Paulina Hruskoci

Fellow graduates, we have stepped up and accomplished an incredible moment today. For some of you, this degree is an encapsulation of late nights studying or long days spent at work. For some of you, this degree is a reminder of fun times spent at UTD events — athletic games, club meetings, or artistic and academic competitions. For some of you, you will become the first person in your family to graduate from college. But for all of us, we stand together today as graduates of The University of Texas at Dallas.

It would be easy for us to place pressure on ourselves. We’ve reached this monumental step. How do we climb higher? How can we get to the next step faster? How can we be better than our past self?

The most insightful piece of advice I’ve ever received speaks to both my love of metaphors and my love of maps. I am graduating with a GIS degree, after all. It’s from author Mari Andrew: “Think of life not as a ladder but as a map.” When we think of our future in terms of space, rather than height, we free our minds to think more creatively.

If life is a map, then we can change directions. There is no one way to climb, but a million different ways to go. And if we visit one place for a bit and decide we don’t like it, we can visit somewhere else. We can switch locations, majors, workplaces or even careers if the fit isn’t right.

If life is a map, then there isn’t one best path. Rather than working to climb higher than the person next to us, we can find pride in the uniqueness of our own pushpin. No accomplishment is greater than another, and no path is the wrong one.

If life is a map, we experience different conditions than the people around us. I may need a warmer jacket; you may need an umbrella. Ensuring that policy, which many EPPS majors here may soon develop, speaks to the needs of the populations we are working for is essential.

If life is a map, we can revisit places we love. Whether that’s stopping by the new Student Union (which I’m jealous of, by the way), or catching up with an old friend. We can find strength in the community around us and remember to never stop loving each other.

If life is a map, then there are always more places to go. We will never peak but will find a new place to explore. There’s no reason to wait. And there’s something satisfying about knowing there will always be more to see and there will always be more to do.

So, now that your degree is pressed firmly on this place on the map, a permanent reminder of your hard work and achievement, I have one last question for you. Where is your next destination?

Thank you.

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Paulina Hruskoci is graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in geospatial information sciences. She came to UTD in 2019 as a McDermott Scholar, one of the most prestigious programs at UT Dallas. She studied abroad for a semester in South Korea and traveled to Guyana with Dr. Anthony Cummings as part of a National Science Foundation Summer Field Institute. She also served as an Archer Fellow in Washington, D.C., where she worked on a sustainable development project for the Brookings Institution. She is a champion of sustainability and plans to pursue that path in her future career. As a member of Student Government for the last three years, she helped craft a policy on single-use plastics and encouraged bicycling as an alternative form of transportation. In 2022, she was named a Udall Scholar, recognizing her public service and commitment to environmental issues.