in person owing to the present circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Hewasa asserted that the college has tried their best in giving the students a befitting graduation ceremony. She congratulated the graduating class on their achievements and hoped that they were ready to take on the challenges and opportunities that the ever changing world presents.
Further, she mentioned that the graduating class has a total of 320 Undergraduate students from the Bachelor of Arts Programme inclusive of Honours and General students from the Departments of Education, Economics, English, Sociology, History, Political Science, and Bachelor of Commerce Programme inclusive of Honours and General students in Accounts, Finance and Management.
Expressing delight that the college has produced a 100% pass percentage this year, she attributed the success to the combined effort of all the students and the teachers. Meanwhile, Dr. Hewasa also released two publications of the college namely Resonance: A Tetso College Anthology of Art and Literature (ISBN 978-81-929456-5-1) which is a publication by the Department of English, and is a collection of poetry, short stories, paintings, and photographs on the theme of nostalgia, in commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the college, and The Tetso Interdisciplinary Journal (ISSN 2319 2925) Volume 8 which is an annual research publication of Tetso College, and deals with research papers on the theme of Popular Culture.
The college also secured three gold medals in the UG Final Semester Examination 2020 held under Nagaland University and the toppers namely Heilugumle (Department of Education), Wenei-u Mero (Department of Sociology), and Mhonbeni K Ezung (Department of Economics) were introduced by the respective Heads of Department.
Speaking as Valedictorian of the graduating class, Mhonbeni K Ezung thanked her teachers, family, peers for their unwavering support towards her academic career during her time at Tetso. Studying in the college on a full merit scholarship, Mhonbeni recalled her initial years as a shy, confused fresher and expressed gratitude towards her alma mater for providing the opportunities and skills to help, shape and mould her personality. To her juniors, she advised them to stay focused and do the best in everything.
Commencement speaker Dr. Dolly Kikon, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Melbourne, greeted the graduating class stating that this is a defining moment which they should reflect on as a new beginning and a new journey in their lives. Drawing examples from her turbulent childhood, Dr. Dolly reminded the students that the quest to discover that the life lived in the spirit and the wisdom cannot be held within a finite bar and measure and encouraged the graduating batch not to hold back from dreaming big.
She also urged the students to encounter every new day with renewed zeal and positivity saying that “every morning is a golden day filled with seconds, minutes, and hours to discover why we should strive to love, to serve, to speak for justice and work towards a world free of violence.”
Towards the end of her speech, Dr. Dolly challenged them to discover the meaning of who they are, to realize the power of their youth and the potential which they hold that is immeasurable. “Remember to seek a path that allows you to discover who you are and meditate on the purpose of your life,” she added.
In conclusion, Anjan K Behera, Assistant Dean, School of Humanities, Business & Economics, Tetso College delivered the note of appreciation thanking the speaker, participants, the organizing committee and the IT Team of the college for the success of the event.