00:00Good afternoon, everyone. It is a great honor to speak today on behalf of this class.
00:06This moment means so much to all of us because we know it did not count easily.
00:13We know what it took to get here and what it took to remain here.
00:18There is an extraordinary way to graduating from Oxford.
00:23Oxford is an unjustly university.
00:26It is a name that carries history, excellence, and expectation.
00:31For many of us, it was something distant, almost untouchable,
00:36something we admired from afar before we ever imagined we might belong to it.
00:42And yet, here we are.
00:44Not because the road was easy, but because we kept walking it.
00:49For me, this moment is deeply personal.
00:52English is not my first language.
00:54English, I am from the Mariah, ethno-linguistic pride.
00:58I grew up with a speech today.
01:00And the first book I ever had in English was an Oxford dictionary.
01:05So, we here now at Oxford, speaking on this ceremony today,
01:09is something I would never have imagined when I first struggled through English words.
01:15It is a full-circle moment that humbles English.
01:18That is something that I will carry with gratitude for the rest of my life.
01:24But while that is my story, what moves me most today is the story of this class.
01:30Because when I look at us, I do not just see achievement.
01:34I see bravery.
01:36Real bravery.
01:38The kind that often goes unseen.
01:40The kind that does not announce itself.
01:43The kind that shows up quietly in the decision to continue.
01:48Some of our classmates know what it means to travel 48 hours by train and then an eight-year seat
01:55in this room.
01:57Some cross two, three, four countries amidst the war to be in this seat here today.
02:04Some know what it means to return to a place where there may be days, at times weeks, without heating.
02:11To live in uncertainty.
02:13To try to rest in uncertainty.
02:16To keep going in uncertainty.
02:19Some know what it means to do a group work while hearing bombings and drones in the background.
02:25And that changes what certain words mean.
02:29Because for most people in this class, crisis is not a case study.
02:34It is not an abstract concept.
02:37It is not a classroom exercise.
02:40It is not the framework on a reading list.
02:43It is something limited.
02:45It is the sound of drones overheard.
02:47It is the sound of bombings during a conversation.
02:50It is the message from whom you are afraid to open.
02:53It is wondering whether your family is warm, safe, and alive.
02:59So when we speak in class about crisis, conflict, disruption, and instability,
03:05many in this room are not speaking from distance.
03:08They are speaking from love.
03:10They are speaking from memory.
03:11They are speaking from experience.
03:14And that takes a different kind of courage.
03:16The courage to continue learning in the presence of war.
03:20The courage to contribute to class discussions while carrying realities move heavy for the
03:26room to hold.
03:27The courage to travel those distances, cross those borders, and still return to study while
03:33mark of your heart remains elsewhere.
03:36And that bravery is not limited to war.
03:39Some are managing their businesses as well as their work.
03:43Some are trying to be a father and a mother, a son and a daughter, a partner, while trying
03:49to be students here.
03:51Some are carrying responsibilities that do not fall simply because there is a reading
03:56to finish, a paper to write, or a class to attend.
04:00Bravery is found in those who studied while working full-time, in those who showed up while
04:06breathing, in those who cared for children, parents, siblings, and communities while still
04:11meeting deadlines, attending lectures, and writing papers.
04:16Bravery is going home to a real life that is happy and then still returning to class.
04:22Bravery is holding together two worlds at once, the world here and the world waiting for
04:28us beyond Oxford.
04:30That is why this revenue matters so much.
04:33Because this is not only a celebration of academic accomplishment, it is a celebration of endurance, of
04:41sacrifice, of resilience, of the decision being over and over again not to give up.
04:47And yet, alongside that hardship, there has also been an extraordinary gift.
04:53There has been brilliant, unforgettable conversations in this class.
04:57Conversations that challenged, surprised, deepened, and stayed long after the class ended.
05:03This institution and the people in it have changed us.
05:07Many of us can say the same.
05:09We came from different countries, different professions, different beliefs, different histories,
05:14and different ways of seeing the world.
05:17We are all different.
05:19We have had differences.
05:20At times, we have disagreed.
05:23And yet, what an honor it has been to stand beside all of you.
05:27What an honor to learn with you.
05:29What an honor to be challenged by you.
05:32What an honor to be changed by you.
05:35And today, I also want us to pause and give thanks to Oxford and to this institution.
05:42Thank you for giving us a place to think, to question, to grow, and move our sphere.
05:47With the faculty and academic staff, thank you.
05:51Thank you for your scholarship, your guidance, your patience, and your duty in us.
05:55Thank you for teaching us with rigor, but also with humanity.
05:59Thank you for seeing us not only as students, but as people with lives beyond the classroom.
06:05And most of all, thank you for allowing us to continue learning, even through difficulty.
06:10Thank you for making space for us to carry on our studies and our realities.
06:16Thank you for understanding that excellence does not always come from ease,
06:20and that sometimes the greatest academic achievement is simply that the student have the strength to return.
06:27Your support mattered.
06:29Your compassion mattered.
06:30Your flexibility mattered.
06:32And for many of us, it made the difference between stopping and finishing.
06:37And this win is not just ours.
06:40It belongs, too, to the people you are here with.
06:43To the families who waited.
06:45To the loved ones who encouraged.
06:47To the children who shared time.
06:49To the parents who sacrificed.
06:51To the friends who listened.
06:52To the communities that carried us when we were tired.
06:56They may not have sat in our classes, but they walked this journey with us.
07:00To those interested in the major programs, let this class stand as an honest witness.
07:06This path is demanding.
07:09Oxford will ask a great deal from you.
07:12But this class is proof that even those carrying real burdens, complicated histories, and difficult circumstances
07:19still belong in places of excellence.
07:22We are proof that belonging is not reserved for goals with easy journeys.
07:27We are proof that language barriers do not define the limits of a voice.
07:32We are proof that struggle does not cancel brilliance.
07:35And we are proof that courage is not the absence of fear.
07:40But the decision will continue in spite of it.
07:44So today, as we graduate from Oxford, let us honor the prestige of this institution.
07:49Yes, but also, let us honor the people who mend the prestige with extraordinary courage.
07:54Let us honor the students who kept going.
07:57Let us honor the families who carried us.
08:00Let us honor the faculty and staff who challenged us but also help us remain.
08:05Let us honor the quiet bravery behind every person crossing the stage.
08:09For me, this will always be a moment of gratitude.
08:14What a full circle.
08:15What a privilege.
08:17What a brave class this is.
08:19And though today is a goodbye of one kind, it is also the beginning of another chapter.
08:25I look forward to seeing you again in 42 different parts of the world.
08:30Congratulations to all of us and thank you very much.
08:58Congratulations to all of us and thank you very much.
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