“Unity in Our Struggle”, Class Speaker, Pasadena City College (2016)

It was 2016, and I was on the verge of graduating with my Associate’s from Pasadena City College. It had taken me about 5 years to get to graduation, I muddled through emancipating from foster care, adoption, working about three part time jobs and advocating for myself and my siblings in the child welfare system. It’s safe to say I stumbled through to the finish line. I was by no means a valedictorian, and I will not pretend to be so, those valedictorians work very hard for that honor and deserve all of their flowers. But there was an open call for any students that would be interested in presenting the class speech. I felt that although I was not in the student body, that I was able to embody the strife and meaning behind the monumental life changing milestone that is to graduate from community college in spite of immense barriers to success.

I submitted a 2 page essay on my story, and what graduating meant for me. I explained that although this is not some big name fancy college, it is a golden life changing institution that propelled my upward mobility through it’s bountiful resources, and supportive programs and structures.

I was surprised to be selected. Surely the class president had more to say than me. But I decided to press on, and write about the meaningful milestone we all were sharing in that day. For this reason, the speech is called “Unity in our Struggle” because it was a love letter to the single mom, the disabled veteran, the former foster youth, the starving artist, immigrant student, and everyone in between -for all the less than fortunate ambitious souls that walked the stage with me.