New students who have been admitted into the 2016/2017 academic year to pursue various programmes have been encouraged to begin their academic journeys by balancing it with spiritual excellence.
This exhortation was given during a retreat organized by the CSUC Chaplaincy Unit on ‘moving from good to great; called on to academic and spiritual excellence’. The Programme was organized over the weekend to usher fresh men and women to life on campus.
President of CSUC Prof. Sam Afrane said the purpose of the Programme was to equip students with knowledge that would enable them to maintain a right balance between their academics and spirituality.
“We aim to give every first year student the opportunity to hear the word of God in a simple and clear way, so no one can claim they did not hear of the Lord while here,” Prof. Afrane added.
The main speaker for the event, renowned civil engineer and Chief Research Officer at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Mr. Francis Afukaar, advised fresh students to aim to be among the topmost five percent of the best students in their programmes by planning and working towards it.
“If you don’t aim at excellence, you achieve mediocrity,” Mr. Afukaar indicated.
Mr. Afukaar added that God is interested in the spiritual, emotional and physical well-being of human beings because humans consist of the body, the spirit and the soul.
“You need to have a good balance in life so you don’t lose out. The Lord has good plans for your life but you need to endorse them so they can come to pass,” explained Mr. Afukaar.
The speaker then ended his delivery with a call to students to re-dedicate their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. A number of students responded.
Mr. Paul Diboro, teaching assistant for the Department of Theology led students and staff in a vibrant session of exhortation and prayer.
Dr. Peter White, Acting Chaplain and Head of the Department of Theology, then concluded the programme by encouraging students to ask for the wisdom and assistance of the Holy Spirit of God in their spiritual and academic lives.
A sample of selected students who spoke on the Programme said the insight they had gained from the Programme would benefit them greatly.
