Hostos Community College, Bronx, N.Y.June 2, 2011
It is a profound honor to speak at the same graduation which just last year hosted one of my heroes, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice in this country’s history.
It is also a privilege to speak in this space: vast and beautiful. It communicates the importance of Hostos and the importance of your graduation. The dignity of this space matches the importance of this day in your lives and in the lives of your families.
Hostos isn’t just any institution of higher learning. It is a place which creates opportunity. It symbolizes the hope of America. It symbolizes the ethic that has built this country: the notion that if you work hard enough you can achieve anything.
I know that for most of you getting here wasn’t easy: Many of you went to school and held full time jobs. Many of you borrowed. Many of you balanced taking care of children and working toward this degree. I know what it is to be the first person in a family to graduate from college. I know the struggle, the work, even the tears that bring all of us here today.
But today is a day to take a moment and think of all the sacrifices you made to get here and know that it was worth it—that you have not only done something for yourself, but have accomplished something for your families and communities. Today, you are joining the long line of people who have fought to succeed and have won.
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Ceremony Video
Mr. Luis Ubiñas Address
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