Prasad Deshpande

Good morning, everyone — graduates, professors, families and friends.

Wow. What a day.

It’s one of those rare moments in life when everything slows down just enough for us to take it all in. The cap, the gown, the photos, the nervous smiles — and the people sitting beside us who’ve been part of this wild, challenging and beautiful journey that brought us here.

As the saying goes, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” We’ve certainly made our share of lemonade, and it’s been a refreshing journey.

When I first came to UT Dallas, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had goals, of course, but I also had doubts. There were moments when I felt like I didn’t know enough, like I wasn’t enough. And I know I’m not the only one who felt that way. But here’s what’s amazing: every time we stumbled, we got back up. Every time we felt alone, someone showed up — a friend, a professor, a classmate in a group project who pulled us through. We grew stronger not just because of our hard work, but because of the people who stood by us.

And that’s what today is really about.

To our parents and families who cheered us on from day one — thank you. Your love and support have been the wind beneath our wings.

To our professors and mentors — thank you for challenging us to think deeper, to speak up and to keep going when things got hard.

Let’s all take a moment to recognize those who stood by us — please give them a round of applause.

We’ve grown — not just academically, but personally. We learned how to lead, how to listen, how to ask for help and how to offer it. Some of us took on leadership roles, joined student organizations or took part in internships that helped shape our purpose. Others discovered their strengths in the quiet moments — solving tough problems, finding confidence in public speaking or simply learning how to keep going when things got hard.

As we leave UT Dallas, let’s take with us not just what we’ve learned, but how we’ve learned — by staying curious, being kind, helping others and never giving up on ourselves. Because the world doesn’t need more perfect people. It needs people who are real. People who are willing to try, to fail, to grow and to keep moving forward with heart.

So here’s to us, the Class of 2025. Not just for reaching the finish line, but for everything it took to get here. For every doubt we silenced, every risk we took, every late-night breakthrough and early morning hustle, let’s celebrate today. Let’s carry the memories with us. And tomorrow, let’s go out there and build lives we’re proud of.

Congratulations, everyone.

Prasad Deshpande is graduating summa cum laude with a Master of Science in information technology management from the Naveen Jindal School of Management. During his time at UT Dallas, he served as the president of the UTD Amazon Web Services Club, where he led several impactful workshops and created opportunities for students to explore cloud computing and emerging technologies. He also completed a summer internship as a cloud engineer intern at Tenet Healthcare, contributing to projects that made real-world impact in cost optimization and scalability. Deshpande is passionate about using technology to build meaningful solutions and communities.