Nanditha Niranjan

Fellow graduates, distinguished faculty, and our beloved family and friends — thank you for the honor of speaking today on such a momentous occasion.

As our time at UTD comes to a close, I look back and think about how we’ve grown since we first stepped on campus. We’ve made lifelong friends, found our passions in the fields we’re pursuing, pushed ourselves beyond what we thought possible and, most importantly, mastered the art of looking like we’re awake in our morning classes. I am so proud of all of us and grateful to be graduating with such a dedicated class. I’m sure we’ve already heard the daunting question: “What’s next?” But today, I want to ask you a different question: “Who did you become?”

I ask you this because, growing up, I often heard a simple phrase: “At the end of education is character.” For a while, I struggled to fully understand this. But I now realize it was simpler than I thought.

During my freshman year, I found myself in the library explaining chemistry concepts to my friends. And as I saw their eyes slowly light up in understanding, I had an epiphany. It wasn’t just about memorizing facts to ace an exam — it was about growing into people who could make a difference in others’ lives. How we shape our character is by purifying the values at the core of who we are. The values we hold shape how we show up for ourselves, impact and inspire others and answer that question of, “What’s next?” “What’s next” will always be uncertain, but how we face the future should be authentically our own.

And sometimes, “what’s next” can change. I didn’t start my undergraduate journey as a healthcare studies major. What drew me to this school was witnessing healthcare inequities in my community that I never could have imagined and feeling a burning desire to be part of the solution. Teaching English to vulnerable populations made me see that a language barrier wasn’t their only obstacle to receiving the healthcare they urgently needed; they also faced deep-rooted disparities that too often persist in silence.

In moments like these — when the path forward feels uncertain and the need feels overwhelming — we need our values more than ever to guide us. My own value of advocacy blossomed when I heard the words of a refugee mother of nine at one of the healthcare workshops I led. When I asked what health meant to her, she simply responded, “Health is all that we have.” If health is truly all that we have, working to ensure that it’s accessible to everyone is not just a passion, but a shared responsibility. Fellow healthcare studies graduates, together we’ve learned how to build a more compassionate healthcare system — tackling disparities, exploring patient care and sharing our own clinical experiences. These shaped our core values of leadership, diversity and uplifting our community.

Whether you graduate today with a degree in healthcare studies, interdisciplinary studies, education or American studies, we all embrace a core value — community. By weaving together our unique ideas and experiences, we have created a community that is beautiful and transformative.

We have earned these degrees. They represent the core values we’ve cultivated through every encounter, every endeavor, every role we’ve taken on. In my own roles as a Peer Leader, research and teaching assistant and student organization leader, I tried to pick three values that I could commit to upholding every day, even on the hard days when things weren’t going my way. Cultivating empathy for my Peer-Led Team Learning students, committing to integrity in leading premedical events and services, and embracing authenticity in the roles I took on led me to believe that I can thrive in whatever I do. My fellow graduates, I now challenge you: what three values will you uphold every day? How will you show up for yourselves? At the end of education lies our character. Let us characterize ourselves not just by the titles that we’ll hold after graduation, but by how we set out to improve the fabric of our communities.

As we celebrate our journeys, I urge us to remember why we earned these degrees. As the late Pope Francis said, “Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit. … Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other.” Whether you will be a future healthcare leader, educator or a young professional starting their career, let us always use our education for the benefit of others, just like our faculty, mentors and supporters have done for us. We wouldn’t be where we are without the people who were always in our corner, and our achievements are as much theirs as our own.

I thank my family and friends, as well as all of you for adding richness to my experience here. Wherever you go, the community at UT Dallas remains behind you, and the values we’ve built here will carry us forward. I urge you to never lose sight of who you are and be courageous in whatever path you pursue. Class of 2025, I’m sure that you will choose to live by your values and add immense value to the world.

Thank you.

Nanditha Niranjan is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in healthcare studies with a minor in biology. Niranjan served as a Peer-Led Team Learning leader for General Chemistry, vice president of UTD Molding Doctors, a teaching assistant for Biology and a research assistant for a neuro-engineering lab on campus. She also co-founded an organization dedicated to delivering vital health education to vulnerable populations. Niranjan is graduating with honors and plans on taking a gap year before pursuing her dream of attending medical school.