(gentle music)
- My name is Alex Bernadotte, and I am a Dartmouth '92.
(gentle music)
I founded Beyond12 in large part
to address some of the challenges that I faced
as a first generation college student at Dartmouth.
I was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
I grew up in inner city, Boston.
I was the first in my family to go to college.
And so when I landed at Dartmouth
it was almost as if I had landed in a foreign place.
I--
Even though on paper,
I had a resume that indicated incredible preparation,
I struggled with every aspect of college life.
From the academic to the financial
to the social and emotional.
And it was that Dartmouth experience that planted the seed
for the work that I do today,
and really my commitment to the work
that I want to do in my life,
which is to ensure that no other first-generation student
or student with backgrounds
and stories similar to mine,
faced the challenges that I faced
when I was in college.
And so my commitment really
is to ensure that every single student
has the opportunity to earn a college degree
that allows them to provide for their families,
contribute to society,
and break the cycle of poverty for the next generation.
- Even at Dartmouth, she was very active
in a lot of social justice work.
I don't know that I could have used
that term back then at Dartmouth,
but whatever kind of work that needed to be done
in terms of organizing and protesting
or standing up for the rights of others,
she was there.
- It is not enough for me to achieve.
But as I am achieving,
I have to remember to either open doors
or to lift as I am climbing my own ladder of success.
And that's actually an ethos that we try to instill
in the students that we serve.
We instill it in our organization.
It is a value that we all--
That we all subscribe to.
And in terms of working with our students,
we do try to instill in them,
through the curriculum,
the importance of not just earning their own degrees
for themselves and for their families,
but also using those degrees to be able to open doors
for so many other students like them.
- To me, there's something so beautiful
in visionary about the way she continues to evolve.
Continue to think that there always is more opportunity
for social justice along the way.
There's no pause until we get there, right?
Just because you have seen success so far,
does not mean that you stop.
And I think that is where Alex lives, right?
That yes,
there has been success achieved,
and yes, there's more to be done.
(gentle music)
- I have been hearing a lot of people
reflect on their desire to go back to normal
without the similar reflection that normal wasn't equitable.
It was unjust and inadequate
for so many of our vulnerable communities.
So for me, being a change maker
means that we have to disrupt these systems.
These systems are achieving the outcomes
they were designed to achieve.
And if we really want to get to a world
where race, income, class do not predict outcomes,
we actually have to redesign our systems
so that they are more just,
so that they are more equitable.
And so that they prepare all--
In my case, all students to thrive
in a global technology-driven economy.
- To me, it is no surprise at all
that she is this woman, this leader,
this inspiring speaker
that so many people respect her,
and that she receiving this award.
There's no surprise to me at all.
Because,
this is who she is in her work life.
But this is who she is in her life.
She is your greatest supporter.
She's the person you laugh with, that you enjoy life with,
who wants to be there for you
and who lets you be there for her too.
And to me,
I celebrate every single win that she has
because she puts in the work
and she deserves it.
- Often the challenge for me was just a lack of confidence,
not feeling like I was ready,
not feeling like I was worthy,
not feeling like I deserve to the access
that I had been granted.
And so really, my advice to younger Alex,
and quite frankly to younger students
and to students with whom we work,
is that you belong, you deserve,
and you should take your rightful place at those tables
because what you are going to do
is make more space for other students like you
(gentle music)