Suhana Bedi

Dean Hyndman, Associate Dean Biewer, esteemed faculty, Comet family and friends, and above all, the stellar Class of 2023, the day has arrived. I feel tremendous pride and honor to be a part of such a special occasion. I’m sure as we wear big smiles on our faces with our eyes gleaming with joy, our hearts are beating fast as we’re frightened by the thought of stepping into the real world. We don’t know what to expect. What if we fail? What if it just doesn’t seem right? Well, what if I told you that you’re real heroes and you’ve got all that it takes to work your magic and thrive out there! I see some skepticism. No worries! Let’s take a trip down memory lane and remind ourselves of our great strengths.

Freshman year, we were squeaky clean, with new clothes and backpacks, ready to start a new chapter of our lives. We were thrilled yet nervous by our newfound freedom of no longer being around parents and teachers. We were excited to make new and ever-lasting friendships yet worried about fitting in. Look around today. I bet you’ll find at least one person in this room that you can count on, with whom you have great memories. When I look around, I see my incredible fiancé, the love of my life (yes, they’re the same person for me) who I met here at UTD, and today we’re graduating together.

We all made our home away from home. We left our tiny nests as fledglings and today, we’re ready to spread our wings and soar high to achieve our dreams. You did it, we did it. We fostered a community where love and support were the only languages we knew. Graduates, fear not because no matter where we go and what we do, we shall continue to be respectful and amicable Comets who are loved by everyone.

Sophomore year, the world faced one of its deadliest pandemics: COVID-19. Our college dreams were crushed in the blink of an eye. Yes, we were dejected, anxious and worried. We made it, nonetheless. From taking online classes to nursing and caring for our friends and family, we stayed resilient, valiant and strong-willed. We embraced our responsibilities toward each other and the community at large. Despite a 180-degree flip of events, we kept our Comet energy alive. From virtual meet-and-greet events to remote classes and office hours, we received our daily dose of knowledge, support, friendly banter and giggles. We continued to stay optimistic and hopeful amid the lingering uncertainty around us.

As we take our tassels and degrees home today, let’s remember this: Life will always be an unpredictable journey filled with quests in which we must travel through the obstructions and smilingly cruise through the ocean. No matter what happens, never stop believing in yourself, never limit yourself. People might say that the sky’s the limit, but here’s a secret — there is no limit. If four years ago someone had told us that we would brave a pandemic, endure emotional turmoil, survive multiple nights of studying, endless papers and assigned readings, and yet graduate, I’m sure many of us would’ve dismissed it as a joke. But here we are today. Don’t let your mind define you. You are much greater than what you think you are.

We are the chroniclers of our destinies. As children, we had the joyous experience of doing paper origami: the art of folding paper into unique shapes and figures. Let’s try living life the same way. Let’s experiment and introduce new creases and folds to our paper origami because there’s no right or wrong way to do it, and the final product is for us to preserve and cherish forever.

Lastly, before we sail to our respective destinations, let’s look around and give a big shoutout to all the people who made our success a reality! To our incredible parents, professors, siblings, friends — they say it takes a village to raise a child — thank you for being a part of our village. I want to dedicate my graduation to my grandpa, the strongest man I know; my five beloved parents, my three incredible siblings and most importantly, my most-loving fiancé.

So, graduates, let’s be fierce and take risks, let’s believe in ourselves, chase our dreams, and shoot for the stars because that’s where we belong!

Thank you!

---

Suhana Bedi came to The University of Texas at Dallas from New Delhi, India, and is graduating summa cum laude with a degree in data science. She is a recipient of the Academic Excellence Scholarship and has made the Dean’s List every semester, securing a perfect GPA. She has been an orientation leader, a freshman mentor and the first chair of the Road Warriors program on campus. She has worked as an undergraduate researcher under the mentorships of Dr. Tae Hoon Kim at UTD and Dr. Leroy Hood at the Institute for Systems Biology. In addition, she has worked as a research scientist with Google for the past two years. After graduation, she plans to attend Stanford University to pursue a PhD in biomedical data science.