>> IF YOU TAKE THE RED LINE TO
PARK STREET,
SWITCH ONTO THE ORANGE LINE TOWARDS FOREST HILLS
PAST THE HUSTLING VENDORS AND THE SMELLS OF FRESH ROASTED
PEANUTS TOASTING,
AND GET OFF AT THE VERY LAST STOP,
YOU'LL END
UP THERE.
NO, NOT HARVARD'S ARNOLD ARBORETUM, BUT INSTEAD THE SOUTH
STREET HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.
LIKE HARVARD, IT IS A PLACE FILLED WITH DREAMERS, FUTURE
CHANGEMAKERS, AND ASPIRING ARTISTS;
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE:
OPPORTUNITY.
AT THE COLLEGE -- WELD HALL, ELIOT HOUSE -- [CHEERING]
THEY AREN'T TOO DIFFERENT FROM THE APARTMENT
BUILDINGS I GREW UP IN.
PAINT PEELS OFF OF THE WALLS,
[LAUGHING]
PET COCKROACHES OCCASIONALLY
APPEAR IN THE SHOWERS.
BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, LOVING COMMUNITY MEMBERS ENVELOP YOU
WITH THEIR KINDNESS.
THOSE BRICK BUILDINGS, THOUGH THEY'RE RIGID AND COLD ON THE OUTSIDE,
ARE HOME TO A ROARING HEARTH.
THE PEOPLE, LIKE MY FORMER NEIGHBOR, VECINA ANA, WHOSE
SMILE REVEALS A GLIMPSE OF THE METAL CAP ON HER TOOTH, ARE
FAMILY.
THE FIRST RESPONDERS WHEN YOU ARE IN NEED.
ON AUGUST 3, 2006, I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD WHEN MY MOTHER
RECEIVED A CALL THAT WOULD CHANGE EVERYTHING.
MY FATHER HAD SUFFERED A CAR ACCIDENT IN THE DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC WHILE ON HIS WAY TO VISIT MY GRANDMOTHER.
IT WAS OUT BACK BY THE GREEN DUMPSTERS THAT MY MAMI
RELINQUISHED EVERY SENSE OF BEING, FALLING ONTO THE COLD
CONCRETE IN DISBELIEF.
AN IMMIGRANT, ALONE WITH NOW IMMEDIATE FAMILY HERE,
MY MOTHER DEPENDED ON THE SOUTH STREET HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.
FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR, DURING THE MANY MONTHS OF MY FATHER'S
MULTIPLE COMAE AND SURGERIES, THIS COMMUNITY FED US, CLOTHED
US, AND WATCHED US.
IT WAS ON THE PLAYGROUNDS OF THIS CONCRETE JUNGLE THAT I
LEARNED WHAT A HOME LOOKED LIKE.
EVERY VECINA IN OUR BUILDING, AT 4 METCALF COURT, LIT A CANDLE
FOR MY FAMILY.
IT WAS THE FLICKER OF THOSE RED CANDLES THAT BROUGHT MY FAMILY
AND ME ALL OF THE WAY HERE TO HARVARD YARD.
[CHEERS & APPLAUSE] I REMEMBER SITTING IN THE
STAIRWELLS OF WELD HALL ON MOVE-IN DAY, LOOKING UP AT MY
FATHER.
THAT DAY WAS THE FIRST TIME IN 30 YEARS OF LIVING IN THE UNITED
STATES, OF LIVING IN THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS, IN BOSTON,
THAT HE HAD STEPPED FOOT INTO HARVARD YARD.
AS I SAT THERE, I RECALLED THE DAY THAT I, A 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL,
WAS MOVING OUT OF HER HOME AT METCALF COURT.
WHEN WE LEFT THOSE PROJECT BUILDINGS, MY PARENTS DID NOT
LOOK BACK.
BUT TODAY, I DO.
IN THAT MOMENT, SITTING ON THOSE STAIRS IN WELD, I REMEMBERED HOW
I, AS A CHILD, WOULD SIT AND WAIT FOR MY SCHOOL BUS ON THE
STAIRWELLS IN MY APARTMENT BUILDING.
I THOUGHT TO MYSELF AND REALIZED JUST HOW FAR I HAD TRAVELED.
THOUGH FAIRLY CLOSE, CAMBRIDGE-- LET ME BE MORE SPECIFIC--
HARVARD STILL FEELS WORLDS APART FROM THE COURTYARDS AT SOUTH
STREET THAT GAVE ME MY FIRST SCARS WHEN I FELL OFF OF
YAMILEX'S MAGENTA BARBIE-STICKERED BIKE.
THESE BRICK BUILDINGS, THOUGH THEIR FACADE MAY BE SIMILAR,
STILL SWELL WITH THE PRIVILEGE THAT LIES BEHIND THEIR WALLS,
THE PRIVILEGE OF OPPORTUNITY.
HERE AT HARVARD, I HAVE FOUND WOMEN SIMILAR TO ANA-- A LOT
YOUNGER, BUT ALSO WILLING TO STAY UP WITH ME AS I FILLED
ELIOT'S D ENTRYWAY WITH SHRILL CRIES WHEN MY MOTHER WAS
DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER.
IF THE WALLS IN ELIOT HOUSE, IF THE WALLS AT 4 METCALF COURT,
COULD SPEAK, THEY WOULD HAVE ENOUGH STORIES TO FILL SEVERAL
NOVELS, TESTIFYING TO THE PAIN AND TRAUMA, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY
THE LOVE AND SUPPORT I'VE RECEIVED
IN MY VARIOUS HOMES.
HARVARD IS A HOME, AND WE ALL HAVE COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS
WITH HOME.
BUT IT IS A PLACE THAT HAS TOUCHED US ALL.
AND AS WE LEAVE THIS HOME THAT WE HAVE CREATED HERE AS A
COMMUNITY, I URGE US TO THINK ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE
HAVE BEEN GIVEN.
LET US THINK ABOUT THE PRIVILEGES GRANTED TO US AS WE
GO THROUGH THE WORLD CARRYING A HARVARD DIPLOMA.
LET US REFLECT, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, BE
CONSCIOUS.
CONSCIOUS OF THE WEIGHT THAT OUR EDUCATION HOLDS.
CONSCIOUS OF ALL OF THOSE WHO SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY.
IT COULD RIGHTFULLY HAVE BEEN SOMEONE ELSE IN OUR PLACE, BUT
IT WAS US.
NOW, WHAT WILL WE DO WITH WHAT WE HAVE GAINED HERE?
I HOPE THAT AS WE ANSWER THIS FOR OURSELVES, WE LEAD NOT WITH
OUR PRIVILEGE BUT INSTEAD WORK WITH A DESIRE TO CREATE
OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHERS.
[APPLAUSE]