First of all, I would like to say thank you to the Business
School for giving me the opportunity and honour to be the
student speaker today. On behalf of the graduating class
of twenty twenty-one, I would like to say thank you to
friends, family, distinguished guests, and faculty for being
here today and helping us put together this amazing event to
celebrate our achievement and hard work. To my fellow
graduates, congratulations. We made it. It feels
just like yesterday when we moved into our student halls
for the first time for many of us coming to
university was the first time we've lived away from home. I
remember that very day when my parents dropped me off at
Tennis Courts feeling excited about the thought of being
away being living away from home and having my own space.
Like yes freedom. No more mum calling me when I'm out and
asking when I'll come back home. No more morning chores or
just excited about simple things like staying up all
night. As far as I was concerned, I was independent
junior from then on. Then that evening, I remember feeling
hungry and I thought, yes, let me make my first dinner as an
independent uni student. So, I headed to the kitchen, got my
brand-new pot out, put it on the hob, then I realised, I don't
know how to cook. So that's when it hit me that this living
away from home thing might just be a bit harder than I thought.
And if I want to survive the next 3 years I needed to learn
very quickly how to truly be an independent person. And I would
say my time here at the University of Birmingham has
given me that opportunity. And I'm sure that there are many
fellow graduates in here that resonate with this. As well as
becoming independent individuals, studying at the
University of Birmingham has given us the opportunity to
develop a diverse group group of friends. With students
spanning from many countries across the globe, we have been
able to learn and appreciate different cultures. Before
coming to university, I never knew how much I was missing out
on but now through my various and diverse
friendships, I found out that one of my favorite food is huÇ’guÅ thai
which is a very well-known Chinese dish. And I now enjoy
listening to South African and my piano music. And my new
favourite movie is a Bollywood
blockbuster. I'm sure like myself that there are many of
us that have had a richer university and life
experience as a result of the diverse cohort we've been
graced with at the University of Birmingham and all these new
experiences are something that we will forever be grateful
for. Now, graduating at the University of Birmingham under
sthe current circumstance, has made
us a very special cohort. It has been a difficult past 16
months for all of us. We've having to balance the
challenges of lockdown and our respective university
programmes. Coupled with that is the looming fear of a COVID
induced recession that makes the job market that we are
graduating into even more competitive and uncertain.
However, my fellow graduates, it is important that we
acknowledge that we've made it this far. Which is an
extraordinary achievement in itself. But going forward, we
must remain driven, remain positive and resilient. For as
the Chinese philosopher, famously said, in the midst of
chaos lies great opportunity. So for any of my fellow
graduates out there thinking timing couldn't be worse given
the given the pandemic. Remember, the greatest
opportunity is still yet to come. Now, graduating from a
world-renowned university such as ours puts us in good stead
to reach for the highest of heights. Whilst we are in these
positions, we must remember that we have a great level of
responsibility to society. As we are the generation of
change, we must speak up on social injustices and work to
create a world that future generations can be proud of and
can thrive in. Now before I end my speech I'd like to use this
opportunity to first of all thank God for getting me to
this position. And I wanna thank my friends because this
journey would not have been the same without you guys. And I
also like to thank the Business School for their continued
support over the over the past three years. And most
importantly I would like to thank my parents for all the
sacrifices that they've made to get me to this point and for
the spirit of excellence that they have instilled in me
from a young age. Mom and dad I owe you everything.
I'd ask the class of 2021 to please turn to your family and
friends and just give them a round of applause because
without the support none of us would be here.
Thank you.