Graduates advised to combine qualification with personal skills for success in life

Captain Budu Koomson (retired), Chief Operations Officer of UT Holdings, on Saturday advised students and graduates to combine academic intelligence with emotional astuteness in order to distinguish themselves in life.

“It is said that many people who are smart but lack emotional intelligence end up working for people who have lower Intelligent Quotient (IQ) but who excel in emotional intelligence skills” he said.

Captain Budu Koomson was delivering an address at the sixth matriculation and third congregation of the Evangelical Presbyterian University College (EPUC) in Ho.

He explained that academic intelligence only equips one with “the basic threshold competencies”, skills which help one to think and understand ideas and information needed to carry out the tasks associated with a given position.

Emotional intelligence Captain Koomson said refers to “distinguishing competencies that set star performers from the average ones.”

“These competencies are the capacity for recognizing your own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing our emotions well and in our relationships” he said.

Captain Koomson, therefore, urged every student and graduate to dream and have a burning desire, know him or herself and build on his or her capacity in order to take off.

He advised them to plan, have positive attitude and character, dogged determination, ignore detractors and distractions look for mentors and seek help, be flexible and adapt to situations and conditions.

Captain Koomson said luck also played a part in personal success. “But ultimately and finally you need the “old man” (God) upstairs to watch over you and shower his mercies and grace upon you.

“Have a dream, work your plan and exploit your luck... You take charge of your life, or something or someone will take charge of it” he warned.

Professor S.G.K Adiku, Acting Chairman of the EPUC, also admonished the graduates to unearth their hidden talents outside their fields of learning and develop them.

This is because “many graduates in today’s world rely on skills that they have developed other than what they learnt at school.”

Professor Adiku announced that the EPUC was working hard at establishing a Language School where “you can learn French, German, a Ghanaian language, and perhaps Chinese”.

“Knowledge of language can take you to many destinations in the world,” he said.