Monrovia — President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has challenged University graduates to strive for excellence in the pursuit of their goals and avoid the temptation of shortcuts in life. The President said the values of excellence and greatness cannot be cultivated without an uncommon and strong determination to overcome adversities and failures. "Adversity and failure rather than weakening us, must strengthen our resolve to persist and to excel," the President admonished the students.
According to an Executive Mansion dispatch from Oklahoma City, President Johnson Sirleaf was speaking on Saturday when she delivered the commencement convocation at the 107th graduation program of Langston University. Reflecting on her experiences of the past, the President cautioned the graduates that excellence and greatness come with a high price, including discipline, commitment and an unwillingness to settle for the mediocre, to settle for the second best and to be confounded and unyielding to challenges or obstacles.
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