Equipped for a challenging future

It was an emotional affair for the final-year students of St Joseph’s College of Arts and Science as their graduation ceremony was held recently at the campus.

While the boys looked their formal best in suits, the girls wore saris of different colours depending on the class that they belonged to.  The ceremony lasted over two hours long and started with some cultural performances presented by the old students.

The choir then performed the college anthem and a beautiful version of Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’. Post this, an original song was performed by the outgoing students in the choir which left everyone emotional.

There were three chief guests for the event, all associated with the institution of St Joseph’s be it school or college –  Dr Arun Kilpadi, a retired surgeon; Deepak Padaki, the vice president of Infosys, and A B Subbaiah, a hockey player and Arjuna awardee. While Dr Arun Kilpadi spoke about the lessons he had learnt in life, Deepak Padakki emphasised the importance of curiosity. He advised the students to always be curious to learn more in life. A B Subbaiah highlighted on the need to be passionate about what one does.

Post the formal session, there was a high tea for the students followed by a surprise – a DJ night that the students thoroughly enjoyed.

All in all, it was definitely a memorable evening for the students. Varun Basavaraj, a student of final-year IES, said the graduation celebration made him emotional. “The speeches given by the alumni were very nice,” he said. On being asked about his plans for the future, he said, “I’ll work for a year then continue my studies,” he added.

Mohammed Salman Farsi, a student of final-year EPS, said that the feeling of leaving the college sunk in, only during the graduation. “I got a sense of duty when I observed all my batchmates. It was wonderful to see the different classes dressed in different colours. As we got a lot of advice about passing out, I also got a feeling of the real world waiting out there for us,” he summed up.