Makerere University 73rd Graduation is into its 3rd day of the week-long ceremony.
Graduands from the College of Business and Management Sciences (COBAMS), College of Computing and Information Sciences (COCIS) and College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Bio-Security (COVAB) took on the Freedom Square to mark the special day.
Among these, COBAMS’ Jemimah Nansubuga received notable recognition for being the only graduate of her year with a Plan A research dissertation.
Nansubuga concluded her studies in Master of Business Administration (Finance) in a period of only two years.
“The Plan A research journey at my faculty has a myth of having no one completing it in a space of two years. Many take 5 or even 8 years to finish and graduate, delays mainly caused by the Plan A research pursuit and completion, which is the main reason I pursued it to taste the waters,” she revealed.
“My class of plan A had about 40 students, and I emerged as the only graduate who has made it to this year’s graduation. My inspiration always comes from my beloved parents Mr and Mrs Samuel and Juliet Wamala, who always re-echoe two phrases that I decided to take very seriously in my journey of life:
- ‘Ekitayogera tekilema ayogera, literally meaning; what doesn’t speak, cannot fail someone with a voice.
- Whenever you see may options, always take the option that the majority are scared of to pursue. That is where the gold is.
These phrases have made my life a bit smooth as far as decision making is concerned,” she added.
About the research
Having worked with New Vision for 5 years, Nansubuga always wanted to write something about the company, and saw her research as an opportunity.
However, the kind of research she intended to do looked more at an industry, than a company/ organization in particular.
“This made me settle for a topic that covers New Vision as well, and therefore came up with a topic ‘Determinants of stock performance of locally listed companies in Uganda’. New vision is among the locally listed companies,” she narrated.
Regarding the challenges with Plan A, Nansubuga said: “The journey with Plan A is not an easy one as it has ups and downs that make you feel like giving up the whole course. One supervisor can accept your ideology, problem statement and concept while another might need further convincing to agree to your research gap yet both of them have to be on the same page for you to proceed, and this shapes you as a student to better your ideologies and arguments , something we appreciate after Viva Voce.”
“The journey is not for the faint hearted. I however knew what I wanted and was ready to pursue it at all costs to have results. At the point of facing challenges of back and forth to have my work portions approved by my supervisors I would go back home, relax a bit, have a day off the research and enjoy life, then later on get back to it with a new attitude,” she added.
Nansubuga’s extra efforts included staying at work for a few more hours, waking up in the night and constantly praying.
The motivated scholar employed other measures like volunteering and leading the class of Plan A of her year, as a source of extra inspiration because then “there was no way I would back out of it having a team that looks up to me with hope, and yet I wanted to show them that it is actually possible to have it nailed.
“I’m humbled to have led them by example, and I’m confident that the rest of my team will appear on the graduation list in the next graduation ceremony,” Nansubuga said.
On 7th of December 2022, with a few corrections to do, her Viva voce pursuit was a success and made it to the graduation list in a record time of 2 years.
Nansubuga hopes to publish her dissertation any time from now since the journey, experience, challenges, and zeal are now worth celebrating.
“Special thanks to my supervisors Dr. Tusubira Nyende Festo and Dr. David Namanya. Above all, I thank the Lord for the courage he placed before me to do this. It is not by might, nor by my power, but by the spirit of the Lord,” she acknowledged.
Nansubuga has worked for new vision for the past 5 years, (2017 to date) where she started as an Assistant Accountant advertising, Costing officer Commercial printing, and now a Procurement Officer.
She attained her first degree from Makerere University while doing a Bachelor’s degree in Business administration (Procurement), graduating in 2017.
Congratulations Nansubuga, the sky is the limit!
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