2023-08-08 20:42:59
Graduates during graduation ceremony. Photo: Sabrina Moura.
Each semester, the certainty of treading the good institutional path is confirmed in the graduation ceremonies at the University of International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusofonia (Unilab). Last Thursday (3) they graduated, in Ceará, concluding the Public Administration courses in person and in the distance modality; Agronomy; Anthropology; Nursing; Energy Engineering and Humanities and degrees in Biological Sciences; Physical; History; Letters – English Language; Letters – Portuguese Language; Pedagogy; Chemistry and Sociology.
Unilab’s dean, Roque Albuquerque, highlighted the numbers of the university, which has already trained more than 4,000 professionals, of which more than 1,300 are international. Albuquerque also pointed out the importance of joining forces for the realization of a still young university. “Differences maintain our identity. University by nature is diverse and one. Now it’s time to consolidate Unilab and unite around a collective project, not an individual one. It is about a dream called Unilab”, he underlined.
Photo: Sabrina Moura.
Happy next to her mother and grandparents, Andressa Paola celebrated the conclusion of the Nursing course, a trajectory marked by health difficulties, but also grit and determination. “I am ecstatic, very happy, today is one of the best days of my life. During the course, I went through admissions due to an autoimmune disease and, in 2021, I had Covid-19, I was intubated, my condition was very serious. In addition, I undergo hemodialysis three times a week. This could have prevented me from continuing, but I decided to continue, I didn’t run away from the streak, I persevered. Today, this victory has an even more special flavor”, she declared.
Andressa Paola with her grandparents. Photo: Sabrina Moura.
Grandparents José de Souza and Maria Augusta de Souza, aged 86 and 83, respectively, witnessed their granddaughter’s dream victory. “I feel very prestigious. I worked hard to raise seven children and today I have graduated granddaughters, I feel happy and calm”, said José de Souza. The family is from Acarape, the municipality where the Palmares Academic Unit is located.
Happiness was also on the face of Aldair Gomes, a 33-year-old Guinean who completed the Agronomy course. “My father was a rural producer, we are a family of producers. When I saw the opportunity to audition for Unilab, I didn’t think once, I did it, and when I came here, there were a lot of sacrifices, I faced obstacles, but I was very proud of myself when I completed it. I always wanted to take this course, I thought about it when I went to the countryside to help my family, and now scientific knowledge will push me even further”, he says.
Beginning of new cycles
Photo: Sabrina Moura.
One cycle closes and another begins. This has been the case for the graduate of the Pedagogy course, Tiago Freitas. Graduated first in the Bachelor of Humanities, the now concluding of Pedagogy is already studying a master’s degree in Education at the State University of Ceará (Uece). “Unilab is my alma mater. I entered here in 2017, aged 17, I remember the day my mother came to sign the document for me, because I was still a minor. The feeling is to continue in the fight for Education. Unilab’s Pedagogy has a very big differential, which is the ethnic-racial issue, and I want to disseminate what I learned here, including my master’s research project was born at Unilab”, he highlighted.
Continuing studying is also part of the plans of Guinean Leurana Lopes, 26 years old, who completed the Sociology course. “I intend to do a master’s and doctorate here in Brazil, work in my area and raise a family. I am very happy and hopeful, because I am sure that I made a good choice with my course”, she points out.
Photo: Sabrina Moura.
Dreams
Gratitude and recognition were the feelings highlighted in relation to family and friends who helped the graduates to follow the path of university education.
“I am representing dreams, struggles, resilience, commitment to serving society in the best possible way. Orality is not able to express our immense joy”, said Adriano Cassulê, concluding Public Administration onsite. Also imbued with this sense of collectivity, Weslley Cézar, finalist of Letters – English Language, highlighted the happy interaction with colleagues and the realization of a dream “which is not only ours, but our parents and grandparents”.
Photo: Sabrina Moura.
Messias Eduardo, now an agronomist, made a metaphor about becoming a seed. “We have become free seeds to produce anywhere in the world, therefore seeds of freedom”.
Karolayne Lima, who graduated in Biological Sciences, highlighted the new possibilities open to graduates and, in the same vein, André de Lima, from the EaD Public Administration, said he was confident in his ability to make good decisions in life and in his career. “We will follow a path of integrity and renewal,” he said.
Photo: Sabrina Moura.
Pandemic marked training
The Covid-19 pandemic has marked recent years in several ways. For university students, there was the establishment of a new reality, markedly on-line, and new sociabilities. The speakers at the graduation ceremony recalled the important losses of family members and friends and the solidarity experienced.
“We faced a series of difficulties together, broadening our reflection on inequalities and injustices”, recalled Renara Régia, concluding the History course. Student Jandira Dala, from the Languages – Portuguese Language course, underlined the pain of losing family members who made it possible for her to finish a degree.
Optica Award
Photo: Sabrina Moura.
During the ceremony, the Optica Prize was awarded, an initiative of the Unilab Student Chapter project, formed by Unilab professors and students with the objective of promoting academic excellence and encouraging the participation of students in research and extension projects, honoring students who managed to become successfully engage in academic activities. The following received the award: Adriano Francisco Boaventura Cassule, from the Institute of Applied Social Sciences; Antonio Carlos da Silva, from the Institute of Humanities; Jandira Miguel Dala, from the Institute of Languages and Literature; Joelma Capungo Machado, from the Institute of Exact and Nature Sciences; Messias João Eduardo, from the Rural Development Institute; Paulo Francisco Nginga Gaspar, from the Institute of Engineering and Sustainable Development; and Jair Morna Djú, as the best international student.
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