SABESA ALUMNI Sept. 2014 | Page 2

2 Bih Forcob Bilola Fofung Fawah Akuo Pamela Bongkiyung This year – 2013 remains highly significant and will remain most memorable. Our admirable college attained 50 years from when it first opened its doors in October 1963. So we can proudly declare that St Bede’s College has educated over 6 generations in the last five decades. In addition, 2013 saw the death of an iconic leader in the eyes of the world and especially for all black people around the world, in the name of Nelson Mandela. Madiba who had been in and out of hospital since November last year, finally gave up the ghost on the 5th Dec. Mandela’s dedication to fighting for what was right cost him a lot in life but he was victorious after 27 years in jail. He freed South Africans from apartheid, in what has been called the ‘second redemption’ of the black man after the abolition of slave trade, end of colonialism and the civil rights movement. We can all take a leaf out of his book on the essentials of being upright citizens for our country’s prosperity and progress. Hello to you and welcome to Saint Bede’s Students’ Association (SaBeSA) class of 2004 alumni magazine. It has been 9 years since our batch which started out in 1997 left St Bede's College. Some of us spent 7yrs in the 'city of Belo Valley' while others who joined in High School perhaps had a memorable two years. Since that time, we have all faced some hurdles and tried to overcome them in our own ways. We decided to launch this magazine to enlighten you on the difficulties associated with making a career choice. Some people are lucky to have family members who are good at career orientation and counselling. Not many are that opportuned. We have struggled with career choices and finally settled on some that we still are not very certain is the best. However, for now, those choices seem to be leading us somewhere and so most of us have persisted on that path. As it is the first issue, this magazine is looking mostly at profiles of ex-students from the graduation class of 2004. We discuss the various career choices people have made and what engineered those decisions. We equally ask our alumni what if anything they learned from St Bede's College moulded their career decisions or perhaps the people they are today. We hope that by reading their stories and what keeps them going when faced with obstacles, we can learn about what careers we want to be involved in. It is a very important decision to start thinking of right now. This phase of your lives will set the tone for the rest of it. Granted, some stumble several times before finding their