VALEDICTORIAN SPEECH GIVEN BY DR MARIA JANA KINGSLEY-GODWIN AS THE BEST GRADUATING medical DOCTOR OF CLASS of 2022   at Medical University – Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Europe - in English language

Dear Madame Rector, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Academic and Administrative Staff, Distinguished Guests, Fellow Graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen, I feel deeply privileged to stand before you and deliver this speech on behalf of the English Programme graduates for the class of 2022. I must start by thanking God for making it possible for me and other graduating students to share this memorable day.

Congratulations to the class of 2022! Job well done! As stated in Galatians 6:9 – ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.’ Indeed, our season is upon us. Today is the day to reap the rewards of our travails. In 2016, our individual paths converged here and we embarked on our medical school journey together.  Despite our diverging backgrounds, we all shared one common dream - to learn the art of medicine. The course has been vast and all-encompassing, requiring consistent hard work to pass each assessment. We have studied numerous disciplines and overcome countless challenges. It is a testament to our resilience that we gather here today as the international and diverse graduates that we are.

Today, we receive this degree as recompense for our efforts. However, our tough grind has not yet come to an end. Even Nelson Mandela believed that, “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” The accomplishment and responsibilities we acquire today have pledged us to lifelong learning and dedicated service, to our future patients and wider communities. Our rewards will be the satisfaction of putting our knowledge to good use and the delight of seeing our future patients healed or their prognoses improved, and their relatives reassured. We will forever be grateful to Medical University – Plovdiv for preparing us to practice one of the noblest professions of them all.

Success is never a one man show and we owe our thanks to those who worked for us behind the scenes.  Thus, we thank Medical University – Plovdiv, our lecturers and clinical teachers for facilitating our medical education throughout the past six years.  In addition, in the face of the unprecedented situation brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the university acted efficiently in line with government directions to ensure our training continued without interruption.

Undeniably, our achievements would not have materialised without the love, support and encouragement of our parents and relatives. They put us first before themselves and carried our burdens – emotional, financial and otherwise – as their own.  Indeed, all our parents and relatives deserve huge thanks and applause!

It would not be right of me to omit mentioning those whose efforts have made my studies possible.  To my mother, Professor Dr Daniella Kingsley-Godwin, and father, Professor Joshua Kingsley-Godwin, I give my utmost thanks for their sacrifices, unconditional love, and words of wisdom. My father, who has endured so much for me, has been my steadfast rock since I began this degree at the tender age of 12. My mother has been my pillar throughout my studies. Without her precedent, from her own medical studies here, over 40 years ago, I would not have followed her footsteps. She instilled in me the importance of learning and using the Bulgarian Language for my training and my integration in the community.  I am grateful to my generous godmother, Roma Weston-Joseph, and Dr Elisaveta Nencheva for their prayers and encouragement.

I am also truly thankful to the Bulgarian Ministry of Education for providing written permission for my enrollment to Medical University – Plovdiv at age of 12, six years ago. In return, I am greatly indebted to Professor Stefan Kostianev (former Rector) and Professor Nikolay Boyadjiev (Former Dean of the Medical Faculty) for approving my admission. 

Likewise, I would like to thank notable members of the faculty - Professor Tanya Kitova (Vice Dean), Associate Professor Pavel Timonov and Dr Ivan Tsranchev (Forensic Medicine), Dr Efimiya Cholakova (Gastroenterology), Dr Katya Sapunarova (Haematology), Dr Ivanka Paskaleva (Paediatrics), Dr Velina Stoeva, Professor Ani Kevorkian (Epidemiology) and Professor Radka Komitova (Infectious Diseases) for the opportunities to collaborate on publication of articles and scientific projects.  I also offer my sincere gratitude to the Clinic of Haematology and the Department of Neurosurgery for the many chances they gave me to attend their clinics and learn valuable skills from 2019 to date.

Finally, to my fellow graduating doctors, undoubtedly, there are countless anticipated uphill battles ahead of us – many more sleepless nights and demanding postgraduate studies await. However, I am sure that after taking some time to celebrate this accomplishment we will venture on to the next hill and continue striving for even greater goals in the future.

Best of luck to you all as we go our separate ways!

God bless you all!

Thank you.

Dr Maria Jana Kingsley-Godwin, BSc (Hons), MMedSci (Distinction), MD (Distinction)