I am an Alumnus of NED College: Farid Durrani
Posted by Farid Durrani on August 22, 2007
I am an alumnus of NED Engineering College. This introduction is enough to break the ice between two strangers who both once attended NED. A sense of happiness, a sense of good times, flows as you start to explore golden memories of the past. I am sure there were instances when we were frustrated, we wished we had better facilities, better resources, but that has passed and all we can think of is how wonderful our days were and the success and pride that followed as we continued to progress during the four (more in some cases) years. Its gives us all a sense of pride that we belong, and we belong to the community of NED at large.
NED introduced to me to some very dear friends and provided me the basic skills and understanding of the engineering discipline to move on and learn more. The testimony of NED’s contribution is that former NED students are spread over every nook and corner of the world, serving with distinction. There are no complaints that the NED alumni are misfits in the highly competitive global market, which is certainly a source of satisfaction and pride for the NED Community.
There are sophisticated loyalists of many colleges and universities that produced proud alumni. But does a single school in any city come to represent exclusiveness in quite the same way? Moreover; nowhere one can find students who believe as though the best moment of their lives was their time in this school. Although that has been sliding ever since, still some of the brightest most prominent people I know went to NED. When I meet my colleagues and ask them to recall their days at NED. Their response is that “Everything I am, I owe to my years at NED.” These are my sentiments exactly.
It should not be lost sight of that NED is an 85-year old institution and has its traditions, achievements, laurels and shortcomings like any other seat of higher learning, but it continues to be a premier institution in Pakistan. NED has had the good fortune and distinction that its destiny was guided and supported by committed, distinguished personalities of the country. In Pakistan, NED College was an image of accomplishment for some of the most talented young men and women in the same way that MIT, Stanford & Harvard symbolized respect in US.
It is quite heartening to note that the NED Alumni Association is working to help NED achieve the status in higher education that it deserves. It is a matter of great importance for us that we do everything possible to make NED an institution that is a magnet for talented young men and women. We all have tried to do (or at least have thought of doing) whatever we could, and in our own way, but the momentum we have gained and the synergy we have makes it feel like we are getting closer and closer to our goal. I am sure that during convention 2008 we will look back and say to ourselves, we imagined, we planned, we executed and we got closer to our goal. This legacy must go on.
Well Done! Farid. This is a great tribute to our alma mater and fellow alumni.
I agree, the legacy must go on. Even get better with time.
Well-written!
The NED affiliation does bring out a magical camaraderie between strangers who find out each other’s NED connection.
C.