Salam Ahmad Abbadi

Good afternoon, distinguished faculty, staff, friends, families and, of course, our graduating class of 2021. My name is Salam Ahmad Abbadi, and I am graduating today with a bachelor’s degree in healthcare studies to which I will further pursue into becoming a first-generation doctor in my family.

I want to give an enormous thank-you to President Benson, Vice President and Provost Musselman, Dean Fair, Associate Dean Wissinger and Dean Murphy, for being given the opportunity to speak on behalf of today’s graduating class.

I just want to take a quick second to commend you all for getting through these undergrad years. Never did we foresee that half of our degree would be conducted online in our own homes, whether that be here in the DFW metroplex or halfway across the world. I also want to give a thank-you to all of the professors who had to adapt to teaching in a virtual setting. I know that this shift was not all so easy, so thank you. All of us here today have gone through hardships within the last two years, whether that be losing a loved one due to COVID-19, losing yourself or struggling with mental health. But look at us now, we are here today.

I want to begin by introducing an analogy I have always gone by. Your life is like building a home. My father builds homes and buildings. He once asked me to assist him with a project. Now, I don’t know the first thing about building a home from scratch, yet the first thing he asked me to do was to go find some Sheetrock. Despite my willingness to figure it out, I had no idea where to start. Eventually I gave in and reached out to my dad and told him, “Hey … I don’t know what that is. Can you help me out?” He told me, “It’s OK not to know things. I wanted you to come and ask me so I could help you.” The lesson behind this story is that it is more than OK to admit that you have no clue what you’re doing. In this life, you are NOT always going to have a solution to every problem that occurs in your life, but that doesn’t mean you should give up. It’s what you do about it that matters.

As I mentioned before, life is like building a home, so begin with creating a blueprint. Your blueprint is what you want your own plan in life to look like. Now, yes, plans change, and things happen unexpectedly, just like it would when you’re building a home. Rainy days occur, not enough workers, or even lack of supplies. But that still does not discourage you from finishing that home, just like it SHOULDN’T discourage you from quitting what you have envisioned your life plan to look like.

When I graduated from high school, I had my own blueprint. I was set on attending a different school with a major I was not fully committed to. But then a few obstacles occurred, resulting in a new blueprint. I felt discouraged because of those obstacles, yet that did not stop me from moving forward. I began at a community college not knowing where I would transfer to next or what major I wanted to pursue. During the time I was at community college, I talked to a good friend of mine who attended UTD and encouraged me to visit the campus. I ended up falling in love with the campus ― the greenery of the trees leading to the Plinth, the little squirrels and bunnies roaming around, the architecture of the buildings, and even the little secret spots people tend to overlook when exploring the campus. I’d like to think that the things I fell in love with about this campus made it more comforting to attend. If it wasn’t for UTD, I wouldn’t have become an officer for the Arab Student Association, joined the Transfer Leadership Program, become a transfer mentor, or even have met lifelong friends who helped me acknowledge that I am actually terrible at playing volleyball from the nights we would play here at UTD.

I would like to believe that there is no such thing as perfect timing. Some of us went straight into college, while some of us took a break. Whether you are in your 20s or in your 50s, time does NOT matter, so please do not let that discourage you into furthering your academic career. A lot of us have mistaken college as a solid four years, but that is not the case at all. There is NO such thing as a set time to finish school, UNLESS it is 11:50 p.m. and you have an untouched assignment that’s due at 11:59 p.m., which I do NOT recommend at all. But then again, my best work has always been under pressure. Moral of the story — it does not matter how long it took you to get this degree, whether that be four years, seven years, or even 10 years, because in the end you can proudly say that you accomplished it. So congratulations graduates, YOU did it.

Both my mother and father migrated from across the world to simply provide a better life for me and my siblings. My family sought the opportunity of raising their children in a country of freedom, opportunity and expansion. There were certain points throughout my collegiate pathway when I wanted to quit. But I reminded myself that they sacrificed everything for me to build a pathway for myself. That pathway is the path to success, and I want all of you to remind yourself of that when you are on the verge of quitting. So Mama and Baba, thank you.

Michael Jordan once said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” The only obstacle in this life that is stopping you from reaching what you want to accomplish is yourself. Don’t worry about how many times you’ve failed. Take those failures and convert them into lessons that you can learn from so you can move forward.

To conclude, my piece of advice for you all is to learn not to dwell on the past, but to think of the present and take it day by day to build the foundation for your future. Thank you all, and congratulations once again. Once a Comet, always a Comet. Whoosh!!!

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Salam Ahmad Abbadi is graduating cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in healthcare studies. She came to The University of Texas at Dallas from Dallas College North Lake, where she earned her associate’s degree in science. At UT Dallas, she has been involved in several organizations including the Arab Student Association, Transfer Leadership Program, Transfer Mentor Program and Friends Inspiring Friends. She is a proud first-generation graduate who will next pursue her medical degree.