"We are champions!" - Graduation ceremony of German students in Florida 2007
Pride and joy are reflected in the faces of the twelve German MBA graduates who have taken their seats in the University of West Florida (UWF) ballroom, dressed in black gowns and wearing the traditional beret on their heads. It's Saturday, June 29, 2007, at 4 p.m. local time in Pensacola, Florida.
As if it had been cheering until the very end, the skies over West Florida open their floodgates to a subtropical downpour just in time for graduation, while inside 22 months of intense study fall from the shoulders of the graduates.
The graduates of the class of 2007 (from left to right):
Top row: Gabriella Dori, Esther Hoffmann, Berit Schmitt, Reinhard Frank, Anne Oehlschläger, Heiko Kern, Marielle Ehrmann.
Bottom row: Joachim von Hunnius, Daniel Bosch, Stefan Hauck, Metin Isiker.
Unfortunately prevented on the day of the celebration, and therefore not in the picture: Klaus-Felix Borchmann.
Only the front rows of the festively decorated hall are occupied, because the way to West Florida is too far for most friends and relatives. However, a live video transmission via the Internet ensures that many eyes are also on the event from Europe. This means that Klaus-Felix Borchmann, who had to leave Pensacola early for personal reasons and is therefore unfortunately unable to attend the graduation ceremony himself, can also attend the ceremony from his home in Baden-Württemberg.
Brig. Gen. Michael L. Ferguson, in his commencement address, gives those in attendance some good advice for a successful future with his "ABCs of success."
"A: Always have a dream or a plan.
Not just a business plan, but a life plan, that encompasses selfless service. [...]
B: Be committed.
Take a stand! [...] We've got enough people running around in the world, that don't know what they want or what they stand for. And you stand for something good. So take a stand in what you do.
Having traveled from Germany for the graduation ceremony, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Raab, as managing professor of the Transatlantic Institute (TI) at Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, took the floor. "Investment in knowledge pays the best interest rate." Based on this quote by Benjamin Franklin, he goes on to point out the relevance of education and the concept of lifelong learning. In his speech, he also highlights in particular the intercultural aspect of the MBA program at TI.
Nine of the ten courses were taught by US professors on Fridays and Saturdays at the TI in Ludwigshafen. Now, for the final course, "Strategic Management," the students came to their university's campus in West Florida for three and a half weeks.
No textbook and no lectures, no matter how lively, can even come close to replacing the direct experience of another culture, says Raab.
" By authority delegated to me by the faculty and the board of trustees, I confer upon each of you the Master of Business Administration Degree to which you are entitled, and welcome you to this ancient and honorable company of scholars." With these solemn words, Dr. Richard Podemski, Associate Vice President of Research and Dean of Graduate Studies at UWF, sealed the conferral of the Master of Business Administration degree on the twelve graduates.
Dr. Timothy O'Keefe, associate dean and MBA director, gets slightly flustered during his closing remarks as the newly minted MBAs begin to profusely congratulate and hug each other, and it takes a good moment for calm to return and for Dr. O'Keefe to officially end the ceremony.
