‘Be good company and steadfast in uncertainty’

The messenger is often the message and it is who we are, more than what we do or say, that tends to make a lasting impact upon those we serve, Sue Vella from the Faculty of Social Wellbeing told graduates at yesterday’s graduation ceremony held at the Jesuits’ church in Valletta.

Reflecting on the need for stillness and quiet in a noisy, networked world, she said it was hard to reconcile years of training and practice in policy and planning with the realisation that many could organise their lives like efficient business plans, with goals and indicators and strategies to achieve them.

We showed up, and to some extent this implied putting down our defences

“All the knowledge you have gained here will stand you in good stead, though life must still be travelled, often on one’s own. Be good company for each other, be steadfast in uncertainty and do the best you can,” Dr Vella said.

Also addressing the graduates was Maria Brown, who obtained a doctorate from the Faculty of Education. Quoting research professor Brené Brown, she said that there was no greater threat to critics and cynics than those who were willing to fall because they learned how to rise.

“In one way or another, all of us put ourselves out there, willing to invest our time and energy to make a contribution we believe in, willing to have our work judged, willing to fall,” Dr Brown said.

“We showed up, and to some extent this implied putting down our defences. In other words, it implied becoming vulnerable.”

She invited graduates to join her in expressing a greater concern about the need for society to challenge people’s vulnerabilities in a genuine and emancipatory manner.

Faculty of Education

Master of Education

Sponsor: Professor Sandro Caruana, Dean, Faculty of Education

Valentina Aquilina, Andre Grech.

Master of Arts in Adult Education

Sponsor: Professor Sandro Caruana, Dean, Faculty of Education

Stephen Bonnici, Michael Camilleri, Jacqueline Cutajar, Ramon Mangion, Nikita Becky Pisani, Alexia Spiteri, Erika Spiteri.

Master in Early Childhood Education and Care

Sponsor: Professor Sandro Caruana, Dean, Faculty of Education

Ama Doe*, Ivonne Aida González Del Pliego Castañeda, Asli Kahraman, Satenik Khachatryan, Mayra Alejandra Loayza Vásquez, Ioanna Matsaridou, Kathi Metzner, Beverly-Ann Kim Mitchell, Anna May Lee Navarrete, Stephanie Nicole Sagmoen Siqueira, Trude Elise Tetli Drønnesund, Katarzyna Anna Wensierska, Michael Yamoah*.

Faculty for Social Wellbeing

Master in Counselling