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’t be here, the people who could be here, but chose not to come, joke’s on them they’re missing the amazing speech I’ve 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’s amazing!! They’ve 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—honestly, 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’s 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’re 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’ve taken the stairs, right? Of course, I couldn’t 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’d seen it all. The biggest challenges had already crossed our paths. CEGEP couldn’t 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, “Yay! No school!!” 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’t even the worst part, at least not for Science students. Final exams? They got pushed all the way back, after winter break. I don’t 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’ll 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’ll help you on your next endeavors, just like they’ve helped me on mine. The Three Ps are: Passion, Perseverance, and Patience.

First off, Passion. Back in secondary school, people would say, “You’ll find your passion in CEGEP”. 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’s something I’ve really worked on, thanks to the opportunities Dawson has given me.

Did I think, back in Sec 5, when I couldn’t do a small class presentation without clinging to a stack of notes, that I’d 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’d 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’t 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’t easy. Not for anyone. It comes with its challenges, but guess what? Since we’re here, that means we overcame every single one of them! Sometimes, it’s hard not to overthink your failures. We’ve all been there, studying very hard for a test, only to see the results not match our effort. But here’s the thing: it’s never just about one test. Or one single failure. You’d 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’s important to put all your effort in that point, but once it’s 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’t 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’t mean the kind of patience where you don’t yell at your sibling for annoying you when you’re 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’ve all grown up Googling the meaning of a word, or random thoughts the second they pop into our heads. But life isn’t 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’s what really counts.

I’m 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’t it? Anyone remember what you memorized? See? That wasn’t 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’s the skills that matter. That’s 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 “Good graduation quotes” 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: “LIFE ISN’T ABOUT FINDING YOURSELF, BUT ABOUT CREATING YOURSELF.”

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

We’ve all evolved through our classes, our programs, and our friendships, each of uncovering a piece of us we didn’t 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’m kidding, no one loves series, except for the math department. But this building doesn’t 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’ll 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!!