Good afternoon Chancellor, deans, administration, staff, graduates, families, and friends.
When people think of UC Davis as an academic institution, they are quick to think of our highly respected medical and veterinary schools and our esteemed reputation for preparing undergraduates to excel in such prestigious fields. In fact, the only reason I applied here was because I could imagine a smart doctor or veterinarian bearing a degree from UC Davis. What people often overlook, however, is our university’s amazing ability to weed out the people who only think they want to be doctors.
If you enter UC Davis on a premed track, you will learn within your first few quarters whether or not you have the stamina, devotion, and passion that is needed to become a doctor. This is a passion that will carry you through the tough years of rigorous study and laboratory work so that you may eventually earn the respect and salary that comes with being a medical practitioner.
I do not have that passion.
It isn’t because the material is too hard or the stress unbearable. I failed the Chem 2 series solely because it did not interest me enough that I would be motivated to study.
It took me my first year of college to figure out that I wasn’t going to pursue the line of study I originally thought I would. When I first announced that I would major in English, not life sciences, my disappointed and well-intentioned father sent me an e-mail which consisted solely of a link to a CNN article titled, “Most lucrative college degrees.” It prominently featured a table of starting salaries according to major, and — as expected — “Liberal Arts majors” were listed dead last.
Understanding that my father, an Asian dentist, would want his son, not surprisingly also Asian, to receive a degree that would lead to a medical profession, I had no choice but to ignore my family’s helpful input on my life decisions.
Although amusing, that piece of economic truth about Liberal Arts majors didn’t prompt me to return to the sciences. It took me my freshman year to figure this out — college is not about following the steps you think will lead to your eventual happiness. College is about being happy now, enjoying the process in the everyday moments of the actual college experience itself. The goal will arrive, I will get “there,” but the happiness “there” is produced expressly through the happiness “here.”
When you first start your college education, you are automatically one person among thousands, one seat in an expansive lecture hall. But the truth is, all it takes is one visit to a professor’s office hours and you have a name, one conversation before class and you have a friend.
When you’re at your place in the world, take a look around. Who do you connect with? Which people do you associate with? In my four years at this institution, most of my education has been from people outside of the classroom. Advice from administrators and staff helped me argue loopholes in the system. A professor’s offhanded comment pointed me to a major and field I now adore. And conversations with a custodian have helped me figure out who I really am.
For me, college became an education in understanding my role in relationships. It is not enough to be part of something — you must understand what part it is you play. And if, for some reason, you are unhappy or dissatisfied with your role, strive to make it what you want to be.
While I no longer have plans to attend medical school, I would be happy earning a Ph.D. in the field of one of my majors. Naturally, my father insists on this, but I think that’s primarily because he’s still set on people calling me “doctor.”
As it’s now the time to leave this university, if you haven’t done so already, figure out what makes you happy. It may not be the path you expect, but if you truly enjoy something, it’s worth the effort to pursue it. The decisions made today result in the outcomes of tomorrow, so focus on enjoying the life now.
Soon after this ceremony comes a great diaspora, so it all comes down to this: in the past four years, you are the people who have made me happy. I thank you for that, and I hope each will enjoy the happiness that comes with the conclusion of years of hard work.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
The audio can be downloaded here.
