 Good afternoon, everyone. Most importantly, welcome and congratulations to today's graduands. You've made it. You can pat yourself on the back. You completed your degree under very difficult circumstances. They've given me all of four minutes to talk to you today. So I want to make sure I make each of them work. I'm going to start by telling you a story. It's a personal story about overcoming self-doubt. A few years ago, I saw that there was an ad for a position open at Carleton University. It was for the dean of the Faculty of Public Affairs. At the time, I was professor of political science at the University of Calgary. I had some administrative experience because I'd served as head of the Department of Political Science. I wanted to apply because I thought the faculty was one that meshed very nicely with my own academic interests. But I doubted that I had the experience. I doubted that I knew enough. Maybe wait a few years until you've more experience that little voice in my head was saying. I think you might know that voice. You might have your own. Being the dean of the faculty, it's way harder than running a department, that little voice said. You just don't know enough to think that you could lead a faculty. It repeated again and again. But I threw my hat in the ring anyway. At best, I thought I might get an interview and I could use it as an experience. At worst, I thought they wouldn't even give my CV a second thought. But to my surprise, I got an interview. That little voice was still there, though. And it was saying, well, you can use the interview as training for the next position you apply for. You're not going to get it. But I think you know the end of this story because I'm standing here today as the dean of the Faculty of Public Affairs. But I doubted myself. I pushed that little voice away, though, and landed the job. Now, that's not always going to happen, but sometimes it does. The truth is, almost all of us hear that little voice at some point or another. It's called the imposter syndrome. You might have heard of it. And it doesn't matter how much experience you have. It doesn't matter what credentials you've amassed. It doesn't matter how old you are. And I'm not going to tell you how old I am. Many of us will experience that little voice telling us that we're not good enough, that we fooled everybody, and that we're a fraud. Right now, all of you are facing a bit of a challenge. You've been on a journey, a tough journey, but you're starting the next journey. And I want you to know that as you start that next journey, it's OK to have doubts. But working through them and getting past them is part of the challenge that comes with anything that's really worth having. Anything worth having will take a lot of hard work. But the good news is that you likely have a posse. For me, it was my family, friends, and colleagues who told me to ignore my doubts. Your posse is also likely to be family and friends, the people who know you best, who helped you to get here today, the people who love you. We rarely get anywhere without a posse of supporters behind us. They cheer us on, they send us e-deposits when we're out of money, and they offer you a hug when you really need it. Some of your supporters might be here today watching you graduate. Some might be away watching it online. But what I'd like us to do right now is to stand up if you can, point to the people in your posse, and if they're away, point to the cameras. Give them thanks by applauding them. Thank all the members of your posse. So you leave here today in, I think, a great position. You've learned a number of skills, you've amassed a ton of knowledge, and hopefully a little bit of confidence. But the job market and the world can be a tough place. That negative little voice in your head might start talking to you. But ignore the voice, believe in yourself, take chances, throw the I don't and the what ifs out the window, and go for it anyway. Challenge yourself, and all of us here at Carleton will be right there behind you, cheering you on. So ignore the voice, thank your posse, and challenge yourself. Know that we are so very proud of each one of you. You should be proud of you. Congratulations. Take some time to celebrate, and for me, that means dancing. So do some dancing.