A Graduation Ceremony for the 2025-2026 Academic Year was held at Ondokuz Mayıs University's (OMU) Bafra Şevket Aşçı Faculty of Tourism and Bafra Vocational School of Tourism (MYO), located in the Bafra district of Samsun.
The ceremony, held at the Hanife Aşçı Conference Hall, began with a moment of silence and the National Anthem, followed by a cinevision (video) presentation. The opening speeches were delivered by Nihal Halabi, the top graduate of the Faculty, and Derya Gündoğdu, the top graduate of the Vocational School of Tourism. The students shared the knowledge and experience they had gained throughout their education and thanked the faculty members.
In his speech, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism Prof. Dr. Yetkin Bulut said that they had gathered not only to celebrate the last day of school but also the first step of new beginnings. He stated that graduating from the Faculty of Tourism meant not just completing coursework, but learning to understand people, respect different cultures, communicate effectively, and build a common language with people from all over the world. He explained that tourism is not merely about people traveling from one place to another; rather, it is about introducing a country's culture, demonstrating hospitality, and leaving unforgettable memories with people. He told the graduates that they were now not just alumni, but cultural ambassadors of the country, bridges of communication, and the tourism professionals of the future. He noted that throughout their education, they had gone through intensive exams, practical training, internships, and at times exhausting processes, and that all these experiences had provided them not only with knowledge but also with patience, teamwork, crisis management, and interpersonal skills — since the tourism sector is a people-oriented field, where success depends as much on a warm smile, empathy, and problem-solving ability as it does on knowledge.
Director of Bafra Vocational School of Tourism Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zuhal Çilingir Ük stated that the graduates would become cultural ambassadors who would represent the country in the best way in the tourism sector, and offered advice to the students.
OMU Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Ayşe Pınar Sümer and the Faculty's donor, SAMKON Chairman Hasan Kaya Aşçı, also congratulated the graduates and wished them success.
During the ceremony, diplomas and awards were presented to top-ranking students, and the top graduates of the Faculty and Vocational School placed a plaque on the graduation registry. Following the reading of the graduation pledge, the cake-cutting, and the traditional cap-throwing ceremony, the program concluded with a group photograph.
