Graduates told to adopt right values

Weekender

By PETER ESILA
“Today it is your day, the graduates; you will go out there and face the world,” were the words of Acting Vice Chancellor, Vincent Malaibe at the 63th graduation of the University of Papua New Guinea last Friday.
The university graduated 1065 students from the schools of Humanities and Social Sciences, Medical and Health Sciences, Law, Natural and Physical Sciences and Business and Public Policy.
The graduates were told more than once during the special day that to win the world would take the right kind of values.
There were many stories told during the graduation and one was by Andrew Barry, the managing director of ExxonMobil PNG Limited.
“If you told me back then that my passion for engineering was one day going to lead to living and working in this great country of Papua New Guinea, as the managing director of the most significant resource project this country has ever seen, I probably would have laughed,” Barry told the graduation.
“The second time that I had been on a plane was when I went on an interview with this company that I now worked for 25 years,” Barry said.
As the MD of the operator of the multi-billion kina Liquefied Natural Gas Project, he now looks after 2600 people, over 80 per cent of those being Papua New Guineans.
Barry who is married and has three children, said his unimaginable life right now was a result of the education that he has received.
Before coming to PNG, Barry was responsible for ExxonMobil in development exploration activities in many parts of the world. He started his career in Australia and has worked in Qatar, United States of America, Canada and has held a wide range of roles including engineering, operations, strategic planning and LNG marketing.
Barry has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, with first class honours from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia.
He also holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from University of Melbourne, is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and is also a member of the Australia-PNG Business Council and the PNG Chamber of Commerce.
“I received the education, thanks to the support of my wonderful parents and particularly my mother who made many sacrifices to give me the support that is needed.”
Barry, whose father was killed in a tragic accident six months before he was born, reminded the graduates that “what you get out of life depends on the effort you put in and the values that you stand for.”
“I always tell my organisation that when I started my career 25 years ago in Australia, the managing director for Australia at that time was an American, and today it’s an Australian.
“ExxonMobil wants and expects the same progression here in PNG as we saw in Australia.
“We want the managing director of ExxonMobil Papua New Guinea to be a Papua New Guinean.
“You are the next generation of leaders, engineers, accountants, economists, scientists, doctors, environmental expects, lawyers and specialists in so many disciplines.”