Our defining moments!

Friday, May 13, 2022

Dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends,

Happy Friday! And congratulations to the Class of 2022!

Reflecting on my yesteryears, I mentally pause on life’s defining moments: the birth of a child, passing of a parent, engaging with one's life partner, and moments of inflection and transition. Graduation, this wonderful moment of transition, is perhaps one of the most defining moments of optimism. The defining moment that offers the reason to be hopeful about the future. After all, you, our graduates, have achieved a remarkable enabling milestone that will fuel the notion that learning is life-changing, that hard work pays off, that yesterday’s dream can become today’s reality, and that what you can dream today will become tomorrow’s reality.

One of the greatest joys of sending these Friday emails is the feedback I receive from so many of you. Our alumni frequently write to share their experiences as students and to tell me how their Rolla education led them to great success in their lives and careers. So many of them express how S&T’s culture of value creation has provided a path forward to that success.

As I hear from our alumni of the recent past, and from those who graduated five, six and even seven decades ago, I find that the key to their success has been to remain a “student,” a keen observer and seeker of truth. They learned that wisdom is acknowledging that they don’t have all the answers and that learning requires asking questions.

So, to our graduates I say, never stop learning, dream big, envision a grand future and work hard to make the dream a reality. Many of your predecessors have, and you can too.

I’ve written here before about a few of our many outstanding graduates. I look forward to writing about many of you in future editions of this email, as you accomplish great tasks in your lives and careers. And as you’ll hear me say in my commencement remarks, I look forward to one day inviting you onto our stage to deliver a commencement address to those S&T students who will follow in your footsteps.

As I wrote in my Friday email before last December’s finals week, life can indeed seem difficult, and challenges insurmountable, when we are “in the soup.” But as I said then, I say again: “It is not until the challenge is addressed, the final exam is taken, the experiments are conducted, the reports written, the course completed and the graduation attained that we realize we are indeed capable beyond our imagination, equipped to achieve almost anything and able to push our boundaries.”

And for now, congratulations on your life-enhancing achievement, take time to soak it all in, feel the joy of the defining moment and embrace the exciting future that you have envisioned. 

Oh, by the way, don’t forget to take a moment to sincerely thank all those who helped you achieve your dream of graduation, let them know that your appreciation is deeply felt, and tell them how rock solid their support has been to your success.

Indeed, it is through the support of others that we achieve our lives’ worthy goals.

Warmly,

-Mo.

Share your thoughts!

Check out the latest news from S&T:

Mohammad Dehghani, PhD
Chancellor
mo@mst.edu | 573-341-4116

206 Parker Hall, 300 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO 65409-0910
chancellor.mst.edu