The students of St. Joseph’s Senior Secondary School Naggalama have reaped big from the annual old student’s professionals’ expo.
The old students from different professions through their umbrella association, Naggalama Old Students Association (NOSA) spent a full day speaking to the currents students from Senior One to Senior Six, inspiring, motivating and taking them through their real experiences right from school life up to the present day where they are.
“We pick up different students who have been successful in their various professions whom we bring to share their real experiences. At the end of the day, we have always registered successes with students who testified how beneficial the expo has been,” said Agnes Nsubuga, the school’s headteacher.
From the expo, different speakers have asked the students to be disciplined, focused, resilient and devoted in their books.
Thaddeus Praise Tumwebaze Ayebare, the registrar of the High Court said success and discipline move concurrently warning that whether one is in the best school when indisciplined and not focused, they will not be able to succeed in life.
Ayebare made the remarks at St. Joseph’s Senior Secondary School Naggalama in Nakifuma-Naggalama Town Council in Mukono district on Saturday during the annual St. Joseph Naggalama Old Students Association (NOSA) professionals’ expo.
Professionals who are old students from different categories turned up speaking to the current students on how they emerged successful in life. The professions that turned up included the medical doctors, engineers, lawyers, journalists, accountants, bankers, the religious, human resource, among others.
Ayebare said that he was at Naggalama for two years 1999 and 2000, a member of St. Kizito House said he joined the school with a passion of becoming a leader and he ended up being elected the deputy judge.
“Less than a year, I was promoted to the Chief Judge and I headed the court. Inspired by my experience and my experience to do justice, I did not relate. At the end of my Senior Six, I joined Makerere University where I did Bachelors of Law on government sponsorship. The same applied to the Law Development Centre (LDC), also the government took me on,” he said.
Just like any other graduate, Ayebare says the journey did not appear soft as he did not wait for newspaper adverts to apply for jobs.
“I walked into different offices presenting my application letter and attached it with the Curriculum Vitae (CV), only to be asked whether I had read any advert for the job. My answer would be no and be shown the door to get out. But that did not make me lose hope,” he said.
In 2007, Ayebare says he landed on a job advert whereby the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) wanted State Attorneys, and he put in his application.
He says that he started working in January 2008, serving in Kampala, Kasese, Mbale, back to Kampala and later Kasese, from where he changed the legal lineage, applying to become a court registrar.
“I served in Soroti, in the Court of Appeal, Legal Secretary to the Chief Registrar, and he was promoted to become the deputy Chief Registrar, serving in the Court of Appeal. Then the Chief Justice identified me. He appointed me as the Private Secretary to the Office of the Chief Justice, where I have been until now,” he said.
Recently, the President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni also identified me and appointed me to serve as the Registrar of the Court of Judicature. He also holds Masters to the Legal Laws of Uganda of Makerere University.
He says to get where he is, it has been a combination of things including; watching character, interests, passions and tuning one’s self into a holy direction.
Among the other speakers was Mary Mbolanyi, a technical officer in charge of communication, navigation and surveillance at the Civil Aviation Authority who is among the technical staff handling the aeroplanes’ landing and flying at Entebbe International Airport.
Mbolanyi, a born of Naggalama village said that she comes from a very humble family of peasants who almost failed to raise her school fees to complete her studies at St. Joseph.
“If it was not one of my teachers who helped in footing part of the fees following the fact that I was so bright and disciplined, I would now be telling different stories,” she said.
She added that even when fellow residents mocked her mother, the late Mary Mbatudde for taking her children to Catholic founded schools, yet she was a Muslim and staying near Naggalama Mosque, she did not give up because she knew that what they wanted was far beyond religion.
The Muslim friends Mbolanyi’s family lost their patience after seeing her and the sister completing primary section from St. Agnes Girls Boarding Primary School Naggalama, of Catholic foundation and again joining St. Joseph, hence making her a laughing stalk.
“I knew and my mother always told us together with my sister that it was only education to liberate us from poverty. Indeed we studied and came out victorious. We are no longer regarded as peasants. I have travelled to many countries which no member of my family has gone to. For your information, I was the first member of the family to board a plane!” she revealed, adding that it was the education that liberated her and the family from poverty.
Mbolanyi asked the students to desist from the habit of hating science subjects saying the Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics which some of them have painted hard can be easily passed if one gets determined and works hard on top of being disciplined.
Dr. Maurine Namugaya, who was the best student in the whole country in 2018 with the combination BCM/Sub Math said that given the fact that they have the same teachers and other resources as theirs, the current students should be sure that they can as well make it.
The NOSA professionals’ expo was attended by all the students from Senior One to Senior Six. Dr. Ezra Nunda, the deputy Managing Director of Mengo Hospital asked the students to be motivated and set their goals right in that even when they fail at a time, they should not lose focus.
Among other exhibitors in the professionals’ expo, included; Eng. Denis Ariba, Eng. Simon Peter Basajjankonge, Eng. Patrick Luwomwa, Dr. Sr. Justine Namaganda who represented the Reverend Sisters and Priests, a lecturer at Uganda Management Institute (UMI) and Makerere University, lawyers; Racheal Mulindwa and John Ronald Kasule, Annet Nantale who represented the mass communication fraternity, from Lugazi diocese communications office.
The school headteacher, Agnes Nsubuga, said the old students have for years acted as role models of the current students through telling their own experiences during their school times and presently at their work places.
Nsubuga said the students were advised to set goals, focus on achieving them, be smart, resilient and persistent at achieving those goals.
Patrick Ssemanda, the NOSA president, asked the students to utilize the opportunity they have at school profitably when they still have people who go after them asking them to read, be disciplined and smart saying when they get out, that there will be no more.