Creating Your Own Current: A Lesson in Resistance and Resilience

The Inherited Stagnation – A University Adrift

For the 22-year-old navigating a world of expectations, a world that often nudges you towards the well-trodden path, I offer this: dare to author your own journey. My story of being Vice-Chancellor in Papua New Guinea for 6 years, where I thrived going against the current, illustrates this principle.

Dedicated to my dear friend, the late Larry Orsak (PhD UC Berkeley) here in Lae on the 7th of July 2014 in the rain during the national march against corruption.

Your distinct path to a thriving and impactful life is forged by courageous choices and the wisdom to strategically resist the current, discerning when to lead, not merely follow. This isn't a platitude; it's a truth etched from experience, from a time when the path of least resistance would have been complicity in decay, but the choice to resist, though fraught with peril, became the only way forward.

In 2011, I stepped onto the campus of the Papua New Guinea University of Technology (PNG UNITECH) as Vice-Chancellor. The air itself felt heavy with a legacy of systemic corruption and a deeply ingrained mismanagement of funds. Facilities were dysfunctional – internet was a myth, labs were unusable. A culture of entitlement among some staff had taken root, and effective leadership was a distant memory, often overshadowed by political interference. The university, once a beacon of hope gifted at independence, felt more like a Trojan horse, its potential hollowed out from within.

The human cost of this stagnation was stark. Graduates, as one astute entrepreneur bluntly put it to me, "looked good on paper" but were often "unable to do anything." Our own surveys revealed a grim reality: only 40% found employment as university graduates within six months, many underemployed as technicians rather than the engineers or scientists they were trained to be. Students, the very heart of any university, were often viewed as a nuisance. This institutional inertia mirrored the societal pressures a young person faces – the silent invitation to accept the status quo, to drift with the flow because challenging it seems too daunting.

The Unacceptable Reality – The Choice to Resist

But to witness this and not act was unthinkable. The catalyst wasn't a single lightning bolt, but a confluence of these harsh realities. The question from that entrepreneur, the damning employment statistics, the palpable sense of wasted potential – it all coalesced into an undeniable imperative. The "courageous choice," as it felt then and still does now, was to resist this current of decay. My vision was clear: to transform UNITECH into an institution that produced highly employable graduates, leaders who could genuinely contribute to setting this unfortunate young nation on a path of increased prosperity for all, better health and educational outcomes, not just carry a certificate. Following the flow would have been easier, quieter, and certainly safer. But it would have been a betrayal of the students and the nation.

Charting a New Course – Navigating Treachery and Inspiring Hope

And so, we began to chart a new course. The levers for change were clear: overhaul academic quality through international accreditation, demand financial transparency to staunch the bleeding of mismanaged funds, rebuild infrastructure, and, crucially, place students at the center of our mission. We launched initiatives: the "Make UNITECH Fly!" campaign to strengthen commitment to the mission of the Univeristy, an "Industrial Advisory Board" and "Industry Breakfasts" to align curriculum with industry needs, the pursuit of a clean financial audit, the ambitious project to bring in high-speed internet via the O3B satellite system – a world first for a university – and the introduction of tools like Ubuntu laptops and Google Classroom. We removed the bars from departmental windows, symbolic of a new openness, and instituted monthly management forums with students and staff.

The resistance was immediate and multifaceted. It came from predictable quarters: short-sighted, self-interested political figures working in concert with entrenched elements within the university Council and staff who benefited from the old, corrupt ways. A whisper campaign began. Chancellor Kekedo, embodying a mindset that seemed to prefer mediocrity, actively undermined reform efforts, in particular the campus development plan, that as a result was never realized.

More insidious, however, was the internal betrayal. I found myself surrounded by some two-faced colleagues who, while feigning allegiance to the reform agenda, relentlessly undermined it to protect their own interests and push personal agendas. The attacks became personal and they eagerly spread the slanderous and bizarre lie  that I never received my Ph.D. Slander is a crime also in PNG. This was a bitter lesson in leadership: the currents you resist are not always the obvious torrents; sometimes they are the treacherous undercurrents of duplicity within your own ranks.

Yet, amidst these challenges, a beacon of unexpected and profound support emerged. In a remarkable display of courage and conviction, the students themselves chose to resist. For five weeks, they boycotted classes, their unified voice demanding good governance, transparency, and my return to campus during a period I had been kept out of the country for my own safety (here is the famous Schram is Back newsclip). Their actions were a powerful affirmation that the fight for a better UNITECH resonated deeply with those it was meant to serve. They, too, dared to author their own part of this journey, refusing to be passive recipients of a failing system.

The Price of Principle – Trials by Fire

Our successes, though hard-won, began to accumulate. The O3B internet became operational in 2015, transforming connectivity. In 2017, we achieved the first clean financial audit in years. Thirteen infrastructure projects were completed. Student engagement soared, and we sent 77 faculty members abroad for vital training, 27 of which to obtain a terminal, doctoral degree. UNITECH even became a signatory to the Magna Charta Universitatum, a global commitment to university autonomy and academic freedom. These victories built momentum, attracting support from industry partners like ExxonMobil.

But the forces of corruption and stagnation fought back with venom. The year 2016 became a watershed. Peaceful student protests against national issues were met with violent repression. Political interference intensified, and the Student Representative Councils were unjustly suspended. My own Chancellor, who had initially supported reform, buckled under pressure.

The personal cost of this strategic resistance escalated horrifically. In a chilling demonstration of how far the corrupt elements would go, I was unlawfully detained by sections of the PNG police. During this ordeal, through extortion by corrupt lawyers acting in concert with those who wanted me gone, I lost my entire life's savings and inheritance. It was a brutal, devastating blow, designed to break me and send a clear message to anyone who dared challenge the entrenched system. Eventually, I was able to leave  from the country I had sought to serve to take care of my ailing mother.

The Unbroken Spirit – Forging an Enduring Legacy

In the immediate aftermath, it would have been easy to see only defeat. The progress seemed reversed, the personal cost unbearable. Yet, even in the darkest moments, a different kind of victory began to emerge – an internal one. I emerged from that crucible with a clean conscience, a spirit that, though battered, was not broken, and a profound, unwavering willingness to do it all over again if faced with the same moral imperative. These were my "small personal victories," the ones that truly define whether you thrive or merely survive.

And the seeds of change, once sown, have a stubborn way of enduring. Years later, news trickled through of PNG UNITECH’s engineering programs achieving international accreditation – a core goal of our reform agenda. A new generation of IT-savvy engineers and scientists, beneficiaries of the systems we fought to implement, began to make their mark. Positive change, once set in motion, can indeed become irreversible, even if its path is delayed or diverted.

Final Remarks

So, to the 22-year-old standing at a crossroads, perhaps feeling the pull of the crowd or the ease of the current: remember that your journey is yours to author. My UNITECH saga, with its triumphs, its betrayals, and its profound personal costs, is a testament to this. "Resisting the current" is not about mindless contrarianism. It is about a clear-eyed assessment of the world around you, the courage to envision something better, and the tenacity to pursue that vision, even when the tide is fiercely against you.

The path of leading your own life, of choosing principle over expediency, may demand sacrifices you cannot now imagine. It may bring you into conflict with powerful forces. But it is in these courageous choices, in this strategic resistance, that you will forge not only an impactful life but also an unshakeable inner core. 

Thriving isn't just about money, status or external success; it's about emerging with the integrity of your spirit, the clarity of your conscience, and the knowledge that you dared to lead, not merely follow. Sometimes, a bit of good trouble is indeed the price you pay for positive change. And it is a price worth paying.