The core theme of this commencement address is the celebration of diversity, resilience, and the enduring power of the American dream, as exemplified by the graduating class of City College and the speaker's own experiences.
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[Music]
see this is my very last commencement
address as first lady of the United States
States
this is it so
so
I just want to take it all in and I
think this was the perfect place to be
because this is my last chance to share
my love and admiration and hopefully a
little bit of wisdom with a graduating class
class
and and graduates I really want you all
to know that there is a reason why of
all of the colleges and universities in
this country I chose this particular School
School
in this particular City
and
I'm here because of all of you
as the president eloquently said at the
school you represent more than 150
nationalities you speak more than 100
different languages whoa just stop there
you represent just about every possible
background every color and culture every
faith and Walk of Life
and you've taken so many different paths
to this moment
maybe your family has been in the city
rate the city for Generations
or maybe like my family they came to
this country centuries ago in Chains
maybe they just arrived here recently
determined to give you a better life
but graduates
no matter where your journey started you
have all made it here today through the
same combination of unyielding
determination sacrifice and a whole lot
of hard work
commuting hours each day to class some
of you juggling
I guess amen
juggling multiple jobs to support your
families and pay your tuition
studying late into the night early in
the morning on subways and buses
and in those few precious minutes during
breaks at work and somehow you still
found time to give back to your
communities tutoring young people
reading to kids volunteering at
hospitals somehow you still manage to do
prestigious internships and research
fellowships and join all kinds of clubs
and activities
and here at this nationally ranked
University with a rigorous curriculum
and renowned faculty
you Rose to the challenge
distinguishing yourselves in your
classes winning countless honors and
awards and getting into top graduate
schools across the country whoa
so graduates with your glorious diversity
diversity
with your remarkable accomplishments and
your deep commitment to your communities
you all embody the very purpose of this
school's founding
and more importantly
you embody the very hopes and dreams
carved into the base of that iconic
statue not so far from where we sit
on that island where so many of your
predecessors at the school first set
foot on our Shores
and that is why I wanted to be here
today at city college I wanted to be
here to celebrate All Of You the school
the city
because I know that there is no better
way to celebrate this great country than
being here with you
see all of you know for centuries the
city has been the gateway to America for
so many striving hope-filled immigrants
folks who left behind everything they
knew to seek out this land of
opportunity that they dreamed of
and so many of those folks for them this
school was the gateway to actually
realizing that opportunity in their
lives funded on the fundamental truth
that talent and ambition know no
distinctions of race nationality wealth
or fame and dedicated to the ideals that
our founding fathers put forth more than
two centuries ago that we are all
created equal all entitled to life
liberty and the pursuit of happiness
City College
became a Haven for brilliant motivated
students of every background
a place where they didn't have to hide
their last names
or their accents or put on any kind of
Errors because the students at this
school were selected based not on pedigree
pedigree
but on Merit and Merit alone
it is no accident that this institution
has produced 10 Nobel Prize winners along
along
along with countless captains of
industry cultural icons leaders at the
highest levels of government
because talent and effort
combined with our various backgrounds
and life experiences has always been the
lifeblood of our singular American genius
genius
just take the example of the Great
American Lyricist Ira Gershwin who
attended City College a century ago
the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant
his songs still light up Broadway today
or or consider the story of the former
and just think about the students in
this very graduating class
students like the economics and pre-law
major from Albania who also completed
the requirements for a philosophy a
philosophy major and dreams of being a
public intellectual the educational
theater student from right here in
Harlem who's already an award-winning
playwright and recently spoke at the
White House the biomedical science major
who was born in Afghanistan and plans to
be a doctor a policy maker and an educator
educator foreign
whose yemeni Roots inspired her to study
yemeni women's writing and to advocate
for girls in her community
urging them to find their own voices to
tell their own stories I could go on
these are just four of the nearly 4 000
unique and amazing stories in this
graduating class
stories that have converged here at city college
college
this Dynamic inclusive place
where you all have had the chance to
really get to know each other
to listen to each other's languages to
enjoy each other's food lasagna obviously
obviously
music and and holidays
debating each other's ideas pushing each
other to question old assumptions and
consider New Perspectives
and those interactions have been such a
critical part of your education at this
school those moments when your classmate
showed you that your stubborn opinion
or when they open your eyes to an
injustice you never knew existed
or when they help you with a question
that you couldn't have possibly answered
on your own
I think you're a valedictorian put it
best and this is a quote
said the sole Irreplaceable component of
my ccny experience came from learning
alongside people with life experiences
strikingly different from my own
he said I've learned that diversity in
Human Experience gives rise to diversity
and thought
which creates distinct ideas and methods
of problem solving
I couldn't have said it better myself
that is the power
of our differences to make us smarter
and more creative
and that is how all those infusions of
new cultures and ideas generation after
generation created the matchless Alchemy
of our Melting Pot and helped us build
the strongest most vibrant most
prosperous Nation on the planet
but unfortunately graduates despite the
lessons of our history and the truth of
your experience here at city colleges
some folks out there today seem to have
a very different perspective
they seem to view our diversity as a
threat to be contained rather than as a
resource to be tapped
they tell us to be afraid of those who
are different
to be suspicious of those with whom we disagree
disagree
but graduates I can tell you as first
lady I have had the privilege of
traveling around the world
and visiting dozens of different
countries and I have seen what happens
when ideas like these take hold
I have seen how leaders who rule by
intimidation leaders who demonize and
dehumanize entire groups of people often
do so because they have nothing else to offer
offer
and I've seen how
places that stifle the voices and
dismiss the potential of their citizens
are diminished
how they are less vital less hopeful
graduates
that is not Who We Are
that is not what this country stands for
no no here in America
we we don't let our differences tear us
apart not here because we know that our
greatness comes when we appreciate each
other's strengths when we learn from
each other when we lean on each other
because in this country it's never been
each person for themselves no we're all
in this together we always have been and
here in America we don't give in to our
fears we don't build up walls to keep
people out because we know that our greatness
greatness
has always depended on contributions
from people who were born elsewhere
but sought out this country and made it
their home
from Innovations like Google and eBay to
inventions like the artificial heart the
telephone even the blue jeans
to beloved patriotic songs like God
Bless America like national landmarks
like the Brooklyn Bridge and yes the
White House both of which were designed
finally graduates are our greatness has
never ever come from sitting back and
feeling entitled to what we have
it's never come from folks who climb the
ladder of success or who happen to be
born near the top and then pull the
ladder up after themselves no uh-uh our greatness
greatness
has always come from people who expect nothing
nothing
and take nothing for granted folks who
work hard for what they have then reach
back and help others after them
that is your story graduates and that is
and
it's the story of my family too
as many of you knew I grew up in a
working class family in Chicago
and while neither of my parents went
past High School let me tell you they
saved up every penny that my dad earned
at his City job because they were
determined to send me to college
and even after my father was diagnosed
with multiple sclerosis and he struggled
to walk relying on crutches just to get
himself out of bed each morning
my father hardly ever missed a day of work
work
see that blue collar job helped to pay
the small portion of my college tuition
that wasn't covered by loans or grants
or my work study or my summer jobs
and my dad was so proud to pay that
tuition bill on time each month
even taking out loans when he fell short
see he never wanted me to miss a
registration deadline because his check
was late
that's my story
and graduates
you all have faced challenges far
greater than anything I or my family
have ever experienced
challenges that most college students
could never even imagine
some of you have been homeless
some of you have risked the rejection of
your families to pursue your education
many of you have laying awake at night
wondering how on Earth you were going to
support your parents and your kids and
still pay tuition
and many of you know what it's like to
live not just month to month or day to
but graduates
let me tell you you you should never
ever be embarrassed by those struggles
you should never view your challenges as
a disadvantage
instead it's important for you to
understand that your experience facing
and overcoming adversity is actually one
of your biggest advantages
and I know that because I've seen it
myself not just as a student working my
way through school but years later when
I be after I came before I came to the
White House and I worked as a Dean at a college
college
in that role I encountered students who
had every advantage
their parents paid their full tuition
they lived in beautiful campus dorms
they had every material possession a
college kid could want cars computers
spending money
but when some of them got their first
bad grade
they just fell apart
they lost it
because they were ill-equipped to handle
their first encounter
with disappointment
but graduates as you all know life will
put many obstacles in your path that are
far worse than a bad grade
you'll you'll have unreasonable bosses
and difficult clients and patients
you'll experience illnesses and losses
crises and setbacks that will come out
of nowhere and knock you off your feet
but unlike so many other young people
you have already developed the
resilience and the maturity that you
need to pick yourself up and dust
yourself off and keep moving through the
you have developed that muscle
and with the education you've gotten at
this fine School
and the experiences you've had in your
lives let me tell you nothing and I mean
nothing is going to stop you from
fulfilling your dreams
and you deserve every last one of the
successes that I know you will have
but I also want to be very clear that
with those successes comes a set of obligations
obligations
to share the lessons you've learned here
at this school
the obligation to use the opportunities
you've had to help others
that means raising your hand when you
get a seat in that board meeting and
asking the question well whose voices
aren't being heard here what ideas are
we missing it means adding your voice to
our national conversation speaking out
for our most cherished values of Liberty
opportunity inclusion and respect the
values that you've been living here at
this school
it means reaching back
to help young people who've been left
out and left behind helping them prepare
for college helping them pay for college
making sure that great public
universities like this one have the
because we all know
that public universities have always
been one of the greatest drivers of our
prosperity lifting countless people into
the middle class creating jobs and
wealth all across this nation
public education is our greatest Pathway
to opportunity in America
so we need to invest in and strengthen
our public universities today and for
that is how
you will do your part to live up to the
oath that you all will take here today
the oath taken by generations of
graduates before you to make your city
and your world greater better and More Beautiful
Beautiful
more than anything else graduates
that is the American story
it's your story and the story of those
who came before you at the school it's
the story of the son of Polish
immigrants named Jonas Salk who toiled
for years in a lab until he discovered a
vaccine that saved countless lives it's
the story of the son of immigrant
Jamaican immigrants named Colin Powell
who became a four-star general secretary
of state and a role model for young
people across the country
and graduates
it's the story that I witness every
single day
when I wake up in a house that was built
by slaves and I watch my daughters
two beautiful black young women head off
to school
waving goodbye to their father the
the son of a man from Kenya
who came here to American to America for
the same reasons as many of you
to get an education and improve his
prospects in life
and don't let anybody tell you differently
differently
you are the living breathing proof that
the American dream endures in our time
it's you
so I want you all to go out there be
great build great lives for yourself
enjoy the Liberties that you have in
this great country pursue your own
version of happiness and please please
always always do your part
to help others do the same
I love you all
I am so proud of you
thank you for allowing me to share this
final commencement with you I have so
much faith in who you will be foreign
just keep working hard and keep the
faith I can't wait to see what you all
achieve in the years ahead thank you all
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