By James Wakahiu
Mount Kenya University (MKU) first year students have been warned to be time conscious as they start earning marks towards degree awards from First Year and not in the Third or Fourth year.
Addressing new students at the university, Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Deogratius Jaganyi said the former secondary school students often get confused by university life where there is no monitoring.
“It is your personal responsibility to ensure you attend classes, you complete course work, sit and pass examinations every semester and finally graduate on time,” he said.
The VC said that students who lose focus end up taking too long to complete their studies.
“Time management is life management. Start managing you time now and not tomorrow. Avoid distractions because it is important to focus on the goals not obstacles,” he said.
Daganyi then told the freshers to become adept at managing difficult times.
“Challenges are part of life. As you begin your studentship, you will encounter difficult days and choices. Roger Crawford said that ‘Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional,'” he added in a speech read on his behalf by Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration, Planning and Institutional Advancement), Dr Peter Kirira.
He added: “When you face challenges, figure out how to climb it, go through it or work around It. Ladies and gentlemen, God gave us a powerful gift, ‘the power of choice’. You may have no power to control your external environment but one secret is everything changes when you change yourself. Make the right choices.”
He revealed that it takes personal drive and personal leadership to take the transformational journey as most of the unique and good ideas flow internally and not externally thus underscoring the importance of having one’s own strategy on how to walk the journey of transformation.
“Do not just think about your goal, write them down. List the great things that will happen once your transformation is complete that is, the person you will become by the end of your studies. This will be your source of motivation,” he said.
Noting that personal transformation takes time and change does not overnight, Prof Daganyi added: “Evaluate your performance every semester academic year and eventually you will see results at the end of your study period.”
He told the students to relate well with fellow students and teaching staff as it is the only way to get an opportunity to learn from them.
The VC said students must be ready to experience discomfort despite moments of wanting to quit and losing direction. He added hat tolerating discomfort led to gaining self-confidence and growth.
Prof. Jaganyi advised the students to make maximum use of all the resources provided, including rich academic faculty, state-of-art learning facilities and co-curricular facilities.
Echoing the words of Jaggi Vasudev, Prof Jaganyi said: “Self-transformation is not just about changing yourself. It means shifting yourself to a completely new dimension of experience and perception.”
