- My journey through Stanford
took me into chemical
engineering, computer science,
theater, chemistry, into
all these different fields
and I thought that at one point
that was what was sort of holding me down.
But now I realize, especially
now that I've graduated,
that's the best part of Stanford.
Hi, my name is Sam.
I'm from San Diego, California.
And I just graduated with a degree
in theater and performance studies.
So I'm a first-generation,
low-income student.
I was a member of the
Leland Scholars program,
the fifth cohort of the
Leland Scholars program.
And really what it does
more than anything else
is it gives you a community of people
who come from similar backgrounds,
primarily first-generation,
low-income students.
Having those four weeks
together was something that
I think really helped change me,
and give me the confidence
to enter the school year
knowing that I could succeed at Stanford.
When I sort of think back
about my Stanford experience,
I always just feel so incredibly grateful
that because of this institution,
because of the financial aid I received,
that I was able to attend
Stanford for four years,
to graduate debt-free, and
to be able to do something
that I really loved without feeling
the pressure of paying for that.
So I had the absolute privilege
to produce Gaieties 2019.
I remember that whole quarter,
I essentially just ran from
class to class to class.
Immediately afterwards, I would
stay in Memorial Auditorium
for upwards of 16 hours at a time.
It takes a lot, a lot out of you.
But looking around through the auditorium
seeing a crowd of 1,500 people,
all here for something
that I worked so hard on
and something that we
built together as a team,
I mean, nothing compares to that.
The Class of 2020 has
been through a whole lot,
especially in the last year.
But I actually think that's
what makes us very special
is the fact that we've
endured all of this together.
The moment that we get to
go back to Stanford Stadium,
the moment that we get every bit
of the Commencement experience
that we all deserve and always wanted,
it's gonna be something really special.
I can't wait to be back on campus.
I've missed it so much.
It'll always hold such a
deep place in my heart.
