Üsküdar University bid farewell to its 10th graduates
Üsküdar University bid farewell to its 10th semester graduates with the 2022-2023 Academic Year graduation ceremony. The graduates, who experienced the joy of graduation by receiving their diplomas, experienced excitement and pride together. President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that university life left a mark on people's lives, planted seeds in their souls and developed in the future, and continued "As a university, we tried to be both a good example and a good guide to our young people with the awareness of this. We tried to explain not only technical and professional skills, but also human values to young people. I hope that they will use this information in their future lives.”, and Tarhan also advised new graduates that "Have a life purpose in life. Distinguish between what can happen and what can be done. Become distanced from lies, arrogance and selfishness, and protect your sense of accountability.”. Rector Prof. Nazife Güngör emphasized that the ambition to make money without producing can turn us into an instrument of capitalism, so we should not produce effectively in her speech.
Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: “Become distanced from lies, arrogance and selfishness and protect your sense of accountability”
At the graduation ceremony held at Ataşehir Ülker Sports and Event Hall, 10th year associate, undergraduate and graduate graduates experienced excitement and enthusiasm together. This year, 7 thousand 48 Üsküdar University graduates made the transition to professional life. At the ceremony attended by Chairman of the Board of Trustees Furkan Tarhan and Member of the Board of Directors of Tarhan - İDER Foundation Fırat Tarhan, Üsküdar University Rector Prof. Nazife Güngör, Vice Rectors and Academicians including Prof. Muhsin Konuk, Prof. Sevil Atasoy, Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak, Advisors to the Rector Prof. Mehmet Zelka, Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan, Prof. Tayfun Uzbay, Prof. İsmail Barış and Assoc. Prof. Türker Tekin Ergüzel.
Prof. Nazife Güngör: "You can save us from the prejudice that 'geography is destiny'."
Üsküdar University Rector Prof. Nazife Güngör, who made the first speech of the magnificent ceremony, started her opening speech by saying to the new graduates that "As of today, you are undertaking a great responsibility." Güngör said that "We are always with you, however, now you are on your own, you are free individuals. From this day forward, you are assuming a great responsibility towards your family, your homeland and humanity. If you become conscious and responsible individuals, you can save the geography we live in from the prejudice that 'geography is destiny' that the western capitalist powers have been trying to make us believe for centuries.".
Prof. Güngör: "The ambition to make money without producing makes us an instrument of capitalism, we must produce effectively."
Stating that we must first be responsible to ourselves, Güngör said that "As of today, we are getting rid of clichés and discourses such as 'I can't do it, I can't succeed, I was not given the opportunity, I will do it if I am given it, but my rights are not equal to others.' And, we will change them into ‘I can do it, I can do it, because I am talented, I am well educated, my capacity is as high as individuals in western countries’. You are individuals who have graduated from university in this country, who have proven your intellectual and professional capacity, and you have a certificate proving this. Please let's turn this certificate into concrete production. As young people who have graduated from university, our first priority is to serve the development and development of our Türkiye by adhering to our Republican values and in the light of science and under the guidance of reason. Today, I am taking your word on that. Now, you have the responsibility and duty to have a say about our country, about humanity, about the course of the world, and at the same time to contribute effectively. The mere greed to make money without producing makes us an instrument of capitalism, we must produce effectively. I wish you all success in your future life, may your path be clear.".
Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "Besides technical skills, we tried to explain human values to young people."
President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan first addressed the families attending the ceremony in his opening speech. Tarhan said that "Dear parents, you have entrusted young people to us. We did our best to raise them well. We tried to help them under the guidance of science and the guidance of Anatolian wisdom so that they could walk around proudly and grow up well.". Referring to the fact that the memories of the university period are unforgettable, Tarhan said that "It leaves a mark on people's lives, plants seeds in their souls and these develop in the future. As a university, we tried to be both a good example and a good guide to our young people with the awareness of this. Thus, there is a transition to a new way of life right now. They will face different realities of life. In high school education or in universities, the focus is always on technical skills and academic skills. Since we are aware of this, we have started the first applications in the world so that they learn not only technical and professional skills, but also life skills, emotional and social skills. We started it before universities like Harvard and Yale. In an approach known as positive psychology, which includes the concepts of being a good person, goodness and happiness, we tried to explain human values to young people with their justifications. I hope that they will use this information in their future lives.".
Prof. Tarhan: "We are doing important work in terms of Türkiye's global competition"
Stating that Üsküdar University has given a total of 34 thousand graduates in 10 years, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said that "This year we are graduating 7 thousand 48. Currently, 24 thousand students are studying at our university and we want to continue our path in the best way. We want to touch more young people. 2 of our students died in the earthquake we experienced on February 6. May their souls be in peace. I would like to express my condolences to the families of our 2 young people.". Stating that Üsküdar University has received new labels by the global indexing institution Times Higher Education in areas such as research, innovation, social impact, education quality and entrepreneurship, Tarhan said that "One of the labels is very interesting, I would like to emphasize it, the label of justice, peace and strong institutions. These are United Nations labels. We became the 2nd university in Türkiye and the 101st university in the world. This is a label obtained as a result of the work of our professors, students and project team at our university, and we want to continue them. Likewise, in a separate research index, we are among the top 500 universities in the world. We are 398th in the world. In another subject, UNESCO and TWAS declared us centers of excellence in the field of neuroscience. This was a first in Türkiye. We are doing important work in terms of Türkiye's global competition. One of them is that the project of examining the genes of two astronaut candidates selected from Türkiye is given to our university. Our professors have started to work on this. It is a project that we carry out with NASA where we will track and report changes in astronauts' genes during their stay in space.".
Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "It is the choices we make that write our life story"
Continuing his speech by giving suggestions to young people, Tarhan said that "I would like to give young people a few information that they will need in their lives. One of them is to make sure that you have a life purpose in life. If a ship sails away in stormy weather without purpose, if it does not know where to go, the wind will drag it away. A ship with a purpose is helped by the wind. Events in life help the person with the purpose of stresses. It drags the aimless individuals. Secondly, how you want it matters as much as what you want. Life is actually the total of our preferences for us. It is the choices we make which write our life story. It is necessary to always make the right choices and make an effort to make the right decisions. This is called having a vision and a mission. Vision is to focus on what can be done, while mission is to focus on what can be done. It is very important in life to be able to distinguish between what can happen and what can be done.".
Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated that "If you put all the evil in human life in a room, three things open its door; lies, arrogance and selfishness.". Tarhan emphasized that although these behaviors provide temporary benefits, they will cause loss in the medium and long term. Tarhan said that "For this reason, it is very important for you to become distanced from lies, arrogance and selfishness in the decisions you will make in life and the choices you will make. Another important issue is the feeling of accountability. Having a kind of mental jury in your conscience, having a sense of internal control, protects you from error. That feeling is accountability. What protects man from error is not their goodwill, patriotism or piety. Therefore, having the feeling of accountability as an inner watchman is very valuable in your life journey.".
Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: "Our life is the total of our preferences..."
Tarhan concluded his words as follows: "It is very important that you are not only a person who produces added value for yourself, but also a person who produces added value to the society you live in, to the homeland and humanity. Everything that can be questioned is scientific. It is very important for a person to have high spiritual values and religious standards for a person to be successful and happy. I wish you all success by reminding you again that our life is the total of our preferences. I wish you to continue your way with the same excitement and love after graduation.".
Plaquettes and gifts were presented to the highest ranked students
Plaquettes and gifts were presented to the students who were ranked in the ceremony. The top three graduates Atiye Ebrar Korkmaz, Merve Küçük, Elifgül Ak Engin, Çiğdem Nur Engin and Zeynep Bal at the undergraduate level received plaques and gifts from President of Üsküdar University Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, Üsküdar University Rector Prof. Nazife Güngör, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Furkan Tarhan, Founding Member of the Board of Trustees Mustafa Ataş and Advisor to the Rector Halide İncekara.
Hazal Kalender, Fatmanur Yıldız, Sevgi Yaşar, Kardelen Bekiroğlu, Büşra Dinlez, who were awarded at the Associate Degree level, received their plaquettes from Vice Rector Prof. Sevil Atasoy, Vice Rector Prof. Muhsin Konuk, Vice Rector Prof. Hikmet Koçak and Tarhan-İDER Foundation Board Member Fırat Tarhan.
2017 graduate Taşkın said: "I invite everyone to show compassion for yourself."
Specialist Clinical Psychologist Özgenur Taşkın, who graduated from Üsküdar University Department of Psychology (English) in 2017 and worked as a Specialist Clinical Psychologist at NPİSTANBUL Hospital, made a speech to share her experiences after graduation. Stating that “I have researched and come to a conclusion about the paths that successful people have passed”. Taşkın stated that everyone has different ways. Taşkın advised the graduates: "My path was through the compassion I showed to myself. Right now, our graduates may be excited and anxious about finding a job, getting an education, starting a master's degree, but from my own experience, I invite each of you to show compassion for yourself and practice being supportive.".
Successful athletes are not forgotten!
The sports teams of Üsküdar University, which achieved significant success in their branches, were not forgotten at the ceremony. A certificate of appreciation was presented to the athletes of the university in the fields of football, women's and men's basketball, women's volleyball, korfball, taekwondo, wushu and fencing by President Prof. Nevzat Tarhan.
Thanks to Hold My Hand Association for their help to the earthquake region
Immediately after the Kahramanmaraş-based earthquakes on February 6, the 'Hold My Hand (Haydi Tut Elimi) Association' was established by Üsküdar University students to deliver aid to the region and households in need, and a mobilization was declared. At the graduation ceremony, students and academicians who did not leave the works carried in the region were given a certificate of appreciation by the Rector Prof. Nazife Güngör.
There were emotional moments
Mücella Akın, the mother of Anıl Akın who was a student of the Department of Psychology, and died due to his illness while continuing her education, had emotional moments at the ceremony. Mücella Akın, who could not control her tears, said: "I am very sorry that my Anıl went through and could not live. However, he was very happy at school, I thank all the teachers and the administration. I know he is here watching us.".
The tradition of marriage proposals has not been broken
The 10th year graduation ceremony also witnessed a marriage proposal. Simge Suçun, a graduate of the Department of Health Management of the Faculty of Health Sciences, was proposed by her boyfriend on stage. While the couple was observed to be quite excited, the young couple was supported by the applause of those in the hall.
Caps were thrown
The new graduates, who took turns on the stage, received their graduation certificates.
Following the " Pennant Delivery" ceremony under the coordination of Asst. Prof. Ümit Ertem, the graduates recited the graduation oath together under the leadership of Head of the Department of Speech and Language Therapy Prof. Ahmet Konrot.
Afterwards, the graduates who got on the stage threw caps. The graduation ceremony, where exciting and enthusiastic moments were experienced, ended with a DJ performance.
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)