This week, I have the honour of watching Canada's future leaders cross the stage at the University of Waterloo to accept their degrees with pride and humility.

These newly minted graduates join the 190,000 Waterloo alumni who came before them and who have already stepped forth into the world to become leading contributors to their respective fields and society.

As graduates in our institution's 60th year, these young men and women have already contributed much to our university and our community in the time they have spent with us.

They came from Canada and abroad, and they studied with us on our campuses in Waterloo, Cambridge, Kitchener and Stratford.

They were Engineering students who toiled tirelessly to be the first to test an autonomous vehicle on wintry Canadian roads, and Math students who competed on equal footing with MIT, Stanford, Princeton, and Harvard at international mathematics competitions.

They were Applied Health Science students who have helped cancer researchers move closer to new therapies to slow the spread of disease and ease the suffering of the sick, and Arts students who contributed their talents and perspectives to more than 1660 businesses and organizations around the world through co-op placements.

And, they were Environment students who participated in North America's first Master of Climate Change program, and Science students who took gold at international competitions four years running for their work on synthetic biology.

During their time with us, we expected excellence and now we collectively celebrate their accomplishments.

Our students not only excelled in what we asked them to learn, they challenged their institution and their community to think bigger, dig deeper, and dream up possibilities that only lived in our imaginations until they showed us what was possible.

As a university, we will endeavor to continue to match their commitment and dedication by ensuring we stay at the forefront of global challenges and indeed of the future.

As educators and researchers, we will continue to navigate the intersection of science, technology, and the human condition. We will continue to lead in areas such as cybersecurity, water, aging, climate adaptation, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and smart cities.

We will continue to encourage the generous sharing of the knowledge and invention that is generated at our institution.

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Whether our new alumni go into the private or public sector, work in non-profits, or become entrepreneurs, our world will only benefit from the ideas and solutions they are uniquely equipped to offer.

As our future leaders move on to the next stage of their lives, I invite them to look outward, continue to collaborate with others and to participate in the world around them.