[MUSIC] Congratulations, class of 2022. We did it.
We did it. We're graduating.
We will be the first in our families to do this,
for some of us, I'm so grateful to have met all of you.
I'd like to thank everyone for literally giving me the best of my life so far.
I would say thank you to everybody for making this such a wonderful experience.
You've taught me so much about friendship,
inclusion, what the law is,
and what the law should be.
We made it through a really difficult time.
I think that we still had a fun time together
and we can say that we've graduated from Harvard Law.
I get to graduate and then go out there to see
how I can also in my little way affect the world.
[MUSIC]
I pursued law because I wanted to live my childhood dreams.
I believe in the power of law to transform lives.
I think law is the best instrument that we have for quickly achieving social progress.
The power of the law is awesome and can really change the trajectory of human history.
Law to me means the avenues to achieve justice.
Lawyers in the legal profession, serve as connectors.
They connect people to ideas and solutions.
You're helping people to realize their dreams,
you are helping people to fight for courses they're passionate about.
My parents are immigrants.
When I was little, I equated understanding the law
with belonging in society and having power in it.
I understood that the law is very powerful.
That some large number of people,
including my family, wanted access to the law but didn't have it.
I knew I needed to learn what it was about to
make the change that I want it for working people.
[MUSIC]
Coming from the military straight into law school was a little bit of a culture shock.
Just being exposed to the diversity of opinions, and backgrounds,
and amazing people here at HLS has really
helped me refine and change my own perspectives.
I thought I was going to have to change a lot of things to be successful here,
but the fact ended up being that I could
authentically bring my whole self and still thrive here.
I've learned a lot about the law,
but I've mostly learned about myself,
about the type of person I want to be,
and the type of lawyer I would like to become.
As I've been here, I've developed more self-confidence and
more shortness in myself and my capabilities.
I think I'm now more curious and braver in asking questions and
approaching different problems from a more critical perspective.
I'm excited about a plane.
This gives a lint, I believe my writing skills have improved a great deal.
I think I have a greater appreciation
for just the way that law touches every facet of life,
the responsibility, and the power that comes with that.
I feel very equipped to address those big societal issues.
I think in doing so,
try to make the world a better place for my son.
Commencement is closing a door on my academic experience here,
but it's also opening a new chapter of my life.
I see it as a new beginning,
new opportunities opening up for me.
When I think of commencement,
I immediately see my mommy and
bobby's faces just overjoyed to be able to bring
this moment to them as something we all accomplished together.
Commencement means setting an example for
my children who will be watching that they really can go after their dream,
that it's never too late.
It means the culmination of a lot of work,
not only my own work but the work of my parents,
my grandparents, and so many generations.
My elementary school teachers,
to my law professors,
my friends, and my family.
Thank you for every word of encouragement,
every cheer, every laugh, and every hug.
We wouldn't have made it here without you.
Today, I'm standing here on the shoulders of many people who believed in me,
even when I didn't believe in myself.
My family left Ukraine in the early '90s so that I
could have an opportunity to go to a school they could definitely not go to in Ukraine.
I am the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor and a Cuban refugee.
There's a history there and I am going to be the next generation.
I am my grandparents' dreams.
I think commencement for me and for our class in general means
coming together in a way that we haven't been
able to for most of our law school experience.
Like everywhere else in the world,
the pandemic impacted how we were thinking this experience was going to be.
Now that we're here together in person celebrating on this occasion,
for me, it just means that we've made it.
It means that we are able to survive everything that's been thrown our way.
I'm really just looking forward to see what everyone does next. [MUSIC]
I think my favorite memory would be seeing
the first snowfall from the BCC because that was the first time I had seen snow.
I really got to remember that for the rest of my life.
Just the feeling around Cambridge and all the different things to see and do.
My favorite HLS memories are connected to our weekend trips.
Those were the times when we would connect with our friends,
and build strong relationships.
What stood out most for me was my experience through Havard's SPO programs.
I had the opportunity to provide proponent services to
real-life clients and looking at the smile on their faces
when I completed that project for them,
made me realize how impactful the law can be.
In the clinic, I got 3 dismissals in 3 days.
I remember all the hard work that went into that,
and then the feeling afterwards and knowing that I had the mentorship
and guidance of such incredible teachers, that helped me get there.
Showing up to the first day of Latino Civil Rights class,
it was the first time that I was able to walk into class and have
a professor that looked like me and that had shared experiences.
That moment for me,
I will never forget. It was so powerful.
Getting the chance to organize an event on the importance of
inclusion of LGBTQIA individuals into international business worth.
I think generally, I'm going to miss campus like seeing people,
and getting to interact with people from different nationalities.
Giving my friends waves,
and hugs and seeing their smiling faces.
Times when our classes got to come together,
and all of the people that I cared about in the class had been in the same place.
Things like barristers or even orientation.
There were so many interactions that happened outside
the classroom that I learned so much from.
I think those are going to be the memories that
I'm going to take with me past graduation.
In WCC, until one in the morning,
arguing with my friends over a tort case that we both ended up being wrong on.
I was driving the softball team down to the tournament at the University of Virginia.
I had the best conversations, debates,
and laughs I've ever had in a time in law school and probably my entire life.
The community has been a place where I really found
not only a voice but a sense of companionship and
friendship that I'm really going to miss and cherish for the rest of my life.
If anything, the HLS community has been an international community for me.
I feel like I've got connections in almost every country in the world now.
I look back fondly on the relationships that I developed here,
and I just look forward to staying in touch with everyone.
You have this mix of individuals who are all exceedingly bright and hard-working,
but also take care of each other.
They are the people who were there on
the amazingly happy days and the days when my family couldn't afford for me further.
They are people who are now siblings to me,
cousins to me, and lifelong friends that I am so honored to have met.
I'm just really lucky to have gone through
such a difficult time with that group of people.
I know if I need advice or a hand,
those people I can reach out to.
They've challenged me.
They've inspired me to be the lawyer that I've always wanted to be.
I have made the closest friendships
and cultivated relationships with fellow veterans here.
I'm going to carry forward the rest of my life.
I got to meet women,
honestly strong women from the foreign parts of the world,
who have transcended local,
and regional barriers and boundaries.
I think to summarize it very well, it's probably family,
I've really learned so much from every single class with every single professor.
I think this is what HLS means to me.
I had so many professors who were just looking out for
me as a person first and then as a student.
The administration and the staff,
and the professors have really helped to get me across the finish line.
They've been my cheerleaders and my support.
It's a very caring and supportive environment.
The graduates' program stuff is special.
I got the support staff during the time of the pandemic,
did wonders for the continued education that we all received.
HLS community meant resilience for me,
they are the people coming from
over 164 countries and territories amidst a world pandemic.
We learned to adapt.
We grew and moving forward,
we're going to do the same in our careers.
It's easy at HLS to forget just how much power
a diploma from this institution holds because you're
looking around and everybody is about to have a diploma from HLS. [LAUGHTER]
We can't forget the amazing accomplishment this is,
but also the enormity of the responsibility that we have now to go out
and be good citizens and good members
all over our community and engage members of our community.
I want to wish everyone the very best going forward.
I'm sure that this is the starting point.
I hope all of you find unapologetic joy,
and I hope you can all see me as a resource,
as a friend, as a colleague.
I'd first like to say thank you for being my friend, and second, congratulations.
[FOREIGN] Together and forward.
Because together, we move forward to make our impact in the world.
We should be so proud of this moment and everything that we've accomplished.
[MUSIC]