Sonipat based liberal arts institution, Ashoka University hosted its first convocation ceremony at the university campus, as 195 Young India Fellowship (YIF) students of Ashoka completed the diploma.
The US ambassador Richard R. Verma, was the guest of honour and awarded certificates to the students in the presence of founders & trustees including Pramath Raj Sinha, Sanjeev Bikchandani, Ashish Dhawan and Pro Vice-Chancellor Vineet Gupta.
“As Ashoka Fellows, I know that all students have one thing in common: they are leaders. I urge all students to remember that leadership is not a degree or diploma. It is not reinforcing the status quo or giving up or finding ways of working around problems instead of through them,” said Richard R. Verma. “Leadership is what we do between a challenge and the next step forward. It can be on a global scale, it can be within your state or corporation or organisation, or it can be in your community, your neighborhood or family – yes, your families, friends, and neighbors need your leadership too - it may not get the headlines, but you sure can have a real and lasting impact.”
Several graduating fellows of the YIF Class of 2015 have decided to study further and have been awarded prestigious scholarships to study at world class universities.
“We believe that through a study of the liberal arts, individuals discover their own better selves and the YIF is truly a voyage of self-discovery,” said Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Vice-Chancellor, Ashoka University. “We hope that through the YIF, we have helped the students to embark on this wonderful and adventurous journey through which, each one of them would have found out amongst other things, what they mean to themselves.”