- I am so honored, and I mean this deeply,
to bring to the stage our President,
Dr. Susan Fuhrman.
I want to say a couple of words before she
joins us.
President Susan Fuhrman has been a force
at TC for 12 years.
As the first female president,
she has shattered the glass ceiling
and swept the shards of glass away
for others to pass.
(applause)
I speak personally when I say
that my work at Teachers College
from the racial literacy project
to the civic participation project,
Dr. Fuhrman has supported
me and countless faculty
in reaching their
research goals and dreams.
For the past three years,
along with Janice Robinson
and the Vice President's
Office for Diversity
and Community Affairs,
President Fuhrman, yes!
(applause)
Yes!
Thank you.
President Fuhrman has been
here with us at this event
supporting you, honoring your legacy,
your unity, and your brilliance.
We are grateful to have us,
have her with us one more year,
where we can learn from her this evening,
we can hear her sheer wisdom,
encouragement, and words of support
to all of you distinguished TC graduates.
If you're able to,
please rise and join me
in saluting and welcoming
with a first-generation welcome,
our president,
Dr. Susan H. Fuhrman.
(applause, cheering)
- Thank you.
I am honored.
Congratulations, graduates, all of you.
Another round of applause,
we can't have too many.
(applause)
I find this first-generation
celebration so moving.
It's a way of
honoring and applauding our graduates
and the families who have supported them
and enabled them and inspired them.
But this year feels extra special
because it's my last one.
I'm stepping down as President next month,
and so I've been doing
a lot of reminiscing.
And when I think back
as my own experiences,
as the first in my family
to earn a college degree,
in fact, I may have been
the first in my immediate family
to earn a high school degree.
My parents did not
graduate from high school.
I'm not positive, that's why I hedged it.
I know my mother didn't,
I know my father didn't
want to talk about it,
so I'm not entirely sure,
but I think that may mean he didn't.
(child yells)
I know, yeah.
(laughter)
I,
I can only imagine if
they had lived to see
me at this moment.
I don't think they ever
would have imagined.
You know, I didn't imagine,
when I was sitting in your seat,
actually literally this was an auditorium
40 years ago, but not nearly as nice.
When I was sitting in
your seat that long ago
when I got my degree here.
It never occurred to me that I could
come back as President,
and, you know, as the
first generation students,
it made it extra special.
So, I'm struck all over again
by the significance of
what everyone in this room
has accomplished.
Graduates, you are pioneers
about to embark on exciting
professional and personal journeys
that may once have seen unimaginable,
just like mine.
Savor this moment
because you've earned it.
And give yourselves
another round of applause.
(applause)
First generation scholars bring
unique, valuable, diverse
perspectives to their work
and to their relationships
with classmates,
professors, and mentors.
Your contributions to TC
have helped carry forward
the legacy of cultural
and economic diversity
that goes back to the college's founding
a hundred and thirty... one years ago.
Grace Dodge founded
Teachers College because
she wanted to help immigrants adapt
to American life,
and because she understood that
to be able to do that,
teachers had to be equipped
to meet these new learners
on their own cultural terf.
The same dedication to
culturally-responsive education
inspires Teachers College today.
We believe in teaching by building on
what each learner knows,
and we believe in the power of education
to help solve society's
most pressing problems.
And your families instilled
those values in you.
Not only to better
yourselves through education,
but also to use the
knowledge, tools, and skills
you've gained at TC to better the world.
So let's give our families
a round of applause
for setting you on the path.
(applause and cheering)
You'll hear throughout today's ceremony
letters of thanks from
students to their parents,
partners, and other family members.
You'll hear students recall the people
who were always there to listen,
day or night,
who were always ready
to provide wise counsel
and moral support,
and who always reminded them
that they have what it
takes to make a difference.
Graduates, we know the
world is in good hands
because we've already seen who you are
and what you can accomplish.
You are the innovators, the scholars,
the leaders who will bring
honor to your professions,
progress to your communities,
hope to the world, and
reflected glory on Teachers College, too.
You are the ambassadors that will
represent us to the world,
and we are so confident
of what you will contribute in the future.
Our heartfelt congratulations to
everyone in this room.
Thank you.
(applause)
- I'm happy to be back.
(laughter)
I am so happy to bring
some warm greetings to you,
and I just want to take
in this moment with you,
and let you take in the
moment with yourselves.
You're taking it in?
It is beautiful.
So, my name is Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz,
I'm an Associate Professor
of English Education
at Teachers College,
and I greet all of you in
love and in appreciation
for what you have done for
these distinguished graduates
and what you will continue to do for them
as they go out into the world
and make a difference.
In an era where it is
becoming more challenging
for poor students,
for students of color to
obtain a college degree,
the feat that these
graduates have accomplished
in earning an advanced
degree must be applauded.
And you, the fa- yeah, I heard the whoop.
Come on.
And you, the families, the friends,
the chosen family, the support networks,
it would have not been
possible without you.
For without you,
this group of first generation scholars
would have not made it.
In your heart, you know this to be true
because you can name the
sacrifices that you made
to get them to this point.
And graduates, you know
that this is true as well
because of their love,
because of their belief in you,
their financial and emotional support,
that has been the wind beneath your wings.
Indeed, education seeks
to level the playing field
and create balance of opportunities
for those who have bared
the brunt of inequality
and inequity.
Education, love, and sacrifice of family,
helped me to become the
first generation PhD
in my family.
It is indeed my goal that
I will not be the last.
(applause)
When I reflect on educational spaces,
and particularly college campuses,
I think back specifically to protests
by black students across the country.
Historically, and even now,
I think even about the
students in Puerto Rico,
not even a year ago,
who walked off of their college campuses
refusing to attend classes
as an act of resistance
to what was happening on the island
and to the island of Puerto Rico.
As much as they knew and understood
the power of education,
they were willing to give it up
if it meant that they could
bring about change to the island.
Woke students of color,
and woke white students,
they have used their resistance
against the status quo
to make change throughout history,
and those of you here at TC,
you are no different.
You may not have battled
the same type of wars
that students have
in the 1960s and 70s and recent times,
but you recognize that you are going out
with your degree in hand
into a society that needs your resistance
to the status quo,
requires your vision for a world
perhaps that you have not yet seen,
with your degree in hand
and your resistance,
you must understand,
and I think you do understand,
it is the only hope to bring about change
to institutions and to societies,
particularly in education,
and in healthcare and in policy
for children who look like you
and who have backgrounds
from which you come.
As people of color in particular,
we have always understood community.
We have been community-oriented.
We've never really been individualistic.
We have been socially driven
to work collectively for
the betterment of ourselves
and for humanity.
I want to remind all of you
to love one another.
When your brother or sister is successful,
bask in that as a community achievement.
When your brother or sister is down,
lift them up.
Remind them
that you come from greatness
wrapped in fortitude,
and through this greatness,
you will survive,
and you will thrive.
And always remember that
it is your responsibility
to each other and to your communities
and to the world that we,
at this moment, call home,
to bring your true and your full selves.
You are as real as you are magical,
and we thank you for the
magic that you brought to TC.
Today, this ceremony
feels like pure magic,
and I want to thank all of
you for all that you've done,
and if I've taught you,
I'm particularly grateful to you
because I know that I
have learned from you.
I want you to think deeply about
the communities that are waiting for you,
not to save them,
but to serve them.
I want you to think about
your family experiences
and what your parents, your
partners, your children,
have sacrificed for you to be here,
and to remember that you are not here
on your own.
In closing,
I want to once again salute you.
I salute you, graduates,
I salute your support networks,
I thank you all
for the great work that you will carry out
in communities that call you to serve,
and indeed, you will leave
your mark on those communities
just as you have left your mark here
because of your presence,
and you know that it has not been easy,
but because of your presence,
TC is a richer, more
diverse and wonderful space.
Thank you for all that
you have given to us.
There are times that we
are often not deserving
of the grace that you have given.
(applause and cheering)
It is now my pleasure to introduce
the Director of TC's,
thank you for that, y'all.
You all should be standing
for yourselves, yes.
It is my pleasure to introduce
the Director of TC's Dean Hope Center
for Educational and
Psychological Services.
Dinelia Rosa.
(applause and cheering)
Dr. Rosa's career has taken her from
being a first generation
college graduate student
to becoming the New York State
Psychological's Association
first President of color.
(applause and cheering)
Recognizing early on that
the needs of multicultural
and bilingual clients
were not being met in
traditional clinical practice,
she became a prominent
counselor to latino family-
latinx families,
and a leading advocate for
culturally sensitive therapy.
Under Dr. Rosa's leadership,
the Dean Hope Center has
earned an esteemed place at TC
where Dr. Rosa coordinates
the training of counseling
and clinical psychology students
who are dedicated to
serving diverse communities.
The Center is also cherished
through northern Manhattan
for providing affordable, high-quality
mental health services for individuals,
couples, and families of all backgrounds.
Please join me in
welcoming Dr. Dinelia Rosa.
(applause and cheering)
- What a pleasure for me to be here today
with this wonderful group.
Like Dr. Fuhrman mentioned,
it reminds me, brings me back to memories
of when I was in that seat.
Today, I've been asked
to read some of the notes
of some of the graduates,
so that's what I'm going to do,
and then after that, I'm going to share
a little bit of my story,
like if I was writing a note as well.
So I'm going to start
with this very nice line,
which is "Poquito a
poquito, salimos adelante."
"Little by little, we move forward."
So here's the first note.
"The pursuit of my degree has been
one of the most challenging
and spiritually rewarding journeys
I have been on.
I often reflect to when I was a child
and all of this was just a dream.
It's crazy now to see
that my dreams turn into
a beautiful reality."
Second note.
"The road has been long and hard,
but also filled with joy,
laughters, and memories.
Thank you to my family and friends
for being so patient with me
throughout my time in this program.
I appreciate you all for
being so understanding
when I was unable to spend time with you
on the weekends while I was
busy completing assignments.
I'm also eternally grateful
for your constant love and support
and for cheering me on and
helping me get throughout the rough times
when I was filled with self-doubt."
Next note.
"Thank you everyone in
my program and at TC
for giving me some of the
most edifying and enjoyable
moments in my life.
You have all been there to congratulate me
throughout my academic journey."
And the last one.
"There's no doubt that
I stand on the shoulders
of those who have come before me.
Today is my turn to honor all of you
and thank you for your continued support."
Applause for that special group.
(applause)
Now I'm going to share a
little bit of my story.
I am the oldest child of
a family of four,
my father and my mother
didn't achieve an education,
my mother had high
school, my father didn't.
My mother was the oldest of ten,
and my father was the oldest of five,
six, with him.
So,
at that time,
my father went to ninth grade and
the expectation was that
he needed to go to work
to help the family.
And the same thing with my mother.
I have 14 aunts and uncles,
none of whom completed
a college education.
I was the first member in
my family of my generation
to pursue graduate work.
The journey was hard.
It is hard when you do
not have a role model
close to home.
I learned to seek models on my path.
The journey created some fears.
Will my achievements distance
me from my loved ones?
Will they be able to understand
that I chose this journey because of
the values they instilled in me?
Will they understand
that I am who I am today
because of all the gifts they gave me?
Love, wisdom, courage, persistence,
and many other gifts that I could go
on and on mentioning here?
When I look back and I see that
those values helped me along the way,
I realize that my family
walked with me the journey.
I was never alone.
Then I realize that my achievements
are theirs to celebrate.
They walked the journey with me.
Today I can proudly say
that most of my 36 cousins have completed
college education,
and the journey goes on and on and on.
Thank you.
(applause)
- Peace everyone, what's going on?
(whoos)
I believe my family, my community
deserves the best version of me.
I'm going to say that again.
I believe that my family and my community
deserve the best version of me,
so when my wife said to me
that I didn't marry an average
person for you to be average,
and when I got accepted
into that PhD program,
I had to thank her.
So my wife, please stand up,
show your face.
Thank you. Thank you for putting yourself
to the side so I could be up here today.
This New Year's Eve,
my mother was diagnosed with
stage one stomach cancer.
Anyway, she had her surgery,
and I'm proud to say
that she is cancer-free
and she is here today as well.
(applause and cheering)
I,
I want to tell you all about
another great woman in my life.
My great-grandmother, Ruby.
When she came to this country,
early 90s,
she couldn't read or write.
In fact, she used to
write her name with an X.
She loved magazines,
she loved to just stare at them for hours.
She couldn't read them,
so she would encourage my
mother and my grandmother
to read to her and tell
her what's going on
as her form of own reader response.
My grandmother, she used
to bring home tracing books
so she could learn how to write her name,
and at the age of 65,
my great-grandmother,
she wrote her name for the first time.
I say this story to say that
if it wasn't for the sacrifices
of those that came before me,
I know I wouldn't be here today,
and I'm sure that you
all can relate to that.
All of the sacrifices.
So I want to do a quick poem
for those sacrifices,
dedicated to you all.
Sounds good?
Now, I speak pretty loud,
so I want to make sure
that you guys can hear me.
Can you hear me?
- [Crowd] Yes.
- Excellent. Can you hear me good?
- [Crowd] Yes.
- Flames, like the memories of our past,
our history, our scars,
our reminders that were meant to last,
our past hours
reincarnated back to heart.
Flames like our struggles,
our lessons, our shepherds
that we shall not want.
Before iPods, we had MP3s.
Before MP3s, we had CDs.
Before CDs, we listened to cassette tapes,
and before we used rotating blinds,
we walked through beaded drapes.
Remember those days?
(laughter)
Flames like the memories of our past,
our history, our scars,
our reminders that were meant to last,
our past hours,
reincarnated back to heart.
Flames like our struggles, our lessons,
our shepherds that we shall not want.
Before Nintendo DS, there was SP,
before SP, we played GameBoy Advance,
before I realized what they were doing,
I knew that Sega didn't stand a chance.
(laughter)
Before Dave Chappelle,
there was Eddie Murphy,
before Eddie Murphy, we
laughed with Richard Pryor,
before we even had a chance to speak,
we were all laughing with an audience.
Before I could work, before I had a job,
I was presented with money,
we broke, before we
broke out the Robitussin,
we mixed up what?
Lemon and honey.
You remember those days?
Flames like the memories of our past,
our history, our scars,
our reminders that were meant to last,
our past hours reincarnated back to heart.
Flames like our struggles, our lessons,
our shepherds that we shall not want,
and before all of that, it was us.
Before cell phones, before beepers,
before I placed my feet
in name brand sneakers,
it was us.
So you know what,
I wrote like I was a member
of that group, but I spoke,
when I spoke, I was their leader.
With my right hand, I fed them knowledge.
That's why they call me the mind feeder.
You see, we move like hour hands,
like hour hands that move like us.
Before the lies, before being deceived,
there was once a thing called trust,
and you know what,
I wrote like I was a member of that group,
but I spoke.
When I spoke, I was their leader,
and with my write hand,
that's W-R-I-T-E hand,
I fed them knowledge.
That's why they call me the mind feeder.
Before hopes and dreams,
there was ambition.
So you know what,
I wrote with the fires
that spark my dreams,
I wrote with the fires
above befores and afters,
I wrote from my pain and
my memories of laughter.
Before and after, like cause and effect,
like consequence and repercussion,
like choosing a path.
Now, how many,
how many, how many
daggers I have in my neck.
So you know what, I wrote like us,
but I spoke like them.
And only my befores and afters knew me.
I said I wrote like us,
but I spoke like them,
and only my befores and afters knew me.
You see, I wrote with the fires that
beats my heart,
I wrote for the people who
were there from the start,
I wrote and I'm still writing,
'cause I'm still a member of that group,
and I never forgot because
after my struggle, I
was presented with glory
and after I, after I,
after I picked up a pen,
I wrote my story.
Before cell phones.
Before beepers.
Before I placed my feet
in name brand sneakers,
there was and there will always be
us.
My befores and my afters.
Peace.
(applause and cheering)
Thank you.
Thank you.
(laughs)
(cheers continue)
Thank you.
So, I'm going to bring
up the next speaker.
(laughter)
Next up is going to be
Professor Noah Drezner,
Associate Professor in the
Department of Higher Education.
(applause and cheering)
- [Woman] Team Drezner!
- Thank you, Kat.
I am not sure how I,
how I picked the short
stick to go after that.
(laughter)
Wow, I hope that was recorded,
because that was just absolutely amazing.
So thank you.
(applause and cheering)
I was asked to talk about the people.
It is the people who support us,
our families of birth
and our chosen families
that often make a
difference in our ability
to attend college and graduate school
and to sustain ourselves
to make it to the end.
22 years ago, as my father
drove me to college,
I began to get nervous.
Did I make the right decision?
Was I going to be able
to make it on my own?
Would I ever be able to make any friends?
As we got closer, I remember
asking him if he would,
if he could extend his hotel
reservation by a few days
so he could bring me home
if I wanted to give up.
Having not gone to college,
but having full confidence in me,
my father replied,
"Of course.
I will be there for you,
but I'm sure that you'll
be able to do this."
How did he know?
I'm not sure that he did.
But he did, and still does,
have the confidence and
love of a father in me.
It is boundless.
When we arrived at my residence hall
and unloaded the car,
I was one of the first
freshmen to move in.
A day before the rest were set to arrive.
All these years later,
I can't remember why
I was moving in early.
However, it was meant to be,
because I met a person
that was going to change
my college experience
in a very important way.
My hall was empty except for a very happy
sophomore named Anna
who was decorating a bulletin board
outside one of the rooms.
She helped us with my boxes and luggage,
and then went back to her work
as my father and I went to grab dinner.
A few minutes after I returned to my room
and my father said goodnight,
Anna appeared at my door to
ask if I wanted to hang out
and to get to know her
and a few of her friends.
This was a turning point for me.
You see, in elementary and in high school,
I did not have many friends.
I was often bullied,
no one really wanted to spend time with me
outside of class or set activities.
That night, Anna became my
first friend in college.
She introduced me to others,
and many of them became my friends, too.
Anna was the person who
brought me out of isolation.
She helped my find my sense
of belonging in college.
She was there to answer my silly questions
and give me advice I did not
even know I needed to know.
My father is the person whose
love and confidence in me
overshadowed his capacity
to give me advice
on how to navigate college.
Selection of courses, the
workload, and all the rest.
He just knew he needed to be there for me.
Many of our birth and
chosen family members
might not fully understand
what we are studying
or hope to do with our degrees,
yet they are here with us
in person or in our hearts
celebrating all of your
accomplishments this evening.
My father, 22 years
since I started college,
and now, after I just completed
my first decade as a professor,
still does not fully know what I do.
(laughter)
Yet,
earlier this semester, he insisted
on sitting in on my classes
to see me teach.
And for years, he clipped
newspaper articles for me
and now for my husband
on topics he thinks we research
(laughter)
or thinks we should research.
(laughter)
Just yesterday, I arrived home
to literally a ten-pound bag of clippings
from the past month.
The semester ended and he
gave me some summer reading.
(laughter)
These two people supported me
in two very different ways.
One as part of my family of birth,
the other very quickly became
part of my chosen family.
Each of us here, no
matter what our details
of our personal stories,
have these people in our lives
that make a difference,
that give us confidence to succeed,
that worked extra hours
to help us pay the bills,
that were a phone call away at any hour
to say "I love you.
You got this."
Or to ask, "What can I do to help?"
In your own words,
here is what you had to say
about those special people
that helped you get to don
the jordy blue regalia.
Yes, that is the official name of the
color you're wearing this evening.
The jordy blue regalia this evening.
"Who knew that I'd be here today
earning an advanced degree
from an Ivy League institution,
Columbia University?
You knew.
You, all the faculty and staff,
who are both rigorous and kind.
You never let me give up.
Even when I wanted to.
Thank you for teaching
me how to push through
and stand in my power.
We did it.
You, all my family and friends,
have supported me in this journey.
Mom, Dad,
I watched you get up
before the sun came up
to go to work.
I saw you go to stores
but never buy anything for yourself.
You constantly went without
so you could afford to finance my
random wild dreams that I had.
Thank you for being a shoulder to cry on.
Thank you for being
brave when I couldn't be.
Thank you for being there for me.
My family,
there's not one day that I have
entered this world without you.
You walk with me in every space.
Every classroom, every meeting.
You remind me of where I came from
and how far I've come.
You see me.
You love me.
You teach me.
You walk with me, and you always will."
(applause)
- Hi everyone.
Hola a todos.
Mi nombre es Daniela Conde-Cortez,
y eses un mensaje de un estudiante.
This is a message from a student.
"Familia,
gracias por tu apoyo
durante todos estos años.
Ya que no ha sido fácil con la distancia.
Siempre ampo vido desirme todas las cosas
que necesito escuchar
durante mis tiempos dificiles.
Gracias por ser el pilar fundamental
que me allo vado alcanzar estos sueños.
Estas pocas palabras no son suficiente
para demostrar todo lo
que significa para mí.
Pero sepanque todo lo hago por ustedes.
Gracias."
(applause)
- Good evening.
My name is Elisabeth Hernandez, or Eli,
and it is an honor to have the opportunity
to share some words with my fellow
first generation graduates,
loved ones,
and the TC community.
Being the first often
implies a lonely journey,
and in my case, the
truth is in the numbers.
In 2016,
.06 percent of all earned doctorates
were by latinx students.
At many points throughout my time at TC,
I doubted whether I could finish,
whether I was good enough to be here.
I was pursuing a topic
with little existing research,
and I worried if my specialization
in undocumented immigrant mental health
would limit my career choices.
I had few mentors who looked like me,
who lived what I lived through,
much less knew anything about my topic.
I had even less peers
who understood the
magnitude of my presence
and what it would mean if I finished.
I worried about the family I left behind
as I became the first of my 51 cousins
to leave the state, much
less move across the country.
During my time at TC,
I lost my paternal grandmother,
my godfather, and recently, my father.
I also met my life partner,
got married, and had a son.
Once I defended my dissertation
and officially became a doctor,
I sat in disbelief and
reflected on my journey.
I wondered if any of my
ancestors had these feelings
as they navigated new
and oppressive spaces.
My ancestors were the original braceros.
Temporary migrant workers,
recruited from Mexico to be farm workers.
My great-grandparents'
and grandparents' labor
opened educational and vocational doors
for their children and grandchildren.
My grandparents and parents
settled permanently in the US
facing the harsh transition from Mexico
at a time when US citizens
were being deported,
and immigrants changed their
names from Juan to John,
and Valenzuela to Valens, to survive.
Their rights were constantly changing,
their worth always
determined by those in power.
I wondered.
Did my abuelita Mica,
born in the US during one of
her parents' migrant trips,
doubt herself when she
left her ten children
in Mexico?
Did she worry,
did she worry,
(applause)
- [Man] I love you, sister!
(laughter)
- Did she worry that
the years of separation
would be too high a cost
in pursuit of a better
life for her family?
Was my nana Julia afraid
as she marched with union farm workers
in Arizona as Caesar Chavez
fasted for her right to strike,
and Dolores Huerta coined
the infamous phrase,
"Sí se puede"?
Did she question whether protesting
was worth the risk of losing her job
and her immigration status?
When my mother, Olga,
left behind her parents and nine siblings
to work as a domestic in Los Angeles,
did she have the same
doubts about belonging?
Being the first often means
feeling like an imposter,
but something inside of us
tells us to do it anyway.
I was a high school counselor
and became increasingly focused on
assisting undocumented
students and their families
as they navigated the challenging
transition into adulthood.
As high school graduates,
if they graduated,
undocumented students were suddenly thrust
into the reality of deportation,
educational constraints,
financial insecurity,
and a lack of basic rights.
I applied to TC because
a latina vice principal
told me I should.
She believed in me,
and I looked up to her,
so I went for it.
There was a part of me
that had never imagined
myself as a doctor.
But there was another part of me,
a deeper-rooted part,
that knew that becoming a
doctor was not only possible,
but it was a birthright.
My mother often reminds me
of the moment she envisioned
her unborn children's future.
At the age of 17,
she had the opportunity
to leave farm working
to work as a nanny for a
UCLA physician and professor.
Far from her life in Sonora, Mexico,
she found herself on UCLA's campus
where she would often bring the children
to visit their father.
She imagined her future children there.
I not only attended that
university for undergrad,
I am returning there
to work as a psychologist
where I will be known
as "Doctora Hernandez".
(applause and cheering)
My legacy of being the first
is one that goes back many generations.
Many of my ancestors stood in new places,
in scary and uncharted spaces,
and pictured themselves there
as if they were born to be there.
Their dreams, regardless of their scale,
guided their actions and
inspired future generations
to pursue them.
They imagined rights they didn't have yet,
jobs and degrees that
were generations away,
and I'm here as proof that it can be done.
I only wish my nana Julia
could join my tata Antonio
here today to hear me say,
like Dolores once said,
"Sí, Nana, si pude."
So I'm here to remind you today.
Keep imagining yourselves in spaces
you have yet to break through.
Live your life as if future generations
will prosper from your labor,
because your ancestors did just that.
And here we are.
Join me in saying,
"Sí se puede."
- [Crowd] Sí se puede!
- Gracias.
(applause and cheering)
(a capella)
♪ There's too many things
I haven't done yet ♪
♪ There's too many sunsets ♪
♪ I haven't seen ♪
♪ I can't waste the day
wishing it's low down ♪
♪ What a thought by now ♪
♪ I learned something ♪
♪ Hey, yeah ♪
♪ Mmmm ♪
♪ I made up my mind ♪
♪ I was a young girl ♪
♪ I've been given this one world ♪
♪ I won't worry it away, no ♪
♪ Now and again, I lose
sight of the good in life ♪
♪ I get stuck in the low light ♪
♪ But then love comes in ♪
♪ How far do I have to go ♪
♪ To get to you? ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ How far do I have to go ♪
♪ To get to you? ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ So send me the miles ♪
♪ And I'll be happy to ♪
♪ Follow you, love ♪
♪ I do whatever I can ♪
♪ Wherever I end up ♪
♪ To keep giving my good love ♪
♪ And spreading it around ♪
♪ 'Cause I've had my fair share ♪
♪ Of "take care and goodbye"s ♪
♪ I've learned how to cry ♪
♪ And I'm better for that ♪
♪ Saying how far do I have to go ♪
♪ To get to you? ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ How far do I have to go ♪
♪ To get to you? ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ So send me the miles ♪
♪ And I'll be happy to ♪
♪ Follow you, love ♪
(a capella)
♪ Red-Letter days ♪
♪ I'm in a blue mood ♪
♪ Wishing that blue would ♪
♪ Just carry me away ♪
♪ I've been talking to God ♪
♪ Don't know if it's helping or not ♪
♪ But surely something has got to ♪
♪ Got to, got to give ♪
♪ I can't keep waiting to live ♪
♪ How far do I have to go ♪
♪ To get to you? ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ So ♪
♪ How far do I have to go ♪
♪ To get to you? ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ How far do I have to go ♪
♪ To get to you? ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ So ♪
♪ How far do I have to go ♪
♪ To get to you? ♪
♪ Many the miles ♪
♪ So send me the miles ♪
♪ And I'll be happy to ♪
♪ Follow you, love ♪
♪ There's too many things
I haven't done yet ♪
♪ There's too many sunsets ♪
♪ I haven't seen ♪
(applause)
- Hi, good evening.
My name is Haeny Yoon,
and I'm an Assistant Professor
in Curriculum and Teaching,
and I wanted to follow
up on what Noah said,
because after Anderson spoke,
I was like, oh thank God,
I don't have to go after him.
And then Eli spoke, and I thought,
thank God I don't have to go after her,
and then the Spark Notes sang,
and I'm like oh, great.
Now I have to go after them.
(laughter)
So, I will,
I'm going to start just by sharing
collective notes that the
2018 graduates have written
and talked about in their time at TC
as well as notes that they wanted to
share with their families,
so as I read them,
I hope you hear your own literal voice
in the words that I say,
but then also for the rest of us,
I think it's our collective
shared story as well.
So I hope you hear a semblance
of your voice in it as well.
And then I just wanted to end by sharing
a small story about my own history that
was really inspired by
the words that I saw here.
So, I'm going to start
with the first note,
and it says,
"I wish all graduating
TC students best wishes
in all our future endeavors.
Now that we've earned these degrees,
how we use them to impact
the world in which we live,
our cities with economic shortcomings
and unequal access to health
resources among my people
motivated me to do the
work I currently do.
As I go forward,
I hope this degree will bring me closer
to making the changers I
want to see in this world."
The next note.
"Whether I was sitting
in a classroom in London
or teaching in a classroom in Tennessee,
I always showed and told
people where I was from.
I am so honored to be from such a
rich and colorful community,
and I always want people
to know and remember
that my community creates scholars too.
Thank you for giving me a
hometown I can be proud of.
I pray I always will represent you well.
I hope that I can be an example
to my family and my community
of how persistence can pay off
and how we don't have to lose ourselves
to be successful in this world.
I hope my example will
inspire you to realize
you can do anything you want
with the vision and
drive to accomplish it.
Because of what you've poured into me,
I was able to accomplish this milestone.
I hope to return the favor tenfold.
These are tough days we are living in,
not only for America, but for the world.
To be one of the few
students of color at TC,
I recognize that my presence
and completion of the program
is not only an achievement for myself,
but also a testament to
all of the sacrifices made
by those that came before me.
I plan on honoring those sacrifices
by being an active member of my community
and do what I can to create change
in a society where
historically we have been
and continue to be disenfranchised.
I also want to thank all the professors
and the TC community for
deepening my understanding
of the profound inequities
embedded in our flawed education system.
I leave this program with aspirations
of creating environments in both
my personal and professional life
with a sense of belonging
and community for all.
University and colleges were
not made for us or by us,
but that means it is more urgent
to infiltrate and change these spaces
so that our children and
students can have easier
and more successful time here.
This graduation ceremony is not an ending,
but a beginning.
Here we come."
Okay, so I practiced this next one all day
so that I wouldn't mess it up.
So it starts with,
"Aqui estamos
y no vos,
y no nos vamos."
(applause)
See?
"We are here and we are not leaving.
We are here in academia,
and in this world."
My gosh, here it comes.
"Creating a collective path
where militarized borders
don't separate families."
Oh, my.
"Where citizenship and being undocumented
does not define your humanity,
where we have more libratory schools
and restorative practices and prisons,
where violence against women,
especially women of color and trans women,
does not exist,
where the LGBTQIA community,
especially queer people of color,
can live out their truths
without fear of discrimination,
where black lives matter,
where the rights and dignity
of indigenous people are upheld,
where students of color are seen with
unlimited potential and brilliance
instead of being criminalized and tracked
out of our public schools,
where there is pedagogy
and curriculum that,
in cities of critical
thinking and creativity,
rather than assimilation
and epistemological erasure,
where there's more love and
equitable policies for the earth
and the most marginalized
populations in our community.
Aqui estamos y no nos vamos.
We are here and we are not leaving.
And as I move forward,"
(applause)
And I thank whoever wrote
that for doing this to me,
so now I'm a mess here.
"As I move forward,
I will respect my roots,
honor my heritage,
and lift as I climb.
I am proud to say that this degree,
education, and new future,
is not only mine but also proudly yours."
I'm going to share just a short story,
so hopefully I'll get through it.
And it's about my own
personal journey here.
So my dad was a mailman for 30 years.
My mom also worked in the post office,
mostly the night shift as a desk clerk
for almost the same amount of time.
They had breaks in between
as my parents tried to
achieve the American dream,
so in this order, they,
my dad was a landlord for a
three-unit apartment building,
we owned a coin laundry
and a hot dog shop.
And when I look back on all
that my parents have achieved,
being immigrants to a new country,
is actually quite impressive,
because so far, I have not owned anything.
I have not done anything
for more than five years,
and I may never own anything,
living in New York City.
(laughter)
But most importantly,
I've never had to do a job
that I did not want to
do in order to survive.
I grew up with privilege
and maybe not the kind
that others experience,
but my parents sacrificed a lot
so that I can be here with you today.
Sure, we didn't grow up with money,
and my parents' response to everything was
"we don't have any",
and we didn't go to fancy vacations,
and my dad actually bought a tent
so that we could go to
campgrounds during our vacations,
but I knew that my
parents always had my back
even at times when I didn't feel like it.
So as a young kid, I was embarrassed
by their atypical cultural ways.
They seemed so far away from the norm.
They didn't speak English very well,
my dad would sometimes pick me up
in his mailman uniform from school,
which I didn't like,
and then my bologna sandwich
always had a fried egg on it,
which was the one weird thing that
made it different from
everybody else's lunch,
and I was always required
to bring dumplings
or some kind of sushi thing to school
for international or multicultural day.
My parents never chaperoned field trips,
my dad worked during the day,
my mom worked at night,
so they never came to school events.
They never talked to my teachers
because of the language barriers,
they were not the PTA president
or in charge of bake sales
or organizing the parties,
but my par-
so my parents did not show up to school,
but they showed up in so many other ways.
(applause)
And I think,
and I think I was falsely led to believe
that they had to do all
those superficial things
to prove that they were good caregivers
and they cared about my education,
so this is really dedicated
to all of the parents,
grandparents, godparents,
surrogate parents,
uncles, aunties, cousins,
children, teachers,
who really worked their asses off
to open doors for all of us.
(applause)
So, this is what brings us together here,
sharing our collective stories,
and I want to honor
this ceremony as a place
where we can say that our stories matter,
that our atypical ways of being
are meaningful and legit,
because I'm going to quote Eve here,
which totally dates me.
She says, "Living life is so hard,
and the people here with you today
are those who are no
longer here, but present,
and those who came before us
lived life extra hard so you can be here."
So congratulations to the graduates
and congratulations to everybody
who is in this room,
because this is so much
a part of your work
as much as it is part of the graduates'.
So thank you.
(applause and cheering)
- I need a box of Kleenex,
I'm telling you the truth.
Thank you.
Before we go to one of the
most important parts of this,
the roll call,
I just want to thank all of my colleagues
who are here, whom I love,
those who are on the stage
and who are not on the stage,
and your former professors,
please give them a round of applause.
(applause)
And I would also like to thank the staff,
the staff that's making things happen
with music and with video
and making sure that all
of the names are here,
let's give them a round of applause.
(applause)
And now the moment we've been waiting for,
the roll call is what it's all about.
And I am honored to call each
and every name this evening,
and as I do, graduate,
I want you to stand and greet the members
of your support network
who are here with you.
And I ask those members
to stand as well so they
can look you in the eye
and you can have your moment together.
But before I begin the roll call,
I want to read a very short poem.
Anderson has inspired me.
He inspires me in more ways than one.
I want to read a very short poem.
So most of you know that
I'm from the South Bronx.
Is that right?
(cheering)
So if you know that,
you also know that
it's a fact that I'm very proud of.
And although it has
not been a neighborhood
without its challenges,
particularly during the late 1980s
when I came of age,
the South Bronx has a
special place in my heart
despite the ways that
the world has written it
as the "Forgotten Borough"
and the poorest congressional district
in New York.
There was and is a richness
to the South Bronx,
and I lived there during a time,
really in the aftermath
of racist landlords
who were burning down their property
to collect insurance and move away.
They were concerned that too
many blacks and latinx folks,
mostly at that time, Puertorriqueños,
were moving in.
And when they burned the buildings,
what remained were ashes and rubble
for decades.
So I wrote this poem,
and the voice of the South Bronx,
speaking back to me,
but I offer it to all of you
who rose from seemingly
impossible circumstances,
but you are sitting here today.
And I never share my work in public.
I am a closet poet.
You should know that.
So this is a big thing for me.
Except I did share it on
Facebook two weeks ago, but.
Okay.
Does that count?
Okay.
(laughs)
I have always held you close.
Wrapped in my arms of
blazing fire and ashes,
I knew you before you knew yourself.
I saved you when others
wanted to throw you back
to the ashes from which you rose.
Like a phoenix,
you came rising and rushing
toward the midnight sky.
Ask yourself right now
who has been your South Bronx.
Many, I am sure
are in this auditorium this evening.
And now for the roll call.
(applause)
Curin Abrams.
Curin Abrams.
Please stand. Find your people.
(applause)
Well, stay where you are.
Where are the people of Curin Abrams?
Stand up. Yes.
Beautiful.
(applause)
Samantha Omyra Alcala.
Stand.
Who are your people? Yes.
(applause)
That's right, snap those photos.
Antia Allen, please stand.
And your people, yes.
Wonderful.
Diana Bergdorf, please stand.
Find your people.
Ah, right behind you.
(laughs)
Jakay Brian Gooden.
Please stand, darling.
Absolutely.
As she carries the next generation.
Marisol Cantu.
Mari, stand up.
Find your people, Mari.
Silvano Biedia Casares,
find your people.
Yes.
Oh my goodness, the whole auditorium,
I love it.
I love it.
Raul Cervantes,
stand and find your people.
(applause)
Lorianne Clemenson,
stand and find your people.
Yes.
Daniela Conde,
stand and find your people.
(applause and cheering)
Can I just say that you're beautiful?
This is such a beautiful sight,
I wish for all of you
to one day be up here
to see your beauty.
Brandy Davis, stand and find your people.
Brandy.
Brandy?
I know you're here.
Because there's a card
with your name on it.
Brandy?
Did she go to the restroom?
Okay, we're going to hold Brandy.
Brittany Davis, stand
and find your people.
Brittany!
(laughs)
Mario Delgavo, stand and find your people.
(applause)
I saw them at Joe's Cafe earlier,
they were just as happy this afternoon.
Chantelle Diamond,
stand and find your people.
Jaquelyn Duran,
please stand and find your people.
Isabela Espinal,
stand, Isabela.
Oh!
Yes.
I love it.
I love it.
Tiffany Firetty,
stand.
Tiffany.
(applause)
Grace Frutos, stand.
They came, look at the lights.
Don't you love this?
Look at that.
That's the way you do it, Grace.
Paloma Garcias.
Yes!
(applause)
Christina Lopez Gonzalez.
Stand.
Yes, the entire back row,
that's all Christina.
Avril Henley, stand and find your people.
Wonderful.
Oh, we were in the elevator together.
Beautiful.
Elizabeth Hernandez.
Stand and find your people.
(applause and cheering)
Victoria Hernandez.
Yes, Victoria!
(applause and cheering)
I still miss you, Victoria.
Leanne Hollan, stand and find your people.
Leanne.
Beautiful.
Robert Azim Jackson III.
Yes.
Beautiful.
Monica Jankowski, stand
and find your people.
Can someone get a photo of that?
I have to announce and direct too,
this is a lot of work.
Okay?
In my next life, I'm going
to be a stand-up comedian.
If the professorial
thing doesn't work out.
Shana Lal, stand and find your people.
Lal, like mall, and wall, and tall.
That's what she said.
Awesome.
Mindy Levinson, stand
and find your people.
- [Woman] Yeah, Mindy!
- That whole row, Mindy.
You know how to bring 'em out.
Gina Marcel, stand and find your people.
(applause and cheering)
Awesome.
Ah, Larrolyn Mariola Pattison Parms-Ford.
Yes!
Stand and find.
Give mama a hug.
(laughs)
Beautiful.
Charlyn Hailey McNeil,
stand and find your people.
(applause and cheering)
Wakanda forever.
I see you! I see you!
Hatice Meadow,
stand and find your people.
Hatice, where are you?
Hatice, are you with Brandy Davis?
(laughter)
We're gonna find you.
Alright.
Ana Min Dee Eta.
Did I say that right?
Stand and find your people.
Beautiful.
Kacey Newan.
Stand and find your people, Kacey.
(applause)
And a very special person,
Joel Lahy Organista,
stand and find your people.
Take it in.
Joel.
Yari Patroceane.
Patroceno.
No, I'm going to do this again,
because names are important.
Yari Patrocinio.
Is that right?
Yeah!
Find your people.
This whole section.
I'm glad I got the name right.
I'm glad I got it right.
Trevor Queen, stand and find your people.
(laughs)
Megan Richards,
stand and find your people.
That's right.
Mama knows Megan.
Guadalupe Rivera,
stand and find your people.
(applause)
I love your hat.
Shavina Rose,
stand and find your people.
Shavina.
(applause)
Johanna Meiha Salgado,
stand and find your people.
(applause)
Loreli,
Joreli Saravoya?
Sara, Saravas.
Help me with this.
Where are you?
That's exactly it.
Stand and find your people.
Yes!
Thank you.
Dana Moija Spelveda, Spe-
I'm not doing so great right now.
And I respect names,
so Dana, please stand.
Dana, where are you?
Dana. Dana.
We still care about you, Dana.
And we congratulate you.
Kara Singleton,
stand and find your people, Kara.
Yes.
Kat Judith Mortina Stevens.
Stand,
find your people,
and I am your person too.
I'm part of your people, Kat.
Joaquin Stewart,
you better stand up and find your people.
Yes.
(applause)
Dong-Soo Soo.
Stand up and find your people.
Yes.
Simong Tong, stand up
and find your people.
(applause)
Iliana Romero, yes.
(applause)
And I met you yesterday,
I loved you then, I love
you even more today.
Loo Wang,
stand and find your people.
Loo Wang.
Loo.
Elo Washington, stand.
Find your people.
The whole auditorium.
Jeremy Watson, stand.
Find your people.
And last but certainly not least,
unless of course I've forgotten your name
and then you will stand
and we will hear your name,
Erica Denise Williams,
please stand and find your people.
(applause)
Is there anyone whose name was not called?
Anderson, I didn't-
Anderson, stand!
Anderson Smith.
Mama and wife.
Stand, please.
Who did I forget?
Ling Lopez, stand!
(applause)
Anyone else? Please.
Diane Elizabeth (muffled)
Please stand, find your people.
Yes.
Maria Taja's family, stand up, perfect!
Oh, they went upstairs.
They wanted to make sure
they had the right view.
Anyone else? Anyone else?
We are so happy.
Congratulations from the
bottom of our hearts.
To the class of 2018,
the distinguished first generation,
stand up!
We love you!
Whoo!
(applause and cheering)
Congratulations!
