"Be the change you wish to see in the world!"

Good afternoon to the authorities, dear colleagues, classmates, teachers, families and everyone in the UPF Barcelona School of Management community who is watching from home, my name is Ekaterina Petrovskaya and I’m a recent graduate of the Master of Science in International Business.

Can you  believe that it's our graduation day?! Time went so fast!

It seems like my first day at UPF-BSM was just yesterday. I remember how excited I was and then I got lost between three stairs they have in Balmes building  on the first floor, didn't know you can have so many at once!

I don't know about you, but this is my first and I really hope the last online graduation, i believe it is important to be able to share your experiences and emotions in person, but I have to admit I was curious about giving a speech online. We are celebrating it differently, but we are a very special class and you know it. 

Who else can say that they saved the world by staying at home and studying online?

It is scary and incredible how the world changed so fast and we had to adapt to a new reality. Who else can say that they saved the world by staying at home and studying online? I guess one day people will be saying that we are the bravest part of our generation, and we were so eager to gain new knowledge that even the pandemic and closed borders could not stop us.

Indeed it was challenging but an interesting year.  To stay positive, during that year I was reminding myself that we should never see our challenges as disadvantages, probably later we will realize that it was actually our advantages. "Right now things are sour, but eventually they will turn sweet."  We couldn't enjoy all the activities that UPF-BSM offered but we enjoyed our classes, with so many wonderful teachers with such a broad background. Thank you teachers, that even in a given circumstances you filled our year with a positive energy. Knowledge and experience you shared with us  are necessary to be productive in life. 

Graduating from UPF-BSM leads us, students, to the vast ocean of possibilities. On the one hand, it sounds threatening, but on the other, it gives us incredible freedom. As one of our teachers has said, you need to figure out what the world needs and how your talent can provide it. Outside there is a world starving for new ideas and new possibilities. Luckily, with our alumni program, we will be able to see where life will take us after graduation, looking forward to that!

Congratulations to everyone who is graduating today and to people who make it happen, to everyone who was a part of this journey!

The only way to make this world a better place is to start from yourself.  Be the change you wish to see in the world! Thank you very much.

And now will speak Marta Arenas in representation of the Executive MBA students.