Farewell Speech

K. V. Auditorium full with the Class of 2008

When I finished my 12th standard, apart from the IITs the only place I applied to was UICT. I was even ready to slog another year if I couldn’t get in either. I made it here; it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I came with a small dream of completing my engineering and eventually moving into the corporate world. And now after four years, I stand here with an admission letter from the University of Oxford for a PhD in Organic Chemistry. UD, (as we call it) has changed my life, drastically.

As a kid, my mom used to say you dream a lot, that’s good. But not until I came to UD did I realize, I don’t dream enough. UD is the land of opportunities. Opportunities to increase your potential, to develop your perspective, to shape yourself, to hone your skills and opportunities to create more such opportunities. I’ve been transformed from a school boy eyeing big salaries over to a matured student ready to take up scientific research. And this transformation as difficult as it was, was possible only because of UD and its people.

I would like to mention a few of the important happenings in my life at UD. I am proud to be from the batch that started The Spirit. That year, my third year, I scored exceptionally lower than my average. But, I do not regret any moment spent on working for Spirit. The joy that it gave was tremendous. When the first issue arrived, I remember how we sat smelling the copies. It was the smell of hard work and success, we still do the same when the new issues come. Sometime in between we changed the printer, the smell changed but it was as sweet as ever. I have met so many new people through the Spirit. I’ve made friends for life whom I wouldn’t have even met otherwise. As with The Spirit, working on Bombay Technologist was a good experience too. Volume 56 and 57, 2 issues was a big responsibility but with the right people around me, we made that possible. It was a pleasure working with all the faculty members involved in this endeavour.

I cannot thank each of one of you enough, the faculty, my colleagues and the non-teaching staff. Every step where you pushed us ahead was as important as every barrier you created. Before coming to UD my dad had said, “What you will learn from gaining a professional degree is a perspective towards life”. And after 4 years of UD, I realize that he couldn’t have been any more precise in those few words.

Photos from the farewell day can be found here.