How an MBA Redefines Success and Leadership

Full-Time Master of Business Administration graduate Hitesh Bali delivered one of the student speeches at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management’s 2026 commencement ceremony, offering a reflection on how success is redefined through uncertainty, collaboration and personal growth.

Drawing from his journey through the Full-Time MBA program, Bali shared how arriving with a clear, traditional definition of success gradually gave way to a broader understanding shaped by experience, community and moments of unexpected challenge. 

Through navigating shifting plans alongside classmates and faculty, he emphasized that real growth often comes when control fades and people choose to show up for one another anyway.

Commencement Speech

Good morning, faculty, families, friends, and Class of 2026.

Two years ago, if you had asked me what success looked like, I would have answered without hesitation:

A great job, a strong salary, a fast-paced, growing career—clear, straightforward, almost predictable.

But standing here today, I realize how incomplete that definition was, because GSM didn’t just change what I do. It changed how I think.

Like many of us, I came in with a plan—a timeline, a direction, a sense of control.

And then things didn’t always go that way.

Projects that didn’t click.
Recruiting that tested our confidence.
Moments where things felt uncertain.

And in those moments, something shifted.

It stopped being about getting ahead.
It became about figuring things out together.

And that, to me, is what defines this class.

Not just what we achieved, but how we showed up for each other.

Not always in big, visible ways, but in small, consistent ones.

A message before an interview.
Staying back to help someone out.
Checking in when something didn’t feel right.

Those moments don’t show up on a resume, but they are the ones that stay with you.

Serving as president of ASM gave me a closer look at this.

Across different programs, different backgrounds, and different goals, what stood out wasn’t how different we were. It was how often people chose to support each other anyway.

We didn’t just build networks here. We built trust.

And that changed how I understand leadership.

It’s not about having the right title. It’s about showing up—even when you’re unsure. Even when you don’t have the answers.

And making sure the people around you don’t feel like they’re figuring it out alone.

That’s something this place teaches you quietly but consistently.

Looking back, I’m grateful for more than just what went right. I’m grateful for the moments that didn’t—because those are the ones that force growth.

And none of this would have happened alone.

I also want to take a moment to thank the people who made this journey possible.

To our professors, thank you for pushing us to think deeper and challenge ourselves.

To the GSM staff and admissions team, thank you for building an environment where we could grow and feel supported.

To my classmates, thank you for showing up again and again for each other.

Thank you to my parents, family, and friends—you know who you are. Finally, thank you for everything you have sacrificed to get me here. None of this would have been possible without you.

As we step into what’s next, I don’t think the real question is where we are going. It’s how we show up when we get there.

Do we take time to understand people?
Do we build things that include others?
Do we define success in a way that goes beyond ourselves?

Because if this experience has taught us anything, it’s this:

Success is not just what you achieve.
It’s what you build with others—and who you become in the process.

So, Class of 2026, we didn’t just earn a degree.

We learned how to build, how to support, and how to grow together.

Now it’s on us to take that out into the world and leave things better than we found them.

Congratulations to all of us.

Thank you.