Graduate Student in Cybersecurity Learns ‘Progress is Not About Perfection’

First, congratulations to the Class of 2026. We made it! And I know people say that as if it’s simple, but it’s not. We did this while life was happening at the same time. Some of us were balancing work, family, pressure, 11:59 P.M. deadlines, and the kind of stress you don’t always talk about out loud. So, Commencement isn’t just a ceremony. It’s proof.

When I think about the University of New Haven, I don’t just think about classes or assignments. I think about who I became here. I think about how I truly found myself. Because, the truth is, I came to the University with goals. I knew what I wanted on paper. I knew what I wanted to study. I knew what I wanted to build. But the truth is, I didn’t fully know myself yet.

And that’s where WNHU, the University’s radio station, changed everything for me.

Working at WNHU wasn’t just a campus job or something extra to make some money. It became one of the most important parts of my growth. It taught me how to show up when I didn’t feel ready. It taught me discipline, because going live doesn’t wait for you to feel confident. It taught me how to communicate, not just with words, but with intention. And it taught me something I didn’t expect: it helped me discover my voice. A voice that I never knew that I had.

There’s something powerful about being in a studio, having a responsibility, and realizing people are actually listening. It forces you to become more honest. More present. More you. And, over time, I stopped trying to sound like what I thought I was supposed to be, and I started learning how to be who I actually am, in my most true and authentic self.

That shift spilled into everything else I was doing.

In my program and in my research, especially working in cybersecurity and AI, there’s a lot of pressure to be perfect. To always have the answer. To always look as if you’re on top of everything. But if you’ve done grad school, you know how that goes. There are late nights of debugging lines of codes. There are moments where you’re stuck, confused, and questioning if this is even what you’re meant to be doing. And it’s easy to feel like you don’t belong.

But the University of New Haven taught me something real: progress is not about perfection. It’s about returning to the work. Again, and again.

And WNHU reminded me that being “ready” is not a requirement for growth. Showing up is.

What I’m taking with me from this place isn’t just technical knowledge or a degree. I’m taking the confidence that comes from doing hard things in public. I’m taking the ability to keep going when it’s uncomfortable. I’m taking the understanding that firstly you have a voice and your voice matters, showing up matters, and your work matters, especially when it affects other people.

So, to my fellow graduates, I’ll say this: wherever you go next, don’t rush past what you’ve built here.

Be proud of the skills, yes, but also be proud of the person you have become to earn them.

Whatever you build after this, build with integrity. Build with care. Build in a way you can stand behind it and defend your work.

I want to say thank you to God for guiding me through this journey. It wasn’t the easiest, but he saw me through every step of the way.

To my Project Supervisor, Vahid Behzadan, Ph.D., I want to say thank you for truly seeing me how I needed to be seen. To Diane Polo, MPH, my supervisor, thank you for always making space for me. To Div Pithadia, MBA, thank you for making me fall in love with Python. And to my radio station manager Bruce Barber, thank you for welcoming me to WNHU.

To the faculty and staff of the University of New Haven: thank you for the standards, the support, and the ways you shaped us beyond the classroom.

To our families and friends: thank you for carrying us through the parts nobody saw. And to my fellow graduates: I’m proud of us. We didn’t just finish. We grew!

Congratulations, Class of 2026. We earned this!

GO CHARGERS!

Oluwatoyosi Tomiwa Kehinde ’26 M.S., who will receive her master’s degree in Cybersecurity and Networks, was a finalist to serve as a student speaker at Commencement. The content above is based on the speech she delivered as part of the competitive process to select the student Commencement speakers.