Graduate reflects on power of community and unity

Graduate speaker Abhinav Kumar told his classmates that the strength of community had defined their journey as they marked their achievements at the Auckland Town Hall on Friday.

Abhinav, who had just completed his Master of Applied Management at Auckland International Campus, reflected on the shared journey of the graduates. Arriving in New Zealand from India for the first time, he said he soon discovered an environment where he could grow, learn, and meet great people.

“One of the biggest lessons our journey has taught us, is that we achieve more and we achieve more meaningfully when we support each other,” he said.

Abhinav described how students from different cultures, languages, and traditions had started as strangers but became a community. What defined their time, he said, was not just the grades or subjects studied, but the way they supported and lifted each other up.

“We learned that diversity is not just something to respect, but something that makes us stronger,” he said.

He reminded fellow graduates that success is always richer when shared and that the unity and resilience they built would shape how they live, think, and work in the years ahead.

“Let us remember that together we turned uncertainty into confidence, challenges into achievements, and strangers into friends,” Abhinav said.

He added that education would not end with graduation, as the lessons learned would continue to shape the way they contribute to the world.