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Four years after arriving from India unsure whether she would belong, Saniya Dilip Darediya stood before George Mason University’s Class of 2026 as its student commencement speaker.
Darediya, who earned a bachelor of science degree in neuroscience, was among 12,104 students receiving degrees and certificates this spring. She recalled crying in her room at age 17 on the night before freshman orientation, frightened about beginning a new life in the United States.
The years that followed brought her a sense of security and community.
“Everyone here carries their own version of difference,” Darediya told graduates Thursday at EagleBank Arena. “Differences were not separating us, they were connecting us — different paths, but the same determination.”
The graduating class included students from 49 states and 105 countries. Many transferred from Northern Virginia Community College, while others served in the military or came from military families. About one-quarter were the first members of their families to earn four-year degrees.
George Mason President Gregory Washington described the university as a bridge connecting talent with opportunity. He also warned graduates that they were entering a difficult economy amid unsettling headlines and a complicated world.
His advice was simple: “Don’t sweat that.”
Washington urged graduates to view their careers less like ladders and more like trails. Detours and apparent setbacks, he said, can become part of the journey and lead to unexpected destinations.
Retired U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin reinforced that message while receiving an honorary George Mason degree.
Allvin noted that the ceremony came 40 years after his own graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy, where then-Vice President George H.W. Bush delivered the commencement address. Although Allvin could not remember the speech, he said he still remembered the emotion and shared sense of achievement.
His own military career nearly ended before it began. Allvin recalled that the academy’s commandant once wrote to his parents to prepare them for the possibility that he would not become an Air Force officer.
He later read the letter publicly at the ceremony marking his retirement as a four-star general. The episode illustrated that setbacks are unavoidable, Allvin said, but people can choose how to respond.
“Take the lessons from them, set them aside and move on,” he told the graduates. “The world needs you … you are ready.”
Allvin, who served as the Air Force’s top uniformed officer from 2023 to 2025, also cautioned against complacency and judging others too quickly.
“Being judgmental? That’s the ultimate act of laziness,” he said. “Curiosity is the engine of growth.”
Among the students receiving degrees May 14 was Rakibul Alam, the university alumni association’s 2026 Senior of the Year.
Alam also began his Mason experience worried that he would not fit in. While commuting from his Centreville home to the Fairfax campus, he decided that getting involved would be essential to making the most of college.
He joined student government, participated in the Mason Consulting Group and helped establish the Collective Organization of South Asia. Connections he made at Mason led to an internship with accounting firm KPMG, where he will now work full-time after earning his bachelor’s degree in business.
Mason continued hosting separate degree celebrations for its schools and programs throughout the week. Northern Virginia Community College was scheduled to hold its commencement at EagleBank Arena on Monday, May 18.