Patricia Ericksen, BSBA Major in Management, Batch 2016

“Good morning everyone.
Honestly, I’m actually terrified to be standing in front of all of you today but it is indeed a great honour for me and so I guess I’m sort of excited too. I have spent weeks and days contemplating about what I am about to say to each and every one of you and I hope that I will make a lasting impression.

I would first like to congratulate all of us for finally making it here as we have all reached a huge and new milestone in our lives and we are all standing on the doorstep of our future destiny. It doesn’t matter if we failed our exams once or maybe even twice. What matters is that we’re here right now ready to face tomorrow with our heads held high and a dream in mind, a dream which we all can pursue no matter how average our grades may have been, because at the end of the day those grades are just a number and they will not determine what the future will be. The grades don’t make you, so don’t ever let it bring you down.

In an ending comment in the Stanford Commencement in 2005, Steve Jobs told the students to ‘’Stay hungry and stay foolish.’’ and this is a quote all of us should keep in our hearts and minds forever. We should always hunger for something, may it be success or love, but that hunger is what will drive us to push harder and to keep fighting for that one thing that we long for. We should also be prepared to get out of our comfort zone, to take the risk even though we know that there’s no guarantee that we would achieve success in the end. It’s okay to fail, failure is the opportunity to begin again only this time more wisely. And don’t forget to have a little fun along the way.”