Thank you, President Guskiewicz, Interim Provost Jeitschko, EVP Beauchamp, trustees, faculty, staff, proud parents, jealous siblings, ChatGPT, and above all, the graduating class of 2024.
My name is Advait Paliwal, and I’m honored to stand before you today.
Our journey here has not been easy, to say the least. During freshman year, our lives were turned upside down due to the pandemic. Instead of the perfect college experience we had all dreamed about, we found ourselves in lockdown. But despite this challenging start, we persevered. Over the last four years, we have worked tirelessly, both online and in person, and I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge all the sacrifices, the late nights, and the hours of dedication that have brought us to this moment as we prepare to graduate from the incredible Michigan State University.
This place has made me who I am. It was the classes and the research here that made me fall in love with computer science. And it was through the Burgess Institute where I found my passion for entrepreneurship.
Today, I wanna talk about something that we have all experienced and are scared of: rejection. I am too, and I’d like to share with you some of the lessons I’ve learned from being rejected. Lessons that have challenged my assumptions, changed my perspectives, and ultimately shaped me into the person I am right now.
When I first arrived at Michigan State, like many of us, I was shy, terrified of putting myself out there. Every day, I would go to the dining hall on a date with my phone or laptop. I mean, after all, that’s the normal thing to do, right?
One day at Sny-Phi, my phone ran out of battery. And as I sat in silence, I found myself surrounded by others also sitting alone, lost in their digital worlds. In that moment, I realized I had a choice. I took a deep breath, grabbed my food, walked up to a random student sitting by himself, and with my heart pounding in my chest, I asked, “Can I sit with you?”
He looked at me, surprised, and he agreed. As we started talking, he mentioned he was an introvert and didn’t really like social interactions. Surprisingly though, he led the conversation, opening up about his life and his goal of becoming a comedian. We talked for an hour, and as I left, I realized I had taken the first step out of my comfort zone, and I had made a new friend.
From that day forward, I sat with a new stranger every day and had conversations about their majors, their interests, their hopes, their dreams. We often overthink and hesitate when it comes to initiating conversations with people we don’t know, and fearing rejection, we never do. But through this experience, I’ve learned that by making assumptions and by letting fear dictate our interactions, we miss out on the diversity of thought and experience that exists all around us.
In the last few months, I’ve made it my goal to chase rejection by asking for things that I expect to get a no for.
I asked my neighbor, whom I’ve never spoken to before, for a ride to class. He was in a rush and said no.
I asked Chipotle for free guac and queso, and to my surprise, they agreed.
I asked out girls who are way out of my league, and yes, I’m still single.
I cold messaged people to help me with side projects, and now they’re the co-founders of my startup.
I applied to universities, jobs, and opportunities that I never thought I’d get, but among the many rejections, I was accepted into an Ivy League school for masters. I landed a job at a startup in San Francisco, and I got to speak here today.
Each and every attempt was scary. Each and every rejection hurt. But with every attempt and rejection, I became a little less scared and a little more confident.
Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” I realized that actively seeking out rejection creates more opportunities, thereby increasing the chances of success. I also realized that the only limits that exist are the ones in our minds, and anything is possible if we are bold enough to simply ask.
As we begin this new chapter of our lives, we will inevitably face rejections, but I wanna remind us of the power we hold. We are Spartans. We have the potential to be the change makers, the innovators, and the leaders of tomorrow. To achieve this, we must be willing to step out of our comfort zones, to take risks, and to pursue our passions with everything we have.
Before we go our separate ways, I wanna leave you with one challenge. Introduce yourself to someone new today, a classmate you haven’t met, a professor you haven’t thanked, or even the person right next to you. Start a conversation, learn something new about them, and maybe even ask them to get dinner tonight.
I know chasing rejection sounds crazy, but the people who have changed the world are those who were faced with fierce rejection, yet they believed in themselves and kept going. As Steve Jobs once said, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
So let’s be crazy enough to chase that no. Crazy enough to dream big. Crazy enough to forge our own path in life, because that is how we will change the world.
Thank you, and Go Green!