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Good evening, esteemed Director General, Academic Dean, Board of Governors, Senate, Deans, Associate deans, wow this list is long, Program Coordinators, Chairs, Faculty, Staff, Family, Friends, the people who couldn鈥檛 be here, the people who could be here, but chose not to come, joke鈥檚 on them they鈥檙e missing the amazing speech I鈥檝e planned for you. And finally, to the wonderful Class of 2025, congratulations!!

These past 2, or 3 years, or maybe even 4, if you really loved Dawson enough to stay here that long, have truly helped us grow into the people we are today. And now, finally being able to say we graduated? That鈥檚 amazing!! They鈥檝e been full of ups and downs, and some lower downs, maybe even under-the-sea-level kind of downs. But also, some pretty high ups, like Himalayas-level high!

Remember that first day at Dawson? When we first came in through the metro entrance, looking side to side at the rows of infinite lockers. We were amazed at how ginormous the main building was鈥攈onestly, some areas are built like a maze. Like, the F/H wing? I mean I have, and still do, run laps in those corridors to find my classes. Remember the confusion about what the Forum was? And why we have classes in the same building as the Cineplex??

Eventually, we got into the routine of Dawson life. Waiting forever in line at Tim鈥檚 for an Ice Cap, then sprinting to an 8AM class, but still somehow, even with all that caffeine, struggling to stay awake. Or rushing to the elevators when you鈥檙e late, squeezing in like sardines, only for it to stop at the 4th floor, the 5th floor, and the 6th floor, before getting to the 7th floor. Should鈥檝e taken the stairs, right? Of course, I couldn鈥檛 have written this speech without mentioning the Dawson escalators. Waiting in the escalators traffic worse than downtown rush hour? A true highlight of the Dawson student experience. Remember that one magical day when all the escalators were actually fully working?… Yeah, me neither.

By the middle of Fall 2023, we finally got the hang of things, figuring out where our classes were, adjusting to independent schoolwork, and rising to the level required for our studies. We all thought we鈥檇 seen it all. The biggest challenges had already crossed our paths. CEGEP couldn鈥檛 possibly get harder than this.

It was all gonna be smooth sailing from here, right? Well, actually, not quite. In November, teacher strikes were announced. At first, we were like, 鈥淵ay! No school!!鈥� We could chill at home watching Netflix, hang out with friends, or perform the lovely art of sleeping. But the worries hit really fast. Tests got pushed back. All the assignments like essays, clinical and lab reports, final artworks started piling up, higher than the Burj Khalifa, right at the end of the extended semester. And that wasn鈥檛 even the worst part, at least not for Science students. Final exams? They got pushed all the way back, after winter break. I don鈥檛 know about you, but I spent most of my break studying for Calculus instead of enjoying a nice winter ski trip. Even though it was tough, it definitely made our time at CEGEP way more memorable.

Our journey at Dawson truly changed us. It also shifted how we see the world and gave us the courage to go out and chase our ambitions. For me, my time at Dawson has been shaped by three principles. They guided my successes here, and I know they鈥檒l continue to guide me through the next chapters of life. Today, I want to share what I call the Three Ps, in hopes that they鈥檒l help you on your next endeavors, just like they鈥檝e helped me on mine. The Three Ps are: Passion, Perseverance, and Patience.

First off, Passion. Back in secondary school, people would say, 鈥淵ou鈥檒l find your passion in CEGEP鈥�. In CEGEP, you get closer to discovering your passion. You find new interests through the classes you choose, the clubs you join, and the events you attend. You have new experiences through the friends you make, the activities you try, the cool and quirky courses you end up in. You develop new abilities like finally figuring out how to cite in MLA, or learning to present without wanting to hide behind a curtain. That鈥檚 something I鈥檝e really worked on, thanks to the opportunities Dawson has given me.

Did I think, back in Sec 5, when I couldn鈥檛 do a small class presentation without clinging to a stack of notes, that I鈥檇 one day be giving the Valedictorian speech in a 3,000-seat hall? Absolutely not. But here I am. And I am sure every single one of you has grown at least one ability you never imagined you鈥檇 have. You learn new things by being curious, asking questions, and finding the courage to ask the teacher to re-explain the mumbo-jumbo about indeterminate forms. Why isn鈥檛 infinity over infinity just 1? And why sine and cosine functions are needed so much for electrical engineering? CEGEP is a time to learn more about who you are and discover who you want to be.

Second, Perseverance. CEGEP isn鈥檛 easy. Not for anyone. It comes with its challenges, but guess what? Since we鈥檙e here, that means we overcame every single one of them! Sometimes, it鈥檚 hard not to overthink your failures. We鈥檝e all been there, studying very hard for a test, only to see the results not match our effort. But here鈥檚 the thing: it鈥檚 never just about one test. Or one single failure. You鈥檇 think that extraordinary, successful people never fail. But no, take Roger Federer, a tennis legend. Out of the 1,526 matches he played, he won 80% of them. And get this, he only won 54% of the points in those matches! What did he learn? To never dwell on a single point. It鈥檚 important to put all your effort in that point, but once it鈥檚 over, the next challenge is waiting, and you need to be ready for it. And honestly? That advice works in school, in life, in anything. Life is made up of moments like this. You work hard, sometimes it doesn鈥檛 go as planned, but you learn and keep moving forward. Success is accomplished through perseverance, not perfection.

Finally, everything is tied together by Patience. And I don鈥檛 mean the kind of patience where you don鈥檛 yell at your sibling for annoying you when you鈥檙e trying to do homework. I mean the kind of patience that even if excellence is not immediate, it will come. Patience is a skill we have to develop, especially since we live in an era where everything happens with just one click. We鈥檝e all grown up Googling the meaning of a word, or random thoughts the second they pop into our heads. But life isn鈥檛 like that. Many things take time. You might not instantly grasp a concept, or be good at a skill, but practicing until you nail it? That鈥檚 what really counts.

I鈥檓 pretty sure many of us took a biology or languages course at some point. Hard to memorize all of those definitions or vocabulary words, wasn鈥檛 it? Anyone remember what you memorized? See? That wasn鈥檛 the point. For Biology, it was to train our minds to remember key information, and make connections between different parts of a topic. For Languages, it was to learn to communicate in a new language, and adapt to different linguistic rules. It鈥檚 the skills that matter. That鈥檚 why we need to train ourselves to be patient. And also, maybe stop refreshing Omnivox every few seconds while waiting for final grades. That would be good to fix along the way.

As my speech comes to a close, I want to leave you with a quote I came across while brainstorming my speech. Luckily, I avoided going down the rabbit hole of opening dozens of 鈥淕ood graduation quotes鈥� pages on Google, because a friend of mine suggested what turned out to be the perfect one. It was said by George Bernard Shaw, an Irish dramatist, winner of the 1925 Nobel Prize of Literature, author of famous plays like Pygmalion, and Man and Superman: 鈥淟IFE ISN鈥橳 ABOUT FINDING YOURSELF, BUT ABOUT CREATING YOURSELF.鈥�

And that鈥檚 exactly what we鈥檝e been doing, and will continue on doing. Through every experience we鈥檝e had at Dawson, we鈥檝e added small pieces to our identity. In my English class, I discovered a love for creative writing. That鈥檚 one new quality added to my ever-growing personality.

We鈥檝e all evolved through our classes, our programs, and our friendships, each of uncovering a piece of us we didn鈥檛 expect. Maybe it was a passion for photography. Maybe it was a desire to write a book. Maybe it was wanting to become a nurse working in the pediatric unit. Maybe it an aspiration to build a better Jacques-Cartier Bridge. Maybe it was a newfound love of series in Cal 2, I鈥檓 kidding, no one loves series, except for the math department. But this building doesn鈥檛 stop here. Even after CEGEP, we go out into the world, and every day we add a new brick to our personality. One day, it鈥檒l be a skyscraper, or a bungalow, you do you.

And now, I leave you with a metaphorical brick, the one that represents the successful completion of your CEGEP journey!! Wishing you all the best for your future endeavors, should it be studying in university, starting up as a technician, working in a hospital, or wherever life may take you. Congratulations, Class of 2025!!