"The ship has reached port, but the adventure of knowledge continues".

Last week saw the graduation of the Continuing Education for Adults, an emotional event in which more than 30 students completed their university studies. Paloma Bilbao-Calabuig, Vice-Rector for Academic Strategy, Innovation and Internationalisation, welcomed the attendees and congratulated the new graduates.

Luis Landero Durán, winner of the Premio Nacional de las Letras 2022, encouraged that "we should prolong our childhood, we should not let the child we were die when we lived in that continuous state of astonishment, because everything was yet to be discovered. Then, with time, experience and study, we will become wise, very wise. Well, the wise man and the child will form a magnificent duo".

After him, the godfather of the graduating class, lecturer Nicanor Gómez, thanked the students for the honour they have given him by being their godfather. He also emphasised: "I want to thank you for these years of happiness in being your teacher". Words that moved the entire Aula Magna of the Alberto Aguilera campus.

Representing the students, Luis Sánchez de Pedro sent a message to his classmates, reading the words of Nicasio Ortín, also a graduate of the graduating class. "The journey that we culminate today with this unprecedented act has been for the members of this graduating class something more singular than the act itself. We started it without much idea of what it was going to consist of and who we were going to meet. After five years on board, it is no exaggeration to say that the voyage has far exceeded the expectations of the vast majority," said Sánchez de Pedro.

After the awarding of scholarships and diplomas, Pablo García González, director of the Graduate School and Lifelong Learning, reflected on continuous learning, recalling the words of Nuccio Ordine citing what he called "the usefulness of the useless" and inviting them to never stop enjoying what he called the "useless".

"The ship has reached port, but the adventure of knowledge continues," said Luis Sánchez de Pedro. A phrase that perfectly sums up our students' eagerness to learn, and congratulations to the recent graduates!