A Graduation Celebration with a Twist
The Class of 2023 of Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia’s (NUMed) Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree programme celebrated their graduation with a graduation ball, themed “Your Golden Hour” recently.
3 July 2023
Pursuing tertiary studies is not for the faint of heart. Medical studies, especially, can be stressful and challenging. Graduating, therefore, is a wonderful cause for celebration. Much more than signifying the completion of a student’s journey, it also marks the moment when one officially crosses the threshold to the ‘real world’. Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia’s (NUMed) Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Class of 2023 recently celebrated this momentous milestone with a twist.
Besides a graduation ball, the students also incorporated a charitable component, giving them an avenue to give back to the local community that played an instrumental role in shaping their growth and development throughout their time at NUMed before they began their new journey in the professional arena. Among others, students and staff members contributed preloved items, while funds from the university were used to purchase various goods. The students also volunteered to pack food and items to be distributed to patients at Hospital Sultanah Aminah as well as collecting and sorting items from various organisations that were thereafter donated to Yayasan Kebajikan Suria Kawasan Permas (YSJB).
The graduation ball was held thereafter on 9 June 2023 at the Trove Hotel in Johor Bahru. Christened “Your Golden Hour”, the event saw over 100 attendees, comprising the fresh graduates, their partners and special guests, dressed to the nines for the occasion as they gathered for one final big bash before moving forward with their lives and future.
In addition to a sumptuous dinner spread, the graduation ball featured a lucky draw and a special performance by the sibling of one of the new graduates. Guests were also treated to a heartwarming video of staff members, who were unable to attend the event, sending their best wishes to all the graduates. To add to the festivities, the co-chairs of the event, Kuhaneshwar J Ravichandran and Jessie Kwan Yi Xin, as well as Dr. Paul Hubbard, NUMed’s Dean of Academic Affairs; Dr. Joanna Matthan, the Incoming Dean of Academic Affairs; and Mr. John Ho Tick Leong, the representative of YSJB, were invited to give speeches.
Jessie was thankful to her team for making both the charitable endeavour and graduation ball a success. “Even though the planning was stressful, it was all well worth it when I got to see everyone's happy faces at the ball. None of this would have happened without the hard work and contributions of my team and I’m really grateful for them.”
Kuhaneshwar agreed that planning for the entire event was a challenge. “However, I feel that being able to give back to the community and to spend one last night celebrating our five years together made it all worth it. This was the end of one chapter of our lives and the beginning of a brand new one,” he said.
Both the co-chairs also expressed their gratitude to Trove Hotel and Medipro for sponsoring the event, and to YSJB for working with and accommodating the students’ volunteer efforts.
