The University of Makeni st. John of God Campus has concluded their first Matriculation since its inception as a campus of the University of Makeni early this year.
306 students matriculated on the 26th of November 2022 on Campus. The Campus is host to the Faculty of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences. Provost of the campus Brother Michael Koroma was impressed with the students ” I am happy that the students have come this far to their academic journey” he said.
The campus is now hosting to 3 departments of the University. These include the SRN, Public Health, and Clinical Psychology departments. However, this Matriculation ceremony is for the SRN students based in the new St. John of God UNIMAK campus. A matriculant Teresa Isata Carew expressed gratitude to UNIMAK for making her a fully recognized student of St. John of God Lunsar Campus ” Well matriculation was great for me it makes me feel like belonging” she said. Teresa said matriculation was motivational advice to the young ones to shoot for the moon even if they fall they will land among the stars.
The Campus is presently working on introducing a BSC in Nursing. Vice-chancellor of the University of Makeni Professor Joseph Turay officially welcomed the students to the first Matriculation of St. John of God Lunsar Campus. He said we are the pride of Sierra Leone.” You are going to set the pace as students” he said. He said at UNIMAK we building a civilization of love. ” We build the common good and build our country,” he said.
The University is a canter of excellence. This is why we are different from other Universities.
He said over 50 % of the country’s population are youths under 25 years. He appreciated the staff of the new campus for demonstrating, cherishing, celebrating, and holding up the values of the University. He encouraged the students to set the pace and be examples of society in the midst of the challenges faced by their families because of the economic difficulties.
He said at UNIMAK we are united as one people building a culture of peace. “Here at UNIMAK, we don’t have red or green. We are building human resources and promoting development. This is how we build our country” he said.
Professor Turay admonished the students to be steadfast and God fairing as medical practitioners working for the common good.
The Chancellor of the University of Makeni Bishop Natalie Panganelli congratulated the students for gaining admission to UNIMAK.”Be responsible and dedicated students” he said. He informed the students that they are there because they want to contribute to the development of Sierra Leone by building a civilization of love. We need the cooperation of everybody to succeed as a University, especially the St.John of God Campus. UNIMAK is a University located in Sierra Leone. He encouraged the students to avoid any form of violence and corruption on campus. ” Report any form of sexual harassment on campus let us fight for a better country,” he said. Bishop Panganelli urged the students to stop the culture of violence in the University. ” Be good and honest professionals ” he ended.