Voice of Alumni

<p>I love changing heroes in my life. Recently, one person has held that position dearly. He is an Italian motorcycle racer, Valentino Rossi. With nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name, he is an ace of the racing world. An exciting fact about him is his pre-ride ritual. Before riding the powerful man-made beast, he will approach his bike and crouch down to hold the right-side foot-peg to “talk” to it. Imagine it as his process to transfer his soul to the beast. Vroom! It does wonders on the track! But that is not why I admire him!</p> <p>He has a prolific record of winning world championships in every category: 125cc, 250cc, 500cc and MotoGP. But this history is also interspersed with winless streak spanning multiple years. Despite this, he still races! Rossi won his first Grand Prix when I was five and with 40 years beneath him already, he still has the same passion he had when he started. More importantly, it is not the result of the race that drives him; it’s his zeal for a race. When passion becomes the sole driver of your work, you enjoy every bit of it, and the rest fades in oblivion.</p> <p>My first message as a KU alumnus: find what you are passionate about and choose a career that integrates your passion seamlessly. I found that I was interested in the prospects of a research career during my final year thesis at KU. That introspection has driven me to a foreign country for a PhD with no regrets. Some of my friends loved teaching. They decided to work as a primary school teacher after their undergraduate degree. It is less about judgement or competition and more about what makes you happy. Success comes along the way with determination and commitment.</p> <p>Too often, we spend our time criticizing the labs and mentors at Kathmandu University. I hardly doubt that this comes as a surprise to our faculty too. I worked as a teaching assistant for more than two years. I can assure you- the road to expanding our facilities and enhancing our teaching environment is not a straight one. Constructive criticism is a must from faculty as well as students. Surprisingly, we adore fault-finding and often ignore our responsibility for constructive comment. It would be much more productive if we spent our time thinking about the ways to make the most out of the limited resources at the university. This spirit will surely come in handy when you enter your final year and work on your thesis. Even if we had a better facility than the current one, I highly doubt that it will surpass the current research environment found in premier institutes abroad. Most of the alumni have excelled even in such competitive environments. I thereby argue that it is the spirit to excel that matters more than the skillset you acquire during your undergrad. The rest will follow with time and opportunities.</p> <p>But most of all, enjoy your time at the university. Some of the relations cultivated at KU turn into marriage. Some turn into memories. Memories that age like wine, sweet when you open it years later during nostalgia. Hope these recollections also sparkle like a glass of champagne at a celebration, and you don’t have regrets for any of it! Cheers to a beautiful you!</p>

Siddhi N. Paudel

Batch 2011