CCNY Commencement 2016: First Lady Michelle Obama, Speaker

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- Wow.
(crowd cheering)
Let me just take it in.
First of all, it is beyond a pleasure and an honor
to be here to celebrate the City College of New York
class of 2016.
You all, I mean,
this has been the most fun I think I've had
at a commencement, ever.
(crowd cheering)
Let me just say a few thank yous.
Let me start of course by thanking president Coico
for that wonderful introduction,
for her leadership here at City College,
for this honorary degree.
I also want to recognize Senator Schumer,
Chancellor Milican, trustee Shorter,
Edward Plotkin as well as your amazing valedictorian,
Andoni Mourdoukoutas.
Did I get it right?
Andoni.
And your amazing salutatorian, Orubba Almansouri.
I really don't want to follow those two. (laughs)
If anybody is wondering about the quality of education,
just listening to those two speakers
lets you know what's happening here.
And I'm so proud of you both, and to your families,
congratulations, well done, well done.
And of course, let us not forget Elizabeth Aklilu
for her amazing performance of the national anthem
earlier today.
She blew it out of the water.
But most of all I want to acknowledge all of you,
the brilliant, talented, ambitious, accomplished,
and all around outstanding members of the class of 2016.
Woo!
You give me chills.
You all have worked so hard and come so far
to reach this milestone.
So I know this is a big day for all of you and your families
and for everyone at this school who supported you
on this journey.
And in many ways this is a big day for me too.
See, this is my very last commencement address
as first lady of the United States.
This is it.
So I just want to take it all in.
And I think this was the perfect place to be
because this is my last chance to share my love
and admiration and hopefully a little bit of wisdom
with a graduating class.
Graduates, I really want you all to know
that there is a reason why, of all of the colleges
and universities in this country,
I chose this particular school in this particular city
for this special moment.
And I'm here because of all of you.
I mean, we've talked about it.
Andoni, I'm gonna talk a little bit
about diversity, thank you.
Just look around.
Look at who you are.
Look at where we're gathered today.
As the president eloquently said at this school,
you represent more than 150 nationalities.
You speak more than 100 different languages.
Whoa, just stop there.
You represent just about every possible background,
every color and culture, every faith and walk of life.
And you've taken so many different paths to this moment.
Maybe your family has been in the city for generations
or maybe like my family, they came to this country
centuries ago in chains.
Maybe they just arrived here recently,
determined to give you a better life.
But graduates, no matter where your journey started,
you have all made it here today through the same combination
of unyielding determination, sacrifice, and a whole lot
of hard work.
Commuting hours each day to class, some of you.
Juggling--
Yes, amen.
Juggling multiple jobs to support your families
and pay your tuition.
Studying late into the night, early in the morning
on subways and buses.
And in those few precious minutes during breaks at work.
And somehow you still found time to give back
to your communities, tutoring young people,
reading to kids, volunteering at hospitals.
Somehow you still manage to do prestigious internships
and research fellowships and join all kinds
of clubs and activities.
And here at this nationally ranked university
with a rigorous curriculum and renowned faculty,
you rose to the challenge.
Distinguishing yourselves and your classes,
winning countless honors and awards,
and getting into top graduate schools
across the country, whoa.
So graduates, with your glorious diversity,
with your remarkable accomplishments
and your deep commitment to your communities,
you all embody the very purpose of this school's founding.
And more importantly,
you embody the very hopes and dreams
carved into the base of that iconic statue
not so far from where we sit,
on that island were so many of your predecessors
at this school first set foot on our shores.
And that is why I wanted to be here today at City College.
I wanted to be here to celebrate all of you,
this school, this city,
because I know that there is no better way to celebrate
this great country than being here with you.
See, all of you know for centuries,
this city has been the gateway to America
for so many striving, hope filled immigrants.
Folks who left behind everything they knew
to seek out this land of opportunity that they dreamed of.
And so many of those folks, for them,
this school was the gateway to actually realizing
that opportunity in their lives.
Funded on the fundamental truth
that talent and ambition know no distinctions of race,
nationality, wealth, or fame,
and dedicated to the ideals that our founding fathers
put forth more than two centuries ago,
that we are all created equal.
All entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
City College became a haven for brilliant,
motivated students of every background.
A place where they didn't have to hide their last names
or their accents, or put on any kind of airs
because the students at this school were selected
based not on pedigree, but on merit and merit alone.
So really,
(crowd cheering)
it is no accident that this institution has produced
10 Nobel Prize winners.
Along with countless captains of industry,
cultural icons, leaders at the highest levels of government.
Because talent and effort combined with
our various backgrounds and life experiences has always been
the lifeblood of our singular American genius.
Just take the example of the great American lyricist
Ira Gershwin, who attended City College a century ago.
The son of a Russian Jewish immigrant,
his songs still light up Broadway today.
Or consider the story of the former CEO
of Intel, Andrew Grove, class of 1960.
He was a Hungarian immigrant whose harrowing escape
from Nazism and communism shaped
both his talent for business
and his commitment to philanthropy.
And just think about the students
in this very graduating class.
Students like the economics and pre-law major
from Albania who also completed the requirements
for a philosophy major and dreams of being
a public intellectual.
The educational theater student from right here in Harlem
who's already an award winning playwright
and recently spoke at the White House.
The biomedical science major who was born in Afghanistan
and plans to be a doctor, a policy maker,
and an educator.
(crowd cheering)
And your salutatorian, whose Yemeni roots
inspired her to study Yemeni women's writing
and to advocate for girls in her community,
urging them to find their own voices,
to tell their own stories.
I could go on.
These are just four of the nearly 4,000
unique and amazing stories in this graduating class.
Stories that have converged here at City College.
This dynamic, inclusive place where you all have had
the chance to really get to know each other,
to listen to each other's languages,
to enjoy each other's food.
Lasagna, obviously.
Music and holidays.
Debating each other's ideas,
pushing each other to question old assumptions
and consider new perspectives.
And those interactions have been such a critical part
of your education.
At this school, those moments when your classmate
showed you that your stubborn opinion
wasn't all that well informed.
Mhm.
Or when they open your eyes to an injustice
you never knew existed.
Or when they helped you with a question
that you couldn't have possibly answered on your own.
I think your valedictorian put it best,
and this is a quote.
He said "the sole irreplaceable component
"of my CCNY experience came from learning alongside people
"with life experiences strikingly different from my own."
He said "I've learned that diversity in human experience
"gives rise to diversity in thought,
"which creates distinct ideas
"and methods of problem solving."
That's an okay quote.
Okay, you're bright.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
That is the power of our differences,
to make us smarter and more creative.
And that is how all those infusions of new cultures
and ideas, generation after generation,
created the matchless alchemy of our melting pot
and helped us build the strongest,
most vibrant, most prosperous nation on the planet.
Right here.
But unfortunately, graduates, despite the lessons
of our history and the truth of your experience
here at City College,
some folks out there seem to have
a very different perspective.
They seem to view our diversity as a threat
to be contained, rather than as a resource to be tapped.
They tell us to be afraid of those who are different,
to be suspicious of those with whom we disagree.
They act as if name calling is an acceptable substitute
for thoughtful debate.
As if anger and intolerance should be our default state
rather than the optimism and openness
that have always been the engine of our progress.
But graduates, I can tell you as first lady,
I have had the privilege of traveling around the world
and visiting dozens of different countries,
and I have seen what happens
when ideas like these take hold.
I have seen how leaders who rule by intimidation,
leaders who demonize and dehumanize entire groups of people
often do so because they have nothing else to offer.
And I've seen how places that stifle the voices
and dismiss the potential of their citizens
are diminished, how they are less vital,
less hopeful, less free.
Graduates, that is not who we are.
That is not what this country stands for.
No, no, here in America,
we don't let our differences tear us apart.
Not here, because we know that our greatness comes
when we appreciate each other's strengths.
When we learn from each other, when we lean on each other,
because in this country, it's never been each person
for themselves, no, we're all in this together.
We always have been.
And here in America, we don't give in to our fears.
We don't build up walls to keep people out
because we know that our greatness
has always depended on contributions from people
who were born elsewhere,
but sought out this country and made it their home.
From innovations like Google and Ebay
to inventions like the artificial heart, the telephone,
even the blue jeans.
To beloved patriotic songs like God Bless America,
like national landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge
and yes, the White House.
Both of which were designed by architects
who were immigrants.
Finally, graduates, our greatness has never, ever come
from sitting back and feeling entitled to what we have.
It's never come from folks who climbed the ladder
of success or who happened to be born near the top
and then pulled the ladder up after themselves.
No, uh uh, our greatness has always come from people
who expect nothing and take nothing for granted.
Folks who work hard for what they have,
then reached back and helped others after them.
That is your story, graduates.
And that is the story of your families.
(crowd cheering)
And it's the story of my family, too.
As many of you know, I grew up in a working class family
in Chicago.
While neither of my parents went past high school,
let me tell you, they saved up every penny
that my dad earned at his city job
because they were determined to send me to college.
Even after my father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,
and he struggled to walk, relying on crutches
just to get himself out of bed each morning,
my father hardly ever missed a day of work.
See, that blue collar job
helped to pay the small portion of my college tuition
that wasn't covered by loans or grants
or my work study or my summer jobs.
And my dad was so proud to pay that tuition bill
on time each month.
Even taking out loans when he fell short.
He never wanted me to miss a registration deadline
because his check was late.
That's my story.
And graduates, you all have faced challenges
far greater than anything I or my family
have ever experienced.
Challenges that most college students
could never even imagine.
Some of you have been homeless.
Some of you have risked the rejection of your families
to pursue your education.
Many of you have lain awake at night
wondering how on earth you were gonna support
your parents and your kids and still pay tuition.
And many of you know what it's like to live
not just month to month, or day to day,
but meal to meal.
But graduates, let me tell you
you should never, ever be embarrassed by those struggles.
You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage.
Instead, it's important for you to understand
that your experience facing and overcoming adversity
is actually one of your biggest advantages.
And I know that because I've seen it myself,
not just as a student working my way through school
but years later, before I came to the White House
and I worked as a dean at a college.
In that role, I encountered students
who had every advantage.
Their parents paid their full tuition,
they lived in beautiful campus dorms,
they had every material possession a college kid could want,
cars, computers, spending money.
But when some of them got their first bad grade,
they just fell apart.
They lost it.
Because they were ill equipped to handle
their first encounter with disappointment or falling short.
But graduates, as you all know,
life will put many obstacles in your path
that are far worse than a bad grade.
You'll have unreasonable bosses and difficult clients
and patients.
You'll experience illnesses and losses,
crises and setbacks that will come out of nowhere
and knock you off your feet.
But unlike so many other young people,
you have already developed the resilience and the maturity
that you need to pick yourself up
and dust yourself off and keep moving through the pain.
Keep moving forward.
You have developed that muscle
and with the education you've gotten at this fine school,
and the experiences you've had in your lives,
let me tell you nothing, and I mean nothing
is going to stop you from fulfilling your dreams
and you deserve every last one of the successes
that I know you will have.
But I also want to be very clear that with those successes
comes a set of obligations.
To share the lessons you've learned here at this school,
the obligation to use the opportunities you've had
to help others.
That means raising your hand when you get a seat
in that board meeting and asking the question,
"Whose voices aren't being heard here?
"What ideas are we missing?"
It means adding your voice to our national conversation,
speaking out for our most cherished values
of liberty, opportunity, inclusion, and respect.
The values that you've been living here at this school.
It means reaching back to help young people
who have been left out and left behind,
helping them prepare for college.
Helping them pay for college.
Making sure that great public universities like this one
have the funding and support that they need.
(crowd cheering)
Because we all know
that public universities have always been
one of the greatest drivers of our prosperity,
lifting countless people into the middle class,
creating jobs and wealth all across this nation.
Public education is our greatest pathway
to opportunity in America, so we need to invest in
and strengthen our public universities today
and for generations to come.
That is how you will do your part
to live up to the oath that you all will take here today.
The oath taken by generations of graduates before you
to make your city and your world greater,
better, and more beautiful.
More than anything else, graduates,
that is the American story.
It's your story and the story of those
who came before you at this school.
It's the story of the son of Polish immigrants
named Jonas Salk, who toiled for years
in a lab until he discovered a vaccine
that saved countless lives.
It's the story of the son of Jamaican immigrants
named Colin Powell, who became a four-star general,
secretary of state, and a role model for young people
across the country.
And graduates, it's the story that I witness
every single day when I wake up in a house
that was built by slaves
and I watch my daughters, two beautiful, black young women
head off to school.
Waving goodbye to their father,
the president of the United States.
The son of a man from Kenya
who came here to America for the same reasons
as many of you.
To get an education and improve his prospects in life.
So graduates, while I think it's fair to say
that our founding fathers never could ave imagined this day,
all of you are very much the fruits of their vision.
Their legacy is very much your legacy
and your inheritance.
And don't let anybody tell you differently.
You are the living, breathing proof
that the American dream endures in our time.
It's you.
So I want you all to go out there, be great,
build great lives for yourself,
enjoy the liberties that you have in this great country.
Pursue your own version of happiness,
and please, please, always do your part
to help others do the same.
I love you all.
I am so proud of you.
Thank you for allowing me to share this final commencement
with you.
I have so much faith in who you will be.
Just keep working hard and keep the faith.
I can't wait to see what you all achieve in the years ahead.
Thank you all, God bless, good luck on the road ahead.
(crowd applauding)
- [Crowd] Four more years!
Four more years!
Four more years!