Address by Dr Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Chair, Board of Trustees, at UCA's 2025 Graduation Ceremony
Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim
Honourable Governor of Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, Alisher Mirzonabotov
Honourable Governor of Naryn, Altynbek Ergeshov
Deputy Governors
Members of the Board of Trustees
Rector Christopher Gerry
Dean Maxim Khomyakov
Faculty and staff
Parents, family members, honoured guests,
And the stars of today, the Graduates of the Class of 2025
Assalam alaikum and good morning.
On behalf of the Chancellor, the Board of Trustees and the entire UCA community, I convey our warmest felicitations to the Class of 2025. You’ve crossed the finish line – well deserved!
Today, we also acknowledge the dedication of the faculty, management, staff, and volunteers in guiding and supporting the education of these exceptional young women and men.
Our special admiration, however, must go to the parents and families of the graduating class. It was a profound commitment on your part to trust the vision and promise of this young institution.
Let me begin with a story—not mine, but yours.
Most of you arrived here from distant valleys and remote towns. Others came from across Central Asia’s cities and yet others from far off countries. You brought with you different languages, customs, faiths, and worldviews. In Naryn and Khorog, you laughed together and debated passionately.
But the challenges were many.
You navigated a global pandemic, adapted to remote learning and returned to classrooms transformed by new realities. Through it all—you discovered each other’s humanity, shaped your values, strengthened your resolve, and deepened your capacity for empathy. In five years, your alma mater has forged you into a fraternity, which I hope will last your lifetime.
This happy day also marks the beginning of the 25th Anniversary celebrating the signing of the Treaty establishing the University of Central Asia by the Presidents of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ismaili Imamat.
This University was not built in the comfort of capital cities. It rose—stone by stone—in mountain towns where others saw only remoteness and challenges.
I remember when trucks carrying construction materials and equipment were delayed for weeks as they traversed multiple country borders from Europe through Turkey, the Caucuses, and finally across Central Asia. Other vehicles came from Pakistan through China. Bureaucratic hurdles, cross-border tensions, and harsh terrains raised concerns about completion of the campuses on time and commencement of classes on schedule. Recruitment of faculty and development of an innovative curriculum and approval by multiple authorities brought their own issues. This is a moment therefore to also acknowledge the guidance of the Board of Trustees and the perseverance of the various teams including the craftsmen of Naryn and Khorog who made this happen.
None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary vision and sustained leadership of our Founding Chancellor, His Highness the Aga Khan lV, and the support of the Presidents and governments of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Kazakhstan—our Founding States—who joined hands to establish this unique regional institution.
Dear graduates, as you enter the wide world, let me leave you with a final thought.
Your education at UCA has prepared you not only to earn a livelihood, but to live a life of meaning. A life where success will not be measured by personal gain, but by the positive change you bring through service to others.
It is said that “service is the rent you pay for the space you occupy on earth”. In partial discharge of the rent, you owe for occupying this earth, I ask that during your lifetime you support the higher education of at least one other person in need.
So Graduands, as you leave these highland campuses—framed by snow-capped peaks, never underestimate the quiet power of kindness and the blessings of serving others.
Congratulations, Class of 2025.
Thank you.
