‘Be the Best Possible Version of Yourself’

Good morning family, friends, faculty, staff, notable guests, trustees, President Chrite and, most importantly, the undergraduate class of 2024. I want to take a quick moment to shout out my dada (grandfather) for traveling all the way from Mumbai, India, on behalf of my dadi (grandmother) who is watching me from up above. It is my humble honor to stand here and represent the class of 2024 as the Senior Class Cabinet President.  

After an amazing four years at Bentley, it was a pleasure to celebrate with you at recent events like our 100 Days Celebration, the Red Sox Game, Senior Boat Cruise, the Senior Toast, Commencement Ball, the Bahamas trip and last night’s Falcon Finale.  

Let’s think back to four years ago, when we were seniors in high school, eagerly waiting to experience moments like prom and graduation. Then the COVID pandemic cut our time in high school short, and we were faced with the reality of moving on with minimal closure and no graduation ceremonies.  

Today, when we all walk across this stage and cap off our final moments as students at Bentley University, we aren’t just doing it for the people we’ve become now, but also for the people we were four years ago.  

Most of us arrived at Bentley during an uncertain time in life, and we weren’t sure how the pandemic would affect our college careers.  A lot of us were stuck in singles in the Tree dorms, unable to attend classes in person or even attend in-person events on campus. We wondered how we would sustain ourselves here. Personally, at the time, I didn’t know whether I would make connections with anyone on this campus. However, the situation encouraged me to make even deeper bonds with the people I started Bentley with, and today, I get to walk with them across this stage.  

Last year and the year before, I sat in the audience of this very ceremony, watching some of my closest friends depart into the next chapter of their lives. I thought that I couldn’t wait till my moment came to graduate and set foot in the real world. But as this moment has come closer, all I can think — like many of you — is how much Bentley has molded me into the person I always knew I could be.  

In high school, I really did not do much. I barely took part in extracurriculars and spent minimal time on academics, just sustaining my grades as an average student. In the back of my mind, I knew I could always be more, yet I never felt motivated to push myself to unlock my potential. The time had finally come to decide where my four years after high school would take me, and unlike a lot of my friends, I left home and my comfort zone, a decision that led me to Bentley.  

At Bentley, I knew I wanted to be something more and unlock the potential I knew I had. I was fortunate enough to meet the right people who assisted me in accomplishing my goal, and I’m forever thankful to them for guiding me early on. From there, I took part in various activities, and was also provided opportunities to lead. I was able to contribute to Bentley through a few on-campus job opportunities and organizations, like being the president of the South Asian Students Association, president of the Senior Class Cabinet, and a brother of Delta Sigma Pi. I was also instilled with the motivation to start something from scratch at Bentley, which led me to being a founder and the first president of the first multicultural fraternity on campus, Delta Sigma Iota, and I can’t wait to visit over the years to see how it, along with everything else at Bentley, has evolved.  

And that’s just it. Sure, Bentley taught us all about the importance of networking. It taught us to excel in academics and be a leader. However, something Bentley teaches that isn’t mentioned so often is the importance of perseverance and growth.  

Each of us has faced our own journey here and we can say we’ve passed with flying colors because we’re all gathered here today. That’s what perseverance and growth do. They push you to keep going, to be the best possible version of yourself. They reinforce your ability to achieve greatness, success and prosperity in life.  

Now, we all get to take these ideals Bentley has provided us with and apply them in the real world. If there is one thing I want to say, it’s that this isn’t the end, it’s the beginning of the rest of our lives. Class of 2024, I would like to congratulate all of us for finally reaching the day when we get to start the rest of our lives. Thank you!