Ukraine Leadership and Technology Academy:
Closing Speech

Aug 2024

How to even begin a speech at the close of ULTA?

There's just one thing I want you to remember if you remember nothing else. This truly is a beginning, not an end.

In the last year, I hope there's been a bit flip in your mind. Something that makes you know that you are capable of being a leader for your community, your country, and even the world.

I'm so proud of how hard each of you has worked at learning some of the most important skills a leader can have. How to speak. How to present your ideas in a way that will make others excited about them. Computer programming. AI. Math. How to put together a team. How to build a project with real people and real impact for your country.

Let me return to why today is a beginning and not an end.

You know, this second ULTA is in part modeled off of a startup accelerator in America called Y Combinator. Many startup accelerators and venture capitalists take equity when they advise you. That means if you go on to become successful, some percent of your success belongs to the investor, advisor, or startup accelerator.

Here at ULTA, we don't take equity. But we do take responsibility.

We take the responsibility that, when you go on to lead your successful lives, you will pay it forward to the next generation. Paying it forward means first and foremost climbing the ladder of your own life. However that looks to you. And second of all, it means extending a hand to those younger than you to help them climb up their own ladder.

Our world is two things at once. On the one hand, we live in a fascinating time with some of the greatest technical and scientific advances humankind has ever seen. On the other hand, we face grave dangers. For Ukraine, it is an existential danger from Russia. With AI, it is harder than ever to tell truth from lies. Our world is warming. Sometimes, it’s hard to notice when you’re in an air conditioned room right until you step outside into the sweltering heat. We have been lucky to grow up in free societies, democracies where you can speak up against the government, where your individual rights are respected and protected, where no one is above the law, where science can flourish, where everyone has a chance to live a fulfilling life.

At the biggest scale, I see our mission and our responsibility, as the community of people with the skills to do it, to secure the blessings of liberty and prosperity for our children and our children's children.

And your community is like no other. It’s been my honor to be a part of it. I see in all of your hearts a desire to make the world better. You have the tools now. Keep refining them. There's so much to learn from everyone we meet. Especially, put yourself in environments where people will continue to push you to become the best version of yourself.

Don't be afraid to quit some place or leave some place if it's not right. Just think. How great would it be if when GPT started hallucinating, instead of completing the hallucination, it actually stopped halfway and said, “Wait a minute, that's not right!” Don’t get stuck in past mistakes. Become a full-unstuck developer for your own life.

I see bright futures ahead of all of you. And that's why one last time I'm returning to my theme. Tonight is a beginning, not an end. You all have my phone number. Sometime, please use it. I want to hear how you're doing. I want to help you, if I'm able to.

Let me conclude with a story that Sal Khan told at the end of his commencement address in 2012 to the graduating seniors at MIT. He said, imagine yourself in 50 years. You’re almost 70. You’re near the end of your career. But imagine you’re on your couch, 2074, and you start to reflect on your life. You start to think of all the successes you’ve had, career successes, family successes, the great memories you’ve had. But then you begin to think about the things you wish you had done a little bit different. Your regrets. And I can imagine what they might be. You’ll wish you had spent more time with your children. You’ll wish you had told your spouse that you loved them more frequently. You’ll wish you had told your parents how much you love them and how much you appreciate them before they passed away.

And just while that’s happening, a genie appears. The genie says, “Well, I’ve been listening in to your regrets. You seem like a good person. I’m willing to give you a second chance, if you are open to it.” And so you say, “Sure.”

And so the genie snaps his fingers, you blink your eyes, and when you open your eyes, you find yourself right there, right where you are right now, August 17th, 2024, in Poland, some crazy guy named Laker is giving a speech. And you say, “Oh my God, I’m in my 16 or 17 year old, pain-free body again. I’m around my peers again. This genie was serious. I have a second chance. I can have all the successes, all of the adventures that I had the first time around, but now... I can optimize things. Now when I see my classmates and I give them a hug on this last night of ULTA, I can hug them a little bit harder. Now that my parents are back, I can finally tell them how much I appreciate them. I can finally give them more hugs, more time. I can do everything better. I can laugh more. I can sing more. I can dance more. I can be more of a source of positivity for people around me and empower more people.”

And so here I am, truly honored to have had the last year with you as a mentor in ULTA, just in awe of the potential that is here. Today is the beginning.