Graduation Ceremonies Start at PAU

Denizli Metropolitan Mayor Osman Zolan, Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kutluhan, Pamukkale District Governor Uğur Bulut, Merkezefendi District Governor Âdem Uslu, Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Veysel Yanık, Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Necip Atar, Prof. Dr. M. Ensar Yeşilyurt, district mayors, deans, academicians, members of the provincial protocol, graduating students and their families attended the opening program held at Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Yılmaz Congress and Culture Center.

The ceremony started with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem and continued with opening speeches.

Bayam: "We are proud, happy and excited to graduate from Pamukkale University, one of the oldest universities in the Aegean Region."

The first of the speeches was delivered by Mehmet Bayam, the valedictorian of Pamukkale University (PAU) 2022-2023 Academic Year. Mehmet Bayam, the valedictorian of the Faculty of Engineering, stated the following in his speech: "We are proud, happy and excited to graduate from Pamukkale University, one of the oldest universities in the Aegean Region. I would like to remind you that we are the visible faces of the iceberg here. As it is known, the invisible part of the iceberg is much bigger than the invisible part. Dear Mr. Rector, Mr. Vice Rectors, Dean, Vice Deans, with a great vision and determination, you have made our university an institution that offers its students a unique university education experience and prepares them for life. I would like to express my endless gratitude to you for providing us with this experience. Dear academics of our university, you have guided us with your experience and passion for teaching for four years. We are grateful to you for every word you have said for us, every subject you have explained. Dear friends, in this long and challenging process, we have prepared for exams together, and created projects together. These years we spent with you will always remain as a sweet and unforgettable memory. I would like to sincerely thank you all. Dear families, you have raised us with great effort from the first moment we were born. You have provided us with all kinds of material and moral support. With your presence, you have provided us with an indescribable sense of happiness and trust. If we are here today as graduates, the biggest contribution is yours. With my most sincere feelings, I would like to thank you, our esteemed family elders, who have never left us alone, especially my father, and all our other deceased family elders who are physically not here, but who are with us. Thank you! I would like to end my speech with these words: I commemorate Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the Republic of Turkey and entrusted the future to us, Civil Engineer Mimar Sinan, who went beyond his age with the buildings he built and aroused great admiration, Hüseyin Yılmaz from Denizli, the inventor of the voice command system in Siri and similar applications, which are widely used in the world today, among the first female engineers in the 1900s, where women also successfully practiced engineering;  Sabiha Rıfat, Nezihe Önay, Altay Edige. I promise on behalf of myself and my graduate friends that we will work with determination and effort to move Turkish engineering forward by guiding and other successful Turkish engineers whose names we cannot name. Congratulations on our graduation."

Rector Kutluhan: "Today, our students are graduating from Pamukkale University, which is in the top 50 in the enterprise index, in the top 25 in specialization, and in the top 40 in the Turkish Qualifications Framework."

Pamukkale University Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kutluhan addressed the graduating students as follows in his speech: "Pamukkale University is in a separate excitement, a separate joy, a separate honor, pride and great feelings of gratitude in this graduation ceremony, unlike the ceremonies held so far. The reason for this is that the Republic of Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, has finished its century and entered a second century, the century of Turkey. Today, we are graduating young people who will serve the Turkish century, which is our source of joy and pride. Dear graduates, the whole world, especially the Turkic world, from Europe to Africa, from the Balkans to the Middle East, in short, the whole world expects a lot from you. In this century, the Republic of Turkey will rise above the level of modern civilizations and assume the leading role in bringing justice to the world. You are graduating with this mission. Good luck to you. Dear students, although the pandemic and earthquake disasters have prevented us from meeting with you more frequently, I have tried to meet with you, listen to your problems, and get your opinions to become a better university. I have tried to participate in the activities you have organized and I continue to strive for you to grow better and to study in more comfortable environments.

Dear families, you have succeeded in making our children university graduates with sacrifice so far. I believe that there is nothing you cannot do for your children from now on, but I advise you to determine the limits of your support in order to keep them on their feet. Because our age is the information age, the age of rapidly changing technology, and we expect our young people to adapt to this age very quickly and open a space for themselves in this age. In the graduate follow-up system we have done so far, we see that about 70% of our graduates are working in the private sector. This is a source of pride. To be able to take part in the private sector is to be able to stand on your feet. On the other hand, we have graduates who work at a very high level in our public institutions and organizations. We are also proud of them. We thank the families of all our graduates and wish them good health and well-being. Dear students, today you are graduating from Pamukkale University, which is in the top 50 in the enterprise index, in the top 25 in specialization, and in the top 40 in the Turkish Qualifications Framework. In the second century of the Republic of Turkey, represent Pamukkale University by protecting the indivisible integrity of the homeland, the unity and solidarity of the nation and our republic as in the first century. Remember that you have the ability to solve problems in the easiest way in your business and working life. That ability lies in asking 'why did it happen?', 'how did it happen?', 'how can we solve it?' in the face of any problem. I would like to kiss all of you and thank your professors and administrative staff who have contributed to your upbringing. May your path and good fortune be clear!"