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Anisha Chadha: Ladies and gentlemen, members of the faculty, mom and dad, class of 2013.
You know when I arrived in early September 2009, I was one undergraduate in a sea of
over 40,000 students. We came from all 50 states and over 100 countries to the University
of Michigan.
Attracted by the promise of this place, everything it represented, everything it had to offer.
Where else could we experience learning from the best faculty in every field? Have the
most fun on a football Saturday and live in the perfectly charming oasis that is Ann Arbor?
Where else could we play Quidditch, join student organizations dedicated to feeding squirrels
or go out for burritos at three A.M.?
That September, I realized something I hadn�t fully appreciated until just then. Michigan
is enormous and I�ll admit for the first time in my life, I felt of sort of small.
So, how did I deal with this feeling? I declared a Microbiology major. What humbled and fascinated
me about the study of microbes is that they're little, invisible creatures and yet they have
immense power to shape the world and cause big differences in people�s lives.
I had been afraid I would feel insignificant here, but the close community I joined quickly
proved me wrong. I realized that no matter what we were doing, it was almost impossible
for me to feel small. Even when I was in this very big house with 114,803 other people,
I began to realize that what I was feeling was not smallness, but rather I was feeling
like I was part of something bigger than myself.
When I listened to you my fellow classmates, in classes, in club meetings, through the
pages of the Michigan Daily, I heard countless ideas about how we can help make the world
a better place, and I know that is a hackneyed phrase, but when I hear it on this campus,
I know it to be sincere. That is because we Wolverines are armed with something powerful,
the Michigan Difference. The Michigan Difference is the difference we are being given the opportunity
to make. It is the knowledge, the empathy and the skills we have gained here that are
needed to be able to make a thoughtful difference in the lives of others, and we will all contribute
to it.
Some of will make a difference in the education system. Some of us will help find cures for
serious diseases. Some of us will help alleviate poverty and suffering. Some of us will inspire
and comfort people with our art, our writing. Some of us will dedicate our lives to fighting
for equality and social justice.
Margaret Mead once said, �Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens
can't change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has." I do not know if she
would consider us a small group, but I do believe she would agree that collectively,
we have the opportunity to change the world for the better and that is a big deal. So
no matter what degree you receive today, remember they all equally represent the Michigan Difference.
This is the last time we will all be together and that fact laces this happy day with some
sadness because we shared more than classes here. We shared good company, late nights
in the UGLi, the occasional protests or flashmob on the Diag. Occasionally we shared a fishbowl,
the computer lab. Right now many of us might feel as I did that first part of Freshman
year: small, because at this point in our lives, as we set out into the "real world,"
it is so easy to feel uncertain, to feel like it is a big world and you are just one small
person. But no matter what your future holds, never underestimate the difference you have
the ability to make. Always remember you are contributing to our class' Michigan Difference
and the difference made by all the Wolverines before us.
I know that whichever cities I walk through in the future, I can always throw on maize
and blue t-shirt and hear a �Go blue.� Because of all of you and the time we have
shared here, I don�t think I will ever feel small again and if you can make that difference
in my life, I know you can do it for others.
Today is a big day in our lives but it is also just the first of many days that we will
proudly call ourselves Michigan alumni. And what matters most are the differences we will
make tomorrow. Go blue!