It Was All Woth It
To the graduates and colleagues:
What a difficult path we chose, didn’t we?
In a world where social media has conditioned us to expect instant rewards. Where we’re told that university is outdated. That it’s better to take a short course from one of the thousands of pseudo-digital schools. “Why are you studying engineering? Why don’t you just take a programming course and be done with it?” people have said to me. Or more recently, a self-proclaimed expert declared on a major media outlet that, with the rise of Artificial Intelligence, “an engineer graduates knowing that everything they’ve learned is already obsolete.” We’ve heard things like this—and worse. And yet, with the perseverance that defines us, we’ve kept going. We chose the hard path, yes, but something tells us it’s the right one.
Then a day like today arrives, and more than ever, we know they were wrong. They’re wrong because university doesn’t teach us how to code. It doesn’t teach us some specific technology that later becomes “obsolete.” That’s not what university is about. It teaches us to reason, to analyze, to plan and to manage. It teaches us to build, to solve problems, and to create. It teaches us to be teammates, to form teams, and to empathize. It teaches us to listen, to reflect, and even to negotiate. It teaches us to fall and get back up. To face frustration—and more importantly, to overcome it.
I could go on and on listing everything university has taught us over these years. But I believe just this is enough to say it was all worth it. Every sleepless night spent studying for a final exam was worth it. Every blow we took when things didn’t go as expected. Every night out with friends we missed, every mad dash from work to get here—it was all worth it.
Today, you are much greater than the person who walked through that door on the first day. Today, you are ready to be the best at your jobs, to start your own ventures if you wish, to found your own companies—or simply to do whatever you set out to do and achieve your dreams against all odds. And that, I believe, is no small thing.
Personally, I dreamed of becoming an engineer from a very young age. And like many of you, the road wasn’t easy. I don’t believe in meritocracy. I do believe in merit, but merit alone is not enough. It’s a necessary condition, but not sufficient—you know what I mean. You need merit, luck, and a supportive context. And I had a little bit of each. I was lucky to be born into a good family, and in a country where the best university education is public. Without that, I’m well aware, I wouldn’t be here today.
That’s why we must recognize that we all carry a debt. It’s not a financial debt, it’s a debt of honor—one we owe to Argentina. Our country, which gave us the best education, deserves something in return. Each of us will know how and when to repay that debt. But it is our duty to help build a better country. One with high-quality public universities. With cutting-edge science and technology.
That is our responsibility. It’s up to us.
Thank you very much.
Pablo Pallocchi, B.Eng
This speech was delivered on May 28, 2025, at the National Technological University (UTN), Buenos Aires Regional Faculty (FRBA), during the graduation ceremony for 37 engineering graduates, their families, and loved ones.