Meghana Choudari

Hello everyone! And welcome! Thank you, President Benson, Provost Musselman, Dean Pirkul, Dean Jacob, Dean Powell, other distinguished deans, dedicated faculty, family and friends, and especially my fellow graduates for this opportunity. Let’s have a round of applause for the graduating Class of 2022!

I am honored to share a few words as each of us embark on the next phase of our lives, and I would like to give a special salute to my beautiful family, especially my parents, Satya and Bhargavi Choudari, who made incredible sacrifices for me and my younger brother.

The graduating Class of 2022 shares a powerful emotion: perseverance. As our fight song sings, “Strong of will, we fight for right!” We learned to accept a new normal, and that new normal is change.

Coming to UT Dallas stirred excitement, fear and inspiration. Although we all experienced our fair share of failure, our best experiences came from our lessons learned. The beauty of it all is coming to understand that pressing through each high and low is the key to making progress.

In spring 2020, I was eager to hold an undergraduate diploma in my hand, take a picture with Temoc and celebrate with my fellow Comets. But then, the global pandemic certainly brought changes from high to low. Perhaps at the time, you were looking forward to your spring break trips, but then they were indefinitely postponed. Some may have moved back to their native homes and attended classes virtually. All of us experienced change and many experienced adversities, including the loss of people we wish were here today.

For me, the unexpected loss of a family friend after the first year of graduate school was a profound change that made everything challenging. This was a change I resisted to acknowledge and had me reevaluating my approach. And what I’ve found is that escaping isn’t persevering — whether that’s escaping fear, escaping uncertainty or escaping change — to persevere through is to look at the face of adversity, in the midst of fear, and redefine it with grit. Fear is a natural part of life and change is certain, but having confidence, courage or boldness doesn’t equate to the absence of fear. Whether we’re moving to a new place, starting a new job, pursuing a new degree, finding a new community or simply taking a breather, there is a level of uncertainty in what lies ahead. And as an element of uncertainty, change can often make many of us feel fear, but that is also an opportunity to grow, persevere and succeed. Many of us looking back have run headfirst into roadblocks, but it is our attitude toward fear and change that sets us apart: an attitude that looks forward, an attitude that embraces, an attitude that appreciates and an attitude that celebrates.

UT Dallas is a galaxy of greatness with a culture of positivity that advocates for its students to shoot higher than the stars. That is why we, as Comets, must stand firm in our commitment to remain strong of will. Let us get outside of our comfort zone and disrupt the status quo through sheer determination. Let us be the beacon of light in the lives of others and stand up for one another. Let us persevere and remain positive. Let us all show our Comet might!

To my soon-to-be graduates: Keep your heads held high as you move to what is next with gratitude. I wish each and every Comet the best of success, and Class of 2022 — congratulations and Whoosh!

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Meghana Choudari studied information technology and systems at The University of Texas at Dallas and is graduating today with her master’s in information technology and management. While attending UT Dallas, she served as an Orientation Leader and as a mentor in the Information Technology System Leadership Council. She works as a product manager for JPMorgan Chase & Co., has a passion for singing and cherishes spending time with family and friends. She hopes to be an inspiration to those around her to go the extra mile!