“The great American experiment is at risk,” declared commencement speaker Arati Prabhakar. “We don’t get to live in precedented times. Our time is one of change and tumult. It’s a time that tests us — but also a time that calls us to a better future. And as the new graduates of the Berkeley School of Information, you are particularly poised to meet this moment.”
On May 19, 2025, the School of Information welcomed 372 of 659 total graduating students from the Master of Information Management and Systems (MIMS), the Master of Information and Data Science (MIDS), the Master of Information and Cybersecurity (MICS), and the Ph.D. in Information Science programs to the UC Berkeley campus. This year, the event was held at the historic Hearst Greek Theatre. Dean Eric Meyer presided over the ceremony.
“Today, all our graduates join a long and proud history of scholarship,” remarked Meyer. “Some people might look at a time like this and think that their time at Berkeley is coming to an end. But this is a commencement: literally a beginning. To commence on the next stage of your life, wherever that takes you. You are not leaving us, you are taking Berkeley and the I School with you.”
Prabhakar implores graduates to build a brighter future
Keynote speaker Arati Prabhakar previously served as Science and Technology Advisor to President Biden and has worked on advancing public-interest technology for over four decades. At the White House, she advised the president on health outcomes, overcoming the climate crisis, and artificial intelligence, while simultaneously serving as the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and a member of the President’s Cabinet. She recently joined a distinguished group as a UC Berkeley Executive Fellow in Applied Technology Policy through the School of Information and Goldman School of Public Policy.
Prabhakar began her speech by sharing three messages about the present, saying “The year is 2025, and it’s time to recognize that the Information Age is about and for the people…” and “it’s it’s time to meet our national crisis…” and “it’s time to achieve our great aspirations for the future.” In each message, she described how information technology has changed since she was a graduate student, how decades of research have fared, and how important it is for students to take a stand and build a future worth living.
In particular, she addressed the recent national changes, pointing to the dissolution of foreign aid; the denial of climate change and medical science; the decreased focus on public research and development; and issues with “rule of law and our Constitution.” These changes, Prabhakar asserts, have shaken the concept of the American experiment, which is “the notion that we the people can achieve equality, liberty, and opportunity beyond the limitations of the past.”
Speaking to the graduates directly, she implored them to “pay attention to what’s happening in our country, form your views, and take a stand… Each of us has a responsibility as a citizen and a member of society.”
“We don’t get to live in precedented times. But we get to do the work that will shape the arc of the future and that’s worth every effort,” she added.
Student speakers discuss importance of diverse ethical tech leaders, thank support systems
Student speakers from each program, nominated by their peers, also took the stage to address their fellow graduates.
MICS student speaker Hemanth Tadepalli delved into his personal journey into cybersecurity before emphasizing the importance of trust in cybersecurity and the importance of cyber leaders who preserve that trust.
“True leadership in cybersecurity isn’t just about defending assets — it’s about embedding security into every layer of an organization, and building a culture that drives sustainable change. When we lead this way, we’re not just protecting systems — we’re shaping the future of security itself,” he expressed.
“We don’t get to live in precedented times. But we get to do the work that will shape the arc of the future and that’s worth every effort,”
MIMS speaker Miguel Rodriguez-Arias said: “We’re graduating into a world that doesn’t fit clean labels. Interdisciplinary thinking isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. And it’s what the world needs right now, even though the job market doesn’t seem to realize this, yet.”. He also thanked his “web of unseen support” for their unwavering faith.
“As Isaac Newton once said, ‘If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants,’” he added. “So thank you, to all of you, for being our giants.”
Similarly, MIDS speaker Juliana Gómez Consuegra noted the importance of moving forward with context, stating, “for humans, as for these [data science] models, context is important, and what you pay attention to in the past can determine your future. To address our current context, we need to use slow thinking, using passion as a tool for change, and envision this context as an opportunity to do good, instead of seeing it as a barrier.”
“The world needs this enthusiasm and constructive ambition, maybe now more than ever. To generate positive change in the world, we have to focus our attention on creating fair, energy-efficient, and unbiased systems,” she continued. “The good news is that you don’t have to create this change by yourself: even though we are graduating today, we are lucky enough to belong to a tight-knit, global community.”
Finally, Ph.D. speaker Suraj Nair joked about his academic experience, saying that it often felt like moving in circles. “But in my journey, I have learned to embrace the ambiguity that comes with being interdisciplinary, and I’ve become a little more comfortable with it,” he explained.
“I’d argue that it is our biggest strength as a school — it enables computer scientists, sociologists, lawyers, and economists to share the same canvas, and work on some of the most pressing challenges facing our society, together,” Nair added. “Like any large family, we disagree a lot; in the process, we push each other to appreciate different perspectives, and we challenge each other to be critical and cautious in our work.”
