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Dean's remark
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Welcome
I hereby extend a special welcome to all new entrants to Wesley Junior College for the 2011-2012 academic year. I am so thankful that you have chosen to attend this noble institution.
If you are under age twenty you have the misfortune of being born in a country which has changed dramatically over the last twenty five years. The peace and tranquility previously enjoyed in this country of ours no longer exists on a large scale. Belize was once the ‘Secret Jewel’ hidden and nested in Central America with strong links to the Caribbean. This country attracted people from all over the world who were looking for a little piece of paradise. Now that paradise is no more and this is the country that you now inhabit, where you will live and grow your own children.
My question to you is: What will you do about it? Can you in some way contribute to the improvement of this country? Can you bring back an era of peace and tranquility when we did not pass each other on the streets without saying ‘hello’? Can you become leaders who are humble and who desire the welfare of the people you are leading? Can you bring back integrity and hard work to our citizenry? Can you become a man who loves his family and takes care of his children? Can you become a woman who waits to be married before living with a man, a woman who waits to be married before having children? Can you become a woman who knows how to dress properly and does not need to display her body in an immoral manner? Will you have the self-discipline that it will take to complete three years of study while being employed full time? Will you have the will power and determination to protect your body from drugs and alcohol?
Yes, these are hard questions and probably not what you expected in a welcome address. Your answers to these questions will not only determine the type of person you will become, it will also determine the type of country that you will inhabit in the next ten to twenty years. Change is possible, and it begins with YOU. YOU can make a difference. YOU can bring about positive changes in your personal life and your community. I challenge you to not only live from day to day, minding your own business; I challenge you to make a difference in the life of others. You can rescue this country from the self destructive path that it seems to be on.
Congratulations for choosing to begin to make that change. By electing to continue your studies or to complete your studies at the tertiary level, you have made a decision to bring about positive changes in your own life.
May God bless you and strengthen you with the will and determination to be the change. And when the pressure gets high and doubts fill your mind, encourage yourself with these words: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me”
Yours in Education,
Winsome Arana
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