Degree is not just for job, but a commitment to nation and nature

City Desk:

Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Information and Broadcasting Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Sunday said the initial goal of earning an academic degree should not be limited to securing a lucrative salary with attractive benefits.

“Rather, the new generation must enter professional life with a strong sense of responsibility toward family, society, the nation, and nature,” she said.

Rizwana emphasised that change never comes automatically; a country moves forward only through values, responsibility, and changes in individual behaviour, says a press release.

She made the remarks while delivering the convocation address at the Second Convocation 2025 of Sonargaon University, at the International Convention City Bashundhara in the capital.

Congratulating the graduating students, the environment adviser expressed her gratitude to their teachers and parents, noting that it is the parents’

limitless sacrifices and love that have enabled students to reach this important milestone.
Describing the transition from academic life to professional life as a “defining moment,” she urged graduates to ask themselves what they can contribute to the country and its people through their chosen careers.

Referring to environmental issues, she said that rivers, forests, and biodiversity are not created by humans, and “therefore, we have no right to destroy them in the name of development”.

The use of plastic and polythene, she added, is not merely an environmental issue but a question of the existence and security of future generations.Rizwana called upon students to initiate change by transforming their own behaviour rather than waiting for others to act.