- Keeping focused on my why
helped me when times got tough
when I was in 19 units or when I was in
some crazy hard class -
really just understanding
that it's not just me
that I'm doing this for.
I'm doing it for, like,
my great-grandparents
who literally could have never
imagined going to college.
Hi, everyone, my name
is Evan Michelle Miller.
I'm from the great state
of Texas here in Dallas
and I'm a member of the
Stanford class of 2020.
People often ask me, What
are my favorite parts
about my time at Stanford?
And I have to say,
the experiences that I was able to have.
I was in Chicago,
the musical, that was put
on by Ram's Head in 2018.
I played the character of Mama Morton,
which was extremely fun.
I got to expand my modeling career.
So I started modeling when
I was back here in Texas
when I was just 14 years old.
I would often be seen running to class
with like rollers in my hair
and a bag of high heels,
so I could like run to
the Caltrain station right afterwards.
I also served on the committee
that puts on Blackfest each year,
which is one of Stanford's
student-run music festivals.
So I got the chance to
kind of do everything.
So that's what I would tell people
about Stanford is that
there is a chance for you
to explore kind of all
that is of interest to you.
I think that people think
that because Stanford is
this, like,
"elite institution," right,
that all the students are really cutthroat
and really competitive,
and it's really just,
like, hard all the time,
you know.
And that's just not true.
The Stanford community is so
supportive of one another.
We would stay up until
3, 4 in the morning,
you know, just talking and
sharing with one another
what we were going through
and talking about those experiences
that we were having and eating ... a lot,
and you know, having the
window open and just listening
to the sounds of campus.
At nighttime on campus,
it was always so still.
I was always so still
and I got to really
just appreciate the fact
that I was there and I was making it.
I would say to the class of 2020,
remember that no one can
take this away from us.
You know, we didn't get the graduation
that we thought we would have.
We didn't get the spring quarter
that we thought we would have,
but we still got a Stanford degree.
That's an amazing accomplishment
that most people will never
get to say that they've done.
