Yun Ho Jung

Graduates of 2022,

We have conquered the strangest and most unique four years, more or less, of undergraduate education. To say the least, the expectations that we had when we first became Comets have been utterly and completely subverted.

We had good times. I still remember during freshman year trying to figure out what Silent Disco was. There were times when we had to face some disappointments. Some were small, some were big. So many things that we were looking forward to were canceled at the last minute due to the pandemic. For many of us, it happened when we were supposed to enjoy the best days at The University of Texas at Dallas.

Suddenly, we had to adapt to an extremely different environment. Instead of sitting side by side, we were staring at each other in rectangles of size 200 x 160 pixels. It was difficult even figuring out whether or not we should wear pants. Our hackathons, such as HackUTD, HackAI and WeHack, had to figure out how to create a memorable experience when everyone could not be physically together.

But what did we do? We became the trailblazers.

We discovered new ways to meet. New ways to keep in touch. New ways to take classes. As we built new roads, we sometimes faced roadblocks. We valiantly overcame those roadblocks. We made our voices heard. We petitioned, we sent letters and we let everyone know what we stood for.

For me, I have been working with IBM for two years, and my work experience was far from traditional. Despite that, I was part of a team of creative engineers that shared a vision ― to connect the world with technology and improve human lives. In that two years, I helped construct projects that went from combatting human trafficking to connecting the people in need with the right help and resources.

It didn’t matter that we were physically apart. What mattered was that our values and goals that we stood for were resonating with each other.

We did this with people who are important to us. For me, it was my mother ― it’s her birthday, by the way ― father, friends and my girlfriend ― who are with us in the audience today.

In facing the unknown, we learned how strong we can be as a whole. What we have accomplished cannot be overlooked. In the future, there may be a time when people must be disconnected once again. For them, however, they won’t be lost in the dark or feel uncertainty and fear because the standards that we created and demonstrated will be their guiding light.

But what is most important is what this experience has meant for us. As 2022 graduates, we are not only being recognized for our academic achievements, but we also are being recognized for our ability to adapt. For our ability to be kind. For our ability to create connections in creative ways. We have become stronger, much stronger than we could have imagined four years ago. I sincerely believe that whatever challenges we may face in the future, as Comets, we will find the best way forward.

To borrow from Walt Disney, “We will keep moving forward, open new doors, and do new things because we’re curious, and we let curiosity drive us.”

I borrow the words of Walt Disney, the great cultural pioneer of the 20th century, because I believe we UTD students can be the cultural pioneers of tomorrow. We have and we will observe and do great things.

To be here today, we earned it, and I hope everyone can say this to yourselves and really mean it. Have a great rest of this fantastic day.

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Yun Ho Jung came to The University of Texas at Dallas from Rock Canyon High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He is graduating summa cum laude with a degree in computer science. He joined UTD in August 2018 and received Academic Excellence Scholarship with Honors. He served as an undergraduate researcher in the Evolutionary Information Lab and published a research paper in an academic journal in the field of computational biology. He also published an edutainment mobile app to teach students about molecular biology. He served as the ACM Industry Mentor for the 2022 ACM Projects. In addition to his classwork, he joined IBM in 2020, and since then he has worked on various projects such as creating a tool to combat human trafficking, connecting government and services to those in need, and formulating artificial intelligence to assist hospitals and doctors. After graduation, he plans to continue his full-time position at IBM and pursue a master’s degree in the near future in the field of artificial intelligence.