Dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends,

Happy Friday!

Happy National Teacher Appreciation Week!

For the 150^th time, this weekend we will commence careers of excitement, opportunities of leadership and the chance to create the future. This time around, this wonderful institution will introduce over 1,300 engineers, scientists and teachers to the world, who will provide critical contributions to critical national and global challenges. Commencement, this unique celebration, recognizes not only what is successfully concluded, but also what is yet to be created. A nod to what has been achieved and the determination to envision and then create a life of innovation, leadership and contribution.

The concurrence of our commencement with National Teacher Appreciation Week, followed by Mother’s Day, provides the opportunity for all graduates to reflect and recognize that achieving graduation, like conquering all important milestones in life, doesn’t happen in isolation. It takes the support of family and friends, the inspiration of role models, and the encouragement of teachers, mentors and advisors who have pointed the way and helped us transition from fear to fortitude, from goal to strategy, and from passion to purpose.

And now, our graduates will brave the world and enter the domain of nonlinear reality, rather than the linear academic simulation of it. Failure here often meant repeat and learn; in the real world, you will learn that the most successful aren’t those who haven’t failed. Rather, they have learned how to leverage the rock bottom as a solid foundation to build upon. They have learned that hard work and teamwork are the main ingredients to mold successful careers. They have also learned that to achieve their worthy goals, they first must help their team members achieve theirs.

I have written about the importance of developing and nurturing your networking strategies. Clearly, you have already established a great network here at S&T and will be well-served to keep your connections with your classmates, housemates, friends, colleagues and professors. By achieving graduation, you have proven the ability and have the responsibility to listen and internalize dissent, from within or from others. In the words of Ben Franklin, “Critics are our friends; they show us our faults.” Duality is a part of building character and developing identity. We must engage in the process of building identity if we are to understand our new and evolving selves and to truly become ourselves rather than emulators of others.

I also want to share another important observation I have made over the years: your first job is not necessarily your destiny! Your path to success will be nonlinear. And on your journey, you may invent new businesses and technologies, help develop AI, help protect the environment, further space exploration, educate our youth, or any of the thousands of other interesting and important career paths Miners follow. You may also excel in a career that doesn’t even exist yet. In fact, the most successful often transition from narrow to broad to narrow again, without losing focus. They learn, grow, take risks, succeed, take bigger risks, fail, learn again, grow again and succeed again. They are not risky, nor risk averse. They are risk smart.

To our graduates, I offer my congratulations and best wishes. You are now the only person who can live your storied life that you alone were meant to live. Your future is yours – and only yours – to create.  So, I say, envision an impactful future and be as determined to create it as you have been to achieve graduation.

To the families, friends, faculty and teachers who helped our graduates achieve their perhaps most important milestone, I say, well done! I think I speak for all our graduates when I say THANK YOU.

Warmly,

-Mo.

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• S&T alumna wins teaching award
• Professor awarded $440,000 from NIH for skin cancer detection research
• Meet the Class of 2024

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

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