Graduation Speech 2023

Drrachnashah
SPARK!
Published in
3 min readApr 22, 2023

Hello! Good afternoon!

Congratulations to my beautiful resident teachers! You made it!

Like iron that is heated and pounded into a fine sword, you too have undergone a process of polishing and growth over the past 10 months. Today, you shine with strength, grace, and wisdom! However, the journey of life is a continuous process of evolution and development. As you graduate and embark on the next chapter of your life, it’s essential to remember the words of Prophet Mohammad, “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.”

We live in a constantly changing world, with new technologies, global challenges, and complex issues arising every day. To continue progressing and transforming, you must keep the flame of your personal development burning bright. You have the power to become a beacon of light that shines through the darkness, and it’s through your continued efforts and dedication that you will achieve greatness. Keep seeking knowledge and learning from every experience, and never stop striving to become the best version of yourself.

As you embark on the next chapter of your journey, I want to leave you with three quotes that have inspired me:

  1. Galileo once said, “You cannot teach people anything. You can only help them discover it within themselves.” Therefore, I encourage you to approach your teaching job with a mindset of service to both yourself and others. By recognizing your own wholeness and strength, you can see the potential in others and help them discover it within themselves. Dr. Daisaku Ikeda once said, “Believing in people, believing in some rich undiscovered quality and drawing it out―that is the vigorous spirit of education.” The world and its children need support, guidance, and love to thrive, and you can become a conduit for this by unlocking your own potential and helping others unlock theirs.
  2. During your time in this program, you experienced firsthand how collaboration can bring out both the best and the worst in people. But as Ryunosuke Satoro once said, “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” We cannot exist without one another, and it’s through working together that we can achieve greatness. As you move forward from this program, I encourage you to remember the pink vortex of energy we created yesterday in our closing circle as a reminder of the interconnectedness of life. Approach each person you encounter as a mirror that reflects back to you the inner changes you need to make to shine brighter. Remember that, like a diamond can only be polished by another diamond, you need to engage in genuine collaboration with others to polish your character and reach greater heights. Together, you can create value and achieve more than you ever could on your own. So embrace the power of collaboration, and let it propel you towards your goals and aspirations.
  3. Gandhi once said, “Full effort is full victory.” Along your journey, you may face numerous obstacles, setbacks, and missed opportunities, but always remember that in this work, there is no such thing as failure. Every challenge presents an opportunity for growth, every mistake is a lesson to be learned, and every setback is just feedback. Keep learning, practicing, experimenting, and evolving. If you stumble, pick yourself up and continue marching forward. If you cannot run, walk, and if you cannot walk, crawl. Remember, nothing in life is more joyful or thrilling than the effort alone. So, smile and dance your way through this journey.

Congratulations once again, Class of 2023!

Photo by Dragos Blaga on Unsplash

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Drrachnashah
SPARK!
Editor for

EdD in Education (Johns Hopkins University, USA)