The graduates were accepted as conductors at the official ceremony, and were greeted first by rector Dr. Béla Merkely. He noted how Semmelweis University was at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic in all areas, including patient care, screening and vaccinations, while continuing education in hybrid form.
Our thanks go to everyone who not only practiced their profession, their medical and health sciences calling, but who also prepared our students for altruism, responsibility, and making sacrifices for each other and our fellow human beings
– said the rector. He pointed out that being from “Pető” is a special honor not just in Hungary but all over the world, and graduates can rightly be proud of helping their patients live a fuller life as conductors. “So I ask you to remain members of the Semmelweis Community, and to find joy in your work in the future,” the rector said.
After short speeches by Béla Kató, bishop of the Transylvanian Reformed Church District, and István Hajnal, president of the Hungarian National Council, the fresh graduates were greeted by Dr. Miklósné Tenk Dr. Andrea Zsebe, dean of the faculty.
If we treat people as if they were what they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming
– the dean said, quoting Goethe. She recalled the role the Faculty played in the fight against COVID-19 during the pandemic, while thanking the students, teachers and conductors for their work. She cited as a milestone the fact that for the first time, the Faculty launched off-campus programs in Hungarian regions outside of Hungary. “We are trying to live up to the Pető name by providing Hungarian and English language BA and MA programs and by continuously increasing our international presence and expanding our research activity,” said Andrea Zsebe.
The request for commencement was made by conductor candidate Anna Uri. A total of 39 people received diplomas in the faculty’s conductor-kindergarten specialization, as well as 8 people from the off-campus training program in Illyefalva (Ilieni, Romania). In the elementary school specialist program 43 people received diplomas, while 8 graduates from the off-campus site in Szabadka (Subotica, Serbia) received their diplomas.
Anna Uri spoke representing the new graduates, noting that they were among the first not just in Hungary but in the world to complete conductor training at Semmelweis University. We helped tens of children each year, giving them love and holding their hands as they developed, she said.
Representing the graduates from the program at Illyefalva, Helén Fábián held a speech, while Marianna Turkál spoke in the name of the Szabadka graduates. The event continued with the presentation of “golden diplomas” for the 25 people who graduated from the school 50 years ago, in 1970.
As the close of the diploma ceremony, a film made by graduate students was shown, which included their memories and major milestones of the past four years.
For the full photo gallery of the event, see our original Hungarian article.
Bernadett Bódi
Translation: Tamás Deme
Photo: Attila Kovács – Semmelweis University
