In preparing, I spent time watching other graduation speeches. What struck me most was the lack of a set structure, which felt like an opportunity to be original and to write something personal to me, but still universal to the student body.

The inspiration for my speech came from the relationships I had built with teachers and lecturers across my education. These were people who not only invested their time and energy into my development, but who also cared deeply about my success, even when I doubted myself. I have such fond memories of those moments, though, like many, I often forget them as time moves on.

I wanted my fellow graduates, standing at the end of their own education, to pause and remember the people and the achievements that brought them to where they are now. and to thank them.