Father Thomas Ebong
The sunset of the pleasant spring day of May 12, 2022, was casting its golden rays upon the sides of the tall beautiful ETEC Building of the New York State University at Albany.
The Harriman Campus crowd, comprising the candidates for Ph.D. hooding in their various disciplines and their families and faculty members exchanged pleasantries and took pictures.
A large crowd from Akwa Ibom community had gathered to celebrate one of their own, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Sebastian Udoh—Ph.D Information Science (University of Albany); B.S. Computer Science, Minor in Computer Security Systems (St. John’s University, New York); M.S. Computer Science (City University of New York at City College); M.S. Information Science (University of Albany); M.S. Informatics (Indiana University Bloomington); Professional Certificate in Data Science and Big Data Analytic (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT). Massachusetts’s Institute of Technology is the best school in Computing Science.
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Most Rev. Camillus R. Umoh, Catholic Bishop of Ikot Ekpene Diocese, was represented by Fr. Thomas Ebong, supported by Frs. Cosmas Archibong, Charles Udokang, and Clement Umoenoh. Fr. Udoh’s family was represented by his sister, Enobong Udoh, who came in from Canada and his brother, Ifiok Udoh and his wife Mmandu and child Etima, from Houston.
Others included his friends, Sr. Monica Okon, HHCJ, Nsikak Obot, Dr. Bassey Essien and family and Fr. Udoh’s Afaha Obong classmate, Uwem Akpan, the multiple-award winner/New York Times bestseller.
At exactly 5:00 p.m., Fr. Udoh became the first Ikot Ekpene priest to receive a doctorate degree in Information Science. He also bagged two great honors—Member of Golden Key International Society (GKI), the largest collegiate honors society for graduates and undergraduates and the Upsilon Pi Epsilon International honors Society for Computing Sciences.
The procession began with each candidate walking in with only six guests to witness the hooding. ”We all enjoyed and marveled at how brief the ceremony was. There were no speeches. Instead each candidate went up to the podium and was hooded to the cheers of the crowd and camera flashes,’’ Ebong enthused.
Fr. Udoh was hooded by Professor Joette Stefl-Marbry, after which he shook hands with the university president, Dr. Havidan Rodriguez, and took pictures with the Dean, Dr. Robert Griffin. Thereafter, Udoh was ushered to another part of the spectacular ETEC Building (Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex) and feted him with a long session of photos and hugs and handshakes and laughter. His family presented him with flowers.
The evening ended with a relaxed and simple and joyful reception. Fr. Udokang was the MC. Fr. Ebong said the opening prayer and welcomed everyone. Fr. Umoenoh was the toastmaster.
”We ate pounded yam soup (afia efere ebot nne usuung), jollof rice with moi-moi and atama soup with assorted drinks. Then the celebrator took the floor to thank everyone. It was a great outing for Ikot Ekpene Diocese.
”We are grateful to Rev. Dr. Udoh for his patient endurance, determination and focus. We are proud of him and our prayers are with him. We also thank him for helping manage our Ikot Ekpene Diocesan website as well as serve as one of the administrative members of Pax News Coverage. Congratulations on your academic excellence and dedication!’’ Ebong narrated.
