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Good morning and welcome. I am Mmamohau Tswaedi, a junior here at Concordia College Selma. I have been asked to talk briefly about myself and the impact Concordia College has had on me. As I am sure you can tell, I'm not a native of the United States. I grew up 20,000 miles away in South Africa, a country filled with a rich history and stories of triumphant victories. When it came to pursuing my tertiary education, I looked toward another great country and decided to come to America. I arrived in 2005, and a friend of my father's told me about Concordia College Selma. I decided to give it a chance. When I reached Selma, I was shocked to find that the town was not as large as I would have thought. The initial shock took a while to wear off, (a semester or two), but I came to the realization that even though I had no idea why I landed here, someone greater than me did.
I could go on about all the things that I don't like about college; but, another lesson learned is that what you see in life depends mainly on what you looking for. And if you never look for positivity in life, you will never learn anything from it. Although this place is a mere dot on the map, the goodness and willingness of the staff on this campus far exceeds its size. Our STAARS program, for example, gives students the opportunity to be assisted and tutored in various subjects by both staff and peer tutors. The facilities are well kept and one can sense that the staff is willing to help you out in any way possible. I love STAARS and when I'm not busy procrastinating, it is where I accomplish most of my school work and research.
While here, I have also been involved in various clubs and activities, namely Rotaract and Spiritual Life. With Rotaract, we have been involved in service projects both locally and internationally. One of the highlights from last semester was having children from the Children's Home come over for a fun day. Being able to better peoples’ lives by small and simple acts made us all appreciate what we have, even though we often think its not enough,
Being an avid sports fan, I can not conclude without the mentioning of my favorite sports, soccer. Last season, our team made it all the way to playoffs and they, too, taught me a lesson that through resilience, persistence and prayer, anything can be achieved.
The pursuit of education can never be boxed into a room filled with desks and chairs. It is within you to take every moment of life as a lesson. And this is what Concordia has taught me, to see life's lessons and learn from every moment.
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