Abu Dhabi: Subjugating personal desires in the interests of great causes demonstrates one’ strength, according to former UK prime minister Gordon Brown.
“My experience is that your strength will be demonstrated not by being better than others or triumphing over others, but in subjugating your own personal desires to some of the great causes of our time,” he told graduates of New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) at its second graduation ceremony on Sunday.
“You will find true happiness not in hedonism, but in humbly helping others. My experience is that you will find true satisfaction not in self-indulgence, but in a lifetime of selfless service to your communities.”
Brown said leadership is not just about getting, it is about giving. “And it’s also not just about commanding people, it’s about convincing people. Your purpose as leaders has got to be to convince people that there are great causes you want them to follow with you.”
A total of 141 students from 53 countries received their degrees at a ceremony attended by 1,300 guests, including His Highness Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, Graca Machel, renowned women’s and children’s rights activist and widow of Nelson Mandela, senior officials, diplomats, family members and friends of graduates.
Addressing the ceremony, Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, said: “We commonly associate virtue of wisdom with age, especially when we are young and foolish.” However, wisdom is not associated with age but capacity, he said. “Now you have earned the capacity to have wisdom,” he told the graduates.
Shaikh Nahyan and Brown received Global Leadership Awards from NYUAD at the ceremony for their contributions in the field of education.
New York University President John Sexton and NYU Abu Dhabi Vice-Chancellor Alfred Bloom officiated at the commencement held at the university’s Saadiyat Island campus.
During their four years, the Class of 2015 made many achievements, including two Rhodes scholarships, a Fulbright US Student Programme grant, a Louis Dreyfus-Weidenfeld Scholarships and Leadership Programme grant, the William Berkley Scholarship, top honours at the NYU Global Debate Challenge competition, and the NYU President’s Service Medal.
Emirati student Hamel Al Qubaisi, 21, a political science graduate and one of the two Rhodes scholars, said he has learnt from NYUAD to avoid choosing conflict as the only means to resolve differences.
Kimberly Rodriguez, 22, who graduated with a degree in political science, said commencement was not a new beginning for her “but the beginning of our building upon the unique foundation that the last four years have constructed for us” she said.
The graduates have already been accepted to more than 70 masters and doctoral programmes’ various disciplines and to medical and law schools, including Harvard, the London School of Economics, NYU, Oxford, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale. Many have received job offers from well-known local and global companies.
