[applause]

(Ruiz) Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Frenkil, for those kind words.

O...M...

G.

[laughter]

Wow, such a honor to be here

as a Colonial of George Washington University.

I want to say thank you

to the professors, mentors, faculty, and staff

for all your hard work and dedication.

And to you, the family and friends

who gave us all your love and support,

and especially my lovely wife, Katie, and my boys,

I love you with all my heart.

[applause]

Now, it's been a long journey for many of us.

Therefore, I must ask the graduating class of 2015,

are you ready to graduate?

[cheers and applause]

I am too!

But first I'd like to reflect upon

how imagination made this moment possible.

When I was a young child

struggling to understand the English language,

I tried to imagine this moment.

When I was a teenager struggling to graduate high school,

working midnight shift to provide for my newborn,

I tried to imagine this moment.

When I was a young man fighting for this great nation

in the mountains of Afghanistan,

after nearly losing my life multiple times,

I tried to imagine this moment.

You see, I tried to imagine a life of education and success.

And today we have all achieved this

through the power of our imaginations.

When we found ourselves submerged in books

at Gelman Library, trying to find that perfect citation,

many of us used a lot of our imaginations.

[laughter]

Oh.

When researching for our biomedical, engineering...

[people cheer]

Business, political science...

[people cheering]

Or leadership classes,

we imagined how, one day, we would use that knowledge

to change the world.

When GW students inspired kids from the D.C. community

to become entrepreneurs through Lemonade Day,

we helped others imagine their future possibilities,

because only at GW

do you literally walk down the street

to the White House or Capitol Hill

and intern and imagine how you will change the world.

Only at GW do you take a study break

on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

and gaze upon the Reflection Pool

and imagine how you will make history.

It was the great Einstein that said, "Logic--

"it'll get you from point A to point B,

but it's imagination that will get us anywhere."

Just look at Tim Cook and Apple.

And what has their imagination brought us, right?

All you got to do is feel in your pocket, right?

[applause]

You see, imagination is the reason

why we are here right now,

in the heart of our nation's capital,

the epicenter of the world,

a place that we will forever call home as GW alumni.

That is why we must keep imagining,

because we change the world.

We make history.

Colonials make the world say, "O.M.G.!"

[laughs] Thank you.

[cheers and applause]