Pro Chancellor, Vice Chancellor,
members of the Senate,
members of staff, distinguished guests,
families, friends and of course, graduates.
Congratulations.
This graduation is a celebration of people,
of us, the graduates
and everybody that has helped us to get here.
All of you have spent three,
four, 10 or more years pursuing a greater understanding
of the world
and this has meant a lot of studying.
UWA students use all 24 hours
of the Reid Library opening hours
and I've even seen blankets in the computer labs.
You have reworded reports over and over again,
you have driven laps around campus
to find parking and make it to your 8 a.m. lectures.
And you've picked yourself back up
after every academic misadventure
and some of you have even done all of this
in your second or third language.
It hasn't been easy
but we've all made it here today.
Yet sometimes, I've wondered
why even come to university?
Most of us have been fortunate enough
to have grown up with the internet.
The pinnacle of human achievement and knowledge
that has gifted us such wonders
like the Twitter account of Baby Yoda.
(audience chuckling)
So cute, okay, all right.
Despite the convenience of the internet
and the growing trend of studying online,
I do believe that there is great value
in coming to university.
And that's the people.
So there's the staff.
Of course.
The lecturers that are incredibly passionate
about obscure subjects.
At first, you probably found it a bit weird
but eventually, you too were incredibly fascinated
by the structural properties of concrete
or something like that.
In addition to getting us to read about odd topics,
our teachers often set assignments
that seemed just a little bit too hard.
This forced us to adapt,
be resourceful and ask for help.
With their guidance, we have overcome a lot
of challenges that we may not have approached alone.
And I'm very grateful for this.
You have also met friends here.
Those new faces that you awkwardly said hi to
in the first few tutorials.
And soon, they became a lifeline,
helping you get through the semester.
It really helps to have people to share the struggle with
and if you're a teaching student,
it also really helps to have friends
to drink wine with at the end
of every week of your teaching practicum.
Thank you. (audience chuckling)
(clapping) Sh.
Through my years here,
I've discovered that there's something
to learn from everyone.
We're a diverse bunch
with a lot of wild ideas to share
and we've achieved a lot together.
This matters because the challenges we will face
in the future are greater than any one of us.
Our climate is changing for the worse
and inequality persists despite rising global wealth.
But our generation is at the forefront
of developing new solutions.
Things make seem bleak
but there's hope, change is possible
within a short period of time.
My mom is in the audience here.
You're looking at your phone.
(chuckling)
All right.
So she left school when she was eight years old.
The family needed food
and she happened to be from an area, north Thailand
where that's a burden for children to carry
but somehow she ended up in Australia
where we, her children,
could pursue an education.
I feel very, very lucky to be here.
And I have no doubt that big changes are possible.
However, we're better off working together
and hopefully individuals
won't have to carry such huge personal burdens
and honestly, I think it's more fun that way as well.
So thank you for showing up,
thank you for investing in your education.
And as a graduate, you already know the value
of hard work so whatever you decide to do from here,
whether it be further study,
a new career or embarking on a gap year adventure,
make yourself a part of a community.
Don't be afraid to break the ice
and awkwardly say hi to people.
The skills and life experience
that you all have is not easily measured.
You have so much more to offer
than what's shown on your academic record.
So good times
and great projects await
and I look forward to working with all of you hopefully.
And again, congratulations.
(audience clapping)