My thanks to SMU
“It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.”
Famous words, and ones nearly every senior can live by when they cross that stage, or walk the plank for some, during commencement on May 18.
It’s been a long, strange trip – one that has afforded me some great opportunities and even greater memories.
When I made my decision to come to SMU from the mean streets of Highland Park, I was still smarting from being put on the waiting list at Stanford. Hardly the type of attitude you want to come in with to your first year at college.
I looked at SMU almost like a junior college – a place I wasn’t supposed to be, but rather I “settled” for. Call it haughtiness or cockiness or just plain stupidity, SMU wasn’t where I was supposed to end up.
But when they say God works in funny ways, they mean it. The decision to come to SMU, or maybe more appropriately the decision Stanford made for me, is quite possibly the greatest I have made thus far in my 21 years.
At no other university could I have had the opportunities that I received at SMU. Where else could a biomedical electrical engineer become editor in chief of the campus newspaper? Where else could you join Senate, be a resident assistant and help put on a program like First Weekend while creating a Web training class through Leadership Consultant Council?
If I had a word to describe SMU, it’s opportunity. If you have the will, there is no doubt a way to achieve it. And that is more than I could have ever asked for from any university, let alone Stanford.
I’ve enjoyed so much at this university, from my pre-medical classes to my engineering endeavors to the countless friendships.
Above all, my enthusiasm resounds for my experience abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is there where my passion for international health and public policy really took shape. It is there where my best friends were set in stone and where I had the most incredible time enjoying life and immersing myself in culture. If there is any wisdom I can leave for SMU students it is to study abroad.
Beyond that, I am most grateful for my friends – especially my best friends. Renu Chandiramani – the tallest midget with the biggest heart. Jimmy Tran (better known as James) – the partner in crime with the smoothest moves. Marcus Brown – a brother and my future lawyer (good luck at Harvard, Virginia or wherever you choose).
Above all, my best friend, Leandre Johns (Lionel). I’ll never forget that day I moved into that Virginia first-floor room. What I thought was one of the weirdest days of my life turned out to be the best. Publicly, I hate the man. Privately, I trust and respect him as family, just like my two sisters, my mom and my dad. That’s how brothers are. They never show it, but the love is there – always.
And to my third floor friends in Hughes-Trigg. There are so many – Judy Babb, Arlene Manthey, Jennifer Jones, Jenny Passow, Jimbo Barber, Linda and Lydia, to name a few.
Above all, Michael Deen – the heart and soul of Student Foundation and LCC. Deen has endured being an adviser and a dear friend. That will remain forever.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my role in Muslim Students Association – an organization that is generally overlooked but provides religious guidance for many students. Students like Nazreen Hassan, Asma Lat, Yasmeen Tadia, Ali and Asad Rahman, and a slew of others have made that a great organization. They have been a great help to me throughout my four years, and I thank them for that.
In the engineering school, there have been many friends. My Theta Tau brothers have helped me throughout the journey. Then there is the clique – Anil Sreedharan, Venkat Rajan, Sujit Ravindran, Tiki Monster and Rohit Vasan in a short, but noteworthy stint at the School of Engineering. We make quite a team despite Anil’s Houston fervor.
I’ve had my qualms at SMU, but my triumphs and times of joy have far outweighed them. I am a Mustang, and I always will be, despite the state of the men’s basketball and football teams, which, by the way, are improving just as I graduate.
And thank God for that.
