Graduation address: Wednesday 15 June afternoon ceremony

Graduation address by Dr Sami Mikhail, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences


Vice-Chancellor, honoured guests, and the graduates of the class of 2022.

We are powerless to stem the passing of time, we move forwards with the promise of tomorrow, and we live in the present. Today, we bask in the glow of your success.  

University life shapes you, forever. This has been the case for every university in every country in every year since the earliest centres of learning graduated their scholars, including you today. 

In the case of the Class of 2022, we all experienced something unprecedented during your time at St Andrews. Of course, I am referring to the global pandemic. 

The past few years have been some of the most difficult in my life, and from what I have seen and heard, some of the most challenging for a significant number of you, if not all of you. 

Successfully completing a St Andrews degree is respected, valued, and celebrated. However, doing so during the Covid-19 pandemic is an achievement that we must not understate, nor overlook. But this provides you all with an advantage. 

Endurance. Determination. Adaptability. These words apply to you all. Never forget this.

But remember, no one succeeds on their own. Friends and family are the most precious commodity in existence. Do not take either for granted. The bonds which connect us to the ones we love require a degree of effort ­– from all parties – to maintain their strength. 

Fortunately, we now know through experience, that we have technology on our side. We can stay in touch despite the best efforts of distance and time zones, which would otherwise, drive us apart. 

I advise you all to stay connected with one another as you venture across this planet on your journey to go wherever and to do whatever with your new earned status as graduates. 

Now, you have all graduated with a range of different types of degrees, including MA, MLitt, BSc, MSc, or PhD. So, what is next? 

Well, consider this fact. The path to success is non-linear. This means that it does not progress or develop in a straight line from one place to the next in any logical order. In addition, the definition of success is deeply personal. As a matter of fact, there is no single definition of success. We all desire different things in ­– and from – our lives. We are all unique, weird, and distinct. 

Over the coming years you will have to make life-changing decisions, such as which jobs you will apply for, accept, and decline, where you will live, and who you share your life with.

You are the only person who woke up this morning tasked with the challenge of living your life. So, when you think of it this way, why would you let someone else write the script of your life?  

Identify then seek out what it is that you desire from your life. Get your priorities in order. Prioritise your guilty and innocent pleasures. Prioritise your laugh. Prioritise your smile. 

Whatever it may be, just go for it. Remember that you have it in you to prevail whatever the storm of life throws at you. This has just been proven. I say this because we are all here, gowned and proud in Younger Hall!