Kasra Nasiripour
We must all continue to daydream so that we know how we want to shape our lives. We must sharpen the tools that we acquired and use the lessons we learned along the way.
– Kasra Nasiripour
Hello everyone,
My name is Kasra Nasiripour, and I am honored to be your commencement student speaker.
T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, once said, “The dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.” Everyone about to walk across this stage and receive their degrees are the dreamers of the day. We all had a daydream to go to college, receive an education and create better lives for ourselves. We all had a daydream where we pushed ourselves further than we thought we could go and achieved more than we thought possible. We are all here because of that daydream, and we are on the cusp of making that daydream a success.
However, simply having a daydream isn’t enough to make it successful. We have to make the decision to act on our daydreams and to see them through to the end. Each of us had to apply ourselves, attend lectures, do homework, take exams and repeat the process over and over again. We each had the perseverance to push through hard days and sleepless nights to bring us here. With this action and perseverance came new skills, life lessons, new experiences and new relationships. We acted so that we may finish what we started, but we gained so much along the way.
As much as our accomplishments are our own, and as much as we should be proud of them, we can’t forget that we couldn’t have done this alone. Our friends, colleagues, professors and families all had a part in making our daydreams a reality, and they deserve an endless amount of love and thanks. I’d like to thank the faculty and administration for being the gateway to our pursuit of knowledge. I’d like to thank my sister for being a constant example of a strong and independent person who isn’t afraid to speak their mind or go for what they want. I’d like to thank my Grandmother, who flew all the way from Iran to be here today, for always being the definition of kindness and nurture. I’d like to thank my parents for their endless love and support. Throughout all these years, they’ve taught me something I will never forget; the older I get, the smarter they become.
As we close this chapter together, we must open a new one together, too. When we move forward, we have to keep in mind that in order to get anything done, we’re going to have to work, discuss, collaborate and sometimes even disagree with whoever life brings in front of us. We can’t underestimate the power we have when we work together toward a common goal. This is the only way that our daydreams can make any difference. In the words of Aaron Sorkin, “Don’t ever forget that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world; it’s the only thing that ever has.”
From this moment on, the daydreams that we come up with are going to be a lot bigger than the ones we started with. They’re going to expose us to more challenges and leave us vulnerable to unpredictable outcomes. Every once in a while, we’ll succeed. But most of the time we’re going to fail. Whether or not the circumstances surrounding our failures are in our control, we can’t deny that things just aren’t going to go our way sometimes. In those times where we’re not sure if we’re going to succeed or fail, we should all remember that taking action in what we believe in is far more important than the outcome. It is what has gotten us this far; and it’s what is going to take us even further.
As I reflect on my time at UT Dallas, I feel nothing but gratitude. Gratitude toward the opportunities that I’ve had and the people who made the experience unforgettable. I look back on all the decisions that I’ve made and the actions that I took and realize that they all lead me here. Good or bad, they’ve all led me to the completion of the daydream that I’ve had for such a long time. I’ve grown in ways I didn’t know I was capable of, and I’ve learned so many things that I will carry with me into the next phase of my life.
So now my fellow Comets, this daydream has come to an end, and it is now time to find another. We must all continue to daydream so that we know how we want to shape our lives. We must sharpen the tools that we acquired and use the lessons we learned along the way. Once we decide to act on it, we must use the same perseverance to see it through. When we go through this process, we’ll always find that we can achieve so much more than just our daydreams. Thank you very much, and congratulations graduates!
Kasra Nasiripour graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He has been involved in several student organizations on campus, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, where he served as treasurer; the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; and the UT Dallas Rock Climbing Club. He has been involved with Dr. Anvar Zakhidov’s research lab and had internships at Texas Instruments and II-VI Marlow. Over the last year, he has been working as a modeling engineer for Qorvo and has simultaneously been working toward a master’s degree in electrical engineering at UT Dallas.