Virtual graduation ceremony of Xamk was held in 25th of May. Suman Khadkan graduated with Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Mikkeli campus and gave a speech in the ceremony.
Graduation speech Suman Khadkan 25.5.2022
Hello everyone,
I am Suman Khadka, an environmental engineering student at Xamk. I am originally from Nepal, and I have been living in Finland for past 4 years as a student. First of all, I would like to congratulate all the graduates, including myself who made it this year. So, we have finally accomplished one of the major milestones of our career and I believe everyone of us had worked hard to get to this day.
Four years ago, I chose to study Environmental engineering because I always wanted to contribute in finding solutions to the current environmental crisis we have been facing back home. For example, it is not easy to access clean drinking water and the air pollution is a record high now. So, probably at some point, I wish to contribute to solve the environmental issues that we are facing now.
Well, looking back to these 4 years, it seemed like yesterday. But it was no ‘’walk in the park’’ – sometimes it has been tough, at least for me. There has been challenges and obstacles during the journey. Well, I come from a small developing country and first year in Finland was a complete roller coaster ride of cultural and lifestyle shock. I still remember the time I ate beef thinking it was a lamb. And since then, I have been eating beef. Well, it actually tasted delicious. Anyway, it was difficult to adjust in the new environment. But soon I got more involved in the university activities and made many friends which helped me to understand how things work in a new country.
The other major challenge was the 2019 Covid Pandemic, which we all survived, had switched the contact teaching into the online learning. It was indeed very difficult to cope with the studies in the beginning of online learning module since I had never experienced online education system. There were times I had difficulties in understanding the assignments. And I used to imagine, I would have understood precisely, if it was a contact teaching. However, with the help and support of the teachers and friends, I was able to overcome the challenge.
So, lastly, these 4 years has been a splendid year of my life and from the bottom of my heart I would like to thank Xamk for giving me the opportunity to pursue my degree here in Finland. And best wishes to all the graduates for their future.
We made it, we’ve come to this point despite of the challenges and we all continue giving our best to the future – and things we’ve learned as our new equity.