Growth, Belonging and Finding Confidence in Uncertainty

Master of Science in Business Analytics graduate Shruthi Khurana delivered one of three student speeches at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management’s 2026 commencement ceremony, sharing a message about growth, belonging and the power of showing up fully in moments of uncertainty.

Drawing from her experience navigating graduate school alongside a diverse cohort of classmates, Khurana reflected on how discomfort, collaboration and unexpected moments of support shaped her confidence and sense of belonging. 

Through challenges, reflection and community, she found that growth often begins in uncertainty and is sustained by the people you choose to walk alongside.

Commencement Speech 

Dean, faculty, families and my fellow graduates,

I want to start with a confession.

When I arrived at UC Davis GSM, I had a plan. A clear one. I had mapped out exactly what this degree would look like — the classes, the growth, the version of myself I'd be by the end. I had rehearsed the story in my head so many times it felt like a memory. And then, it actually started.

I vividly remember my first day of orientation when I walked into a classroom in San Francisco — surrounded by people with completely different backgrounds, industries, and ways of thinking — and that's when I felt the weight of my carefully crafted plan. The real weight. The kind no plan could ever prepare you for.

I think a lot of us felt that on day one. Some of us came straight from undergrad, some with a few years in industry, some from halfway across the world. We carried different dreams, different fears, different definitions of success. The only thing we had in common at that moment was that we had the courage to bet on ourselves.

That feeling — that first-day mix of excitement and quiet terror? I've since learned it has a name. It's called GROWTH.

And that courage — the kind we all showed up with on day one — doesn't leave you. It grows.

The moment I felt that most clearly was during my capstone project. Our team was a genuine cross-cultural melting pot — different countries, different disciplines, different instincts about what good work even looks like. Everyone brought something to that table that no one else could. In the past I minimized my perspective if it felt different. But for the first time, I stopped shrinking myself to fit in. I showed up fully. And the team made space for it.

I was seen for my merit. And I want every person in this room who has ever felt like an outsider looking in — every international student, every career changer, everyone who wondered if they truly belonged here — to hear this: you already belong. GSM is the proof. The culture here is one where different is not a liability. Different is the whole point.

What I didn't know on orientation day was that the very people who intimidated me — the ones who seemed more prepared, more polished, more certain than I felt — would become my greatest source of strength. They showed up at midnight before deadlines. They talked me through the moments I wanted to quit. They challenged my thinking in class and then sat with me over coffee to keep the conversation going — not because they had to, but because that's the kind of people GSM attracts.

Friendships forged not in ease, but in pressure. People who compete hard and still make time to lift others up. Faculty who treat your half-formed idea in office hours like it deserves a full conversation. Staff who remember your name and ask how the interview went. This community was never just a program. It was a choice — made over and over again, by everyone in it.

And standing here today, I feel all of that. The pride, the gratitude, the fullness of what we have built together in this place.

But graduation is not the end of uncertainty — it might be the beginning of a sharper version of it. This year, I built things I was proud of. I applied for opportunities I wanted. I got rejections I didn't expect. I rebuilt. I applied again. I am, right now, in the middle of one of the most humbling stretches of my professional life. And I suspect I am not alone in that.

And yet — I am not afraid. Because GSM gave us something quieter and more lasting than a degree — a confidence in our own abilities, earned through every hard moment we pushed through. We ran the messy projects. We held our ground and changed our minds — sometimes in the same meeting. We were trained for this.

We are graduating into a world being rewritten in real time. That is not a warning. That is the invitation.

So to my fellow Class of 2026: you are not walking out of here alone. You are walking out with a community that has already seen you struggle, seen you rise, and chose to stay beside you anyway. And somewhere in that community is the most meaningful professional network you will ever have.

To the ones who felt like they didn't quite fit the mold — you were never meant to. You were meant to expand it.

And to every person who made a bet on us — the faculty who stayed late, the families watching from these seats today — thank you. We will make it worth it.

We came here with a dream. We leave with a shared purpose. And we leave together.

Congratulations, Class of 2026.