-UL Lecturer Challenges Graduates to Build Value Beyond Degrees
By Lincoln G. Peters
Monrovia: A University of Liberia lecturer has challenged young Liberians to shift their focus from merely collecting academic credentials to strategically optimizing their skills for national development, warning against the tendency to “squeeze” one’s potential into irrelevance.
Ephraim T. Nyumah, a lecturer in the Department of Economics and former Secretary General of the Federation of African Law Students, delivered the charge over the weekend as keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony of the Smart Innovative Technologies Institute. Addressing a hall of newly trained graduates, Nyumah said he was inspired by the commitment and courage of young people determined not only to transform their own lives but also to make a meaningful impact on society.
“I am urging all of you to optimize your potential for national contribution to the sustainable growth and development of Liberia,” Nyumah told the graduates. “Our failure, success, demotion, children’s lives, and the future of this country are in our hands.”
Drawing on a parable about a bird held in hand—where too tight a grip means death, but too loose a grip means escape—Nyumah urged the graduates to treat their careers with similar care.
“The bird in the story I just told you is your career, and it is in your hand. You will determine whether it will fly or die. I want to challenge you: do not squeeze your career to death. Instead, optimize and utilize your potential,” he said. He further emphasized that education should not be defined by the institution one attends, but by what one gains from the experience and how effectively those skills are applied.
“It is not about the building of the institution; it is about what you get from the school and how you are going to utilize the skills,” Nyumah added. Reflecting on his own journey, Nyumah shared how strategic skill acquisition transformed his trajectory. In 2015, during his first year of college, he earned just US$50 a month working with a non-governmental organization. Determined to increase his value, he made a commitment to learn at least one new skill each year.
Over the next 12 months, he trained in Monitoring and Evaluation, followed by Project Proposal Writing. The newly acquired competencies, he said, quickly outpaced what his employer could afford.
“When I got my second NGO job, the first money I got was US$1,200 from just three weeks of work,” Nyumah recounted. “I did a field assessment in just five counties. My degree didn’t give me that job. I will get a law degree anytime from now, so I’m increasing my value.”
He urged graduates to view each new skill not as a mere certificate, but as a tool for becoming their own manager and a more productive professional.
“Whenever you have an opportunity to get new skills, don’t see it as just getting the paper. See it as an added advantage,” he said. Nyumah also offered a pointed reflection on the Liberian job market, noting that technical and vocational skills increasingly offer faster returns than traditional degrees.
“Vocational careers are the ones that pay today. We still have people with bachelor’s and master’s degrees who are pursuing technical vocational skills—it’s because the degree alone is not really providing,” he said. “Imagine someone with a degree working an entire month for about US$300 or US$400, but with vocational skills, that amount can be earned weekly.”
Isaiah Koffa, Jr., Executive Director of Smart Innovative Technologies, echoed Nyumah’s sentiments while adding a cautionary note on character. He thanked the keynote speaker for his motivational words and urged the graduates to prioritize integrity and networking as they step into the workforce. “Like we have been saying during this training period, it is only integrity and networking that enable you to make progress in whatever you have learned here today,” Koffa said.
“You are going to be trusted with the homes of clients, including their bedrooms. You will see money. But if you don’t have integrity, you will kill your dream—because if you lack patience, you will steal.”
The ceremony marked the latest graduation cohort from Smart Innovative Technologies, an institution focused on equipping Liberian youth with practical, employable skills in an increasingly competitive economy.
