On April 21, the HSZG graduates celebrated this year's central graduation ceremony with record attendance.
Good mood, great atmosphere and even better weather! Last Saturday, 21.04.2018, the graduates gathered in bright sunshine for the graduation ceremony in the Zittau auditorium. The ceremony, which was the opening event of the all-day central graduation ceremony, was attended by a record number of people.
Around 470 guests filled the rows of chairs and listened to the Rector's opening remarks from 13:30. In addition to the graduates and their proud parents and relatives, he welcomed the guests of honor and university members present and found fitting words for the educational phase of life at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences that was coming to an end.
Zittau's Lord Mayor Thomas Zenker not only congratulated the former students, but in view of the current challenges for democracy in our country, he also wished that they would actively participate in the social discourse on their future career paths in order to help shape the country democratically.
This year's winner of the teaching prize, which was awarded for the second time after 2015, also followed this call. Daniela Ahrens was honored as a lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences for her great commitment to her teaching. She ended her words of thanks with the request: "Stay curious!", underlining her wish for graduates to strive for lifelong development.
The graduates who were awarded the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences Sponsors' Association Prize for outstanding academic achievements once again proved to be curious and determined this year. Marlen Krause from the Faculty of Economics and Industrial Engineering was one of six winners to receive the award for her successful diploma thesis, which she implemented in a Czech company, paving the way for the company to meet new standards requirements by implementing new methods. The industrial engineering graduate ended her graduation speech with a quote from the recently deceased Stephen Hawking: "It is important that you simply never give up. Remember to look at the stars - and not at your feet."
Following the farewells to the graduates of the individual faculties, which were musically framed by the "Mandau Quartet" and a medley from the past five "study" years by Franziska Stölzel, the gathering in the Zittau student park followed at around 3:30 pm for the joint naming of the graduates' tree.
The horse chestnut tree, which was christened by Prof. Christa Maria Heidger, Prorector of Education and International Affairs, is now the 40th tree to adorn the student park since it was founded in 2009. In perfect weather, the graduates visibly enjoyed following a cherished tradition and releasing hundreds of green balloons into the cloudless Zittau sky for the fifth time. They were accompanied by their wishes and dreams for the future.
From 18:00, the doors of the Zittau Volkshaus opened for the second time in a row for the evening graduation ball. After the faculty photos were taken and the buffet was opened, the Liberec "Big 'O' Band" created a party atmosphere with their mixture of swing, funk rock and pop, filling all generations represented in the hall with dance and joie de vivre. The hot finale was the fire show with Dhyana Fire Dance, before the party continued deep into the night to DJ music.
We congratulate all graduates and would like to thank everyone involved in the realization of the central graduation ceremony. Special thanks go to the Förderverein der Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz e.V. and the Student Council.
Text: Cornelia Rothe, M.A.