UMU Graduates Charged to Rebuild-Speakers task outgoing Students to Help fix systems

MONROVIA – A powerful undercurrent of urgency and national expectation defined United Methodist University’s 21st commencement, as speakers moved beyond celebration to issue a direct challenge to graduates: fix what is broken. In a country grappling with systemic inefficiencies, institutional fragility, and rising public demand for results, the ceremony evolved into a platform for accountability rather than applause. Education was framed not as an end, but as an entry point into responsibility—one that requires courage, innovation, and ethical resolve. As 611 graduates stepped forward to receive degrees, they were simultaneously handed a heavier mandate: to confront Liberia’s enduring challenges and become the generation that transforms systems from within. The Analyst’S Matthew H. Turry reports.

What might have been a routine graduation ceremony instead unfolded as a national call to action, as United Methodist University conferred degrees on 611 graduates while placing the burden of transformation squarely on their shoulders.

Held on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at the Liberty Christian Center in Johnsonville, Montserrado County, the 21st commencement convocation carried the theme “Gala Kel El”—“God Did It”—yet the dominant message throughout the program suggested that what comes next will depend less on divine intervention and more on deliberate human effort.

Across speeches delivered by government officials, academic leaders, and religious figures, a consistent thread emerged: Liberia’s future systems—economic, political, and social—will only improve if those entering them are prepared to challenge, reform, and rebuild.

Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti articulated this expectation with striking clarity, telling graduates that their role in national development is not optional.

“You have a responsibility to fix every system that you will enter in this country,” she declared, shifting the tone of the ceremony from recognition of achievement to assignment of duty.

Her remarks reflected a growing sentiment within governance circles that Liberia’s development challenges are not solely structural, but also generational—requiring a new cadre of professionals willing to confront inefficiencies and drive reform from within institutions.

Nyanti further emphasized that education must move beyond theoretical understanding to practical application, urging graduates to convert knowledge into wisdom capable of addressing real-world problems.

UMU Acting President Amb. Cllr. Medina A. Wesseh

In reinforcing this perspective, UMU Acting President Amb. Cllr. Medina A. Wesseh reminded graduates that their academic journey—marked by disruption, uncertainty, and perseverance—had already prepared them for the complexities ahead.

“The academic journey you started… was truncated along the way due to challenges you did not anticipate,” she noted, suggesting that resilience, rather than comfort, had defined their experience.

She urged the graduates to carry forward that resilience as they enter a broader environment where challenges will be more complex and stakes significantly higher.

Keynote speaker Dr. Deborah Rose approached the same theme from a philosophical angle, framing education as a transition from self-interest to collective responsibility.

Her assertion that education bridges individuals into a consciousness of humanity underscored the expectation that graduates must operate not only as professionals, but as contributors to a shared societal vision.

She challenged them to embrace uncertainty, adapt to diverse environments, and approach leadership with humility—qualities she suggested are essential for meaningful impact in an interconnected world.

Religious leadership reinforced the moral dimension of this mandate. Resident Bishop Samuel J. Quire Jr. cautioned graduates against equating success with wealth or status, instead urging them to measure their achievements through service and societal impact.

“The world you are entering presents both vast opportunities and serious challenges,” he said, emphasizing that true leadership lies in uplifting others and strengthening communities.

From the student perspective, valedictorian Coneh Mouana Kalilu extended the conversation into policy territory, calling on national leaders to invest more significantly in education systems that enable talent to flourish.

His appeal highlighted the interdependence between individual achievement and institutional support, suggesting that while graduates carry responsibility, government must also create enabling conditions for success.

Beyond the speeches, the ceremony itself reflected the broader evolution of Liberia’s higher education sector. Over the past two decades, universities have increasingly competed not only on academic output but on their ability to produce graduates equipped for leadership in a rapidly changing national context.

Within this landscape, UMU’s 21st graduation represents both continuity and transition—continuity in its role as a training ground for professionals, and transition in the heightened expectations placed upon those it produces.

As the 611 graduates depart the university, they do so at a moment when Liberia’s developmental challenges remain pressing and visible. From governance reforms to economic growth and social service delivery, the systems they are being asked to enter are in need of both competence and courage.

The ceremony’s message was therefore unmistakable: graduation is not a conclusion, but a commencement in the truest sense—a beginning defined not by opportunity alone, but by obligation.

And in that obligation lies the test that will ultimately define this graduating class—not by what they have achieved, but by what they will change.