MAE Grad Speech

I was supposed to give a graduation speech at the MAE graduation event before the official commencement but I was late and wasn't able to give my speech. I would like to post my speech here for all the current MAE students and specifically for those who have just graduated.

2014 MAE Graduating Class

MAE Speech 2014:

It’s an exciting time as we graduate today and are looking to the bright future.

This program has been an amazing opportunity for me and I hope it has been just as amazing for you. With minimal core requirements it allowed me to specialize my education in areas that no other programs offer. I know many of you are dual degree students and have very unique backgrounds. I was able to meet people from all over the world with a wide variety of goals and interests which has helped me see the world through different lenses.

And after graduating I hope we all continue to stay in contact through email and our LinkedIn group. With a better connected alumni base we can continue to give back to this program and help future students in ways that haven’t been possible. Keeping a program running and making it competitive and successful is a large challenge, and I would like to thank Linda and Vinnie for the hard work they have put in. I would also like to thank Stefanos and all the other students who have been helping me build the mentor program and the alumni program as this will help all of us in the short-run and the long-run.

But as graduation has neared, I have realized that I have been in school for 20 years and standing here the future doesn’t look so promising. We are all used to being in school and moving on can be a bitter sweet moment. Many of us are graduating without jobs and that reality has started to set in as well. But I hope you realize how valuable this degree is and how much you have learned from those around you. As I have contacted many of our alumni in the past few weeks I have seen what great lives they have made for themselves and they have accomplished many great things. Our alumni base is very diverse across professions as well as countries. We have all worked very hard to get into this program and we have all worked very hard to graduate. And I know if you continue to work hard as you move forward in your lives you will be just as successful as our current alumni. I would encourage you to think about what this program has done for you and continue to think about how you can give back to the program and the future MAE students.

If there is one thing that I have learned from this program, it is that you get out of the program what you have put into the program. I hope all of you took courses that challenged you. For me there were depressing times when homework loads were high and exam scores were low but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Those terrifying times built character and grit which are invaluable assets that we all need.

So as you close this chapter of your life, and move on to new things, I hope you remember not to take the easy route, but to continue to look for challenges and to better yourselves. I hope you remember how Michigan has helped you and you continue to give back to your fellow Wolverines. For today we are victors and stand among the half million Michigan alumni. And as we say in Michigan, GO BLUE!