Daria Ahafonova “We were changed here. Not only by this place, but also by each other.”

Dear professors, families, friends, and fellow graduates. So happy to see all of you here today!

When I started writing this speech, I realised there are so many things I want to say, so much to reflect on, but with so little time, I'll try to capture the shape of what these years meant. And I'll start with something we all shared.

Studying in Tartu and the Skytte Institute in particular was full of important experiences and lifesaving skills. We've seen the white nights of June, as it is now, when the sky simply refuses to get dark. We've survived the minus twenty degrees in January, when the sun seems to give up entirely – and honestly, so did we, a little. We learned how to go down Toome Hill in winter without twisting an ankle on the icy bricks, and how to go back up without losing the will to live. We learned how not to forget international law concepts, how not to mix up variables in research methodology, and how to stop confusing all those critical approaches in security studies. We also got skills to make strategic choices: like choosing your favourite kohuke or drink in Pühaste. And if you haven't figured that out yet, don't worry, because I'm still also in the process.

These were our shared rituals. Things that, when you mention them to someone who was here, make them immediately smile – because they know. And that shared knowledge is the beginning of something real. Of a community. And community, it turns out, is what this place was quietly building in us the whole time.

Tartu has a way of giving you more than you came for. You came for a degree, right? But this city quietly gave you so much more. It gave you home. Not in the sense of a building, even though Lossi 36 holds a special place in all our hearts. But in the truest sense – a place that knows you, shapes you, holds you, and supports you. And as a Ukrainian student, I have truly felt this support here in Estonia during the war in my home country. And this support allowed me to fully share in the beautiful things we all built here: our friendships, and for some, even love. And this is the most beautiful thing about these years – we didn't just study here. We were changed here. Not only by this place, but also by each other. By people who surrounded you.

The lecturers who supported us, pushed us to think harder than we thought we could, who saw potential in our half-formed ideas and helped us see it too. Wonderful people of Skytte, who were always there with answers, help, and sometimes just with a smile to make a hard day easier. Our families, who supported us across distances and time zones. And each other – people in this room right now, who were there when things clicked, when they didn't, and who stayed anyway.

We met as strangers, asking, "Hi, where are you from?" and now we leave as people who know each other's stories. We definitely take home a real degree – hard-won and well-deserved. But somewhere along the way, without quite planning it, we also collected something else – people. People who became part of our story in a way we never expected.

They say this young-blood city always pulls you back. That you don't really say goodbye to Tartu forever. And as a person who did exchange studies here and returned to pursue a master's degree, I totally believe that. And I believe the same is true about people we found here. So, let's not call this a goodbye. Let's call it a promise. A promise to stay curious, to stay in touch, and to show up for each other – even when life pulls us in different directions.

And yes, today might feel bittersweet – but mostly, it should feel like joy. Because you did something hard, you did it well, and you did it together. So, be proud of that, be proud of yourselves, because today is your day. Aitäh!

Daria Ahafonova, International Relations and Regional Studies MA programme graduate

Speech from the Skytte Master's Students on Skytte Graduation Ceremony 16 June 2026