{"id":317,"date":"2009-08-21T10:44:42","date_gmt":"2009-08-21T14:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/"},"modified":"2010-10-20T17:35:31","modified_gmt":"2010-10-20T21:35:31","slug":"remarks-welcoming-new-students-2009","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitydc.edu\/president\/remarks-welcoming-new-students-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"Remarks: New CAS Students, 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Not Just an Impression… An Impact”<\/h1><\/span>\n

What a remarkable new group of Trinity Women!\u00a0 I am so pleased to welcome the Class of 2013 — our new Blue Class — and transfer students into the upperclass years.\u00a0\u00a0 I have been reading all about you, in your application folders, and I have learned that you are quite accomplished in many ways.<\/p>\n

You have been step dancers and Girl Scouts, served as Red Cross volunteers, completed countless hours of community service, demonstrated your gifts for entrepreneurship as Future Business Leaders; you have been student government leaders and cheerleaders, gymnasts, drama queens and dance champs, playing soccer and volleyball and basketball and piano, marching in the band, writing poetry and novels and your early histories with grace and wit and raw emotion.\u00a0 You have worked as mentors and sales clerks, nurse assistants and camp counselors.\u00a0\u00a0 You were volunteers for the Obama campaign, participants in river clean-ups, tennis instructors and nursing assistants.\u00a0 You are musicians, singers, members of drill teams and Gospel choirs; you have served in Junior ROTC and countless church groups.\u00a0 \u00a0You are remarkably accomplished women already!<\/p>\n

You come from 16 states and many international locations.\u00a0 You are from Baltimore and Boston and the Bahamas and Brooklyn and Brookland, New Jersey and Connecticut and California and New York and Washington State and South Carolina and from all over the Washington region — all parts of D.C., as well as many towns in Maryland and Virginia. You have roots around the world from Texas to Togo and Trinidad and Honduras and Sierra Leone and Mexico and Eritrea and El Salvador and Haiti and Nigeria and Guatemala and Cameroon.<\/p>\n

You speak Spanish and Korean and Creole and German and Chinese and Igbo and Serbian and Zapotec and Tigringna and Quechua among many languages.<\/p>\n

Most of you indicate that you want to major in Nursing, Business, Criminal Justice, Psychology or Education.<\/p>\n

You are Baptists and Catholics and Hindu and Lutherans and Buddhists and Muslim and Presbyterian and many other religions.\u00a0 Faith means a great deal to you.<\/p>\n

Many of you are the first in your family to attend college.\u00a0 Many wrote that you were not sure you would ever see this moment.\u00a0\u00a0 All of you are triumphant today, now Trinity Women, part of the long line of powerful sisterhood that extends back through eleven decades, to the first brave pioneer women who made their way to this campus in 1900.\u00a0\u00a0 They would be so glad to know you.\u00a0\u00a0 They would tell you that you can do it!\u00a0 They are here, all around us, cheering for you, their Trinity sisters in the Class of 2013 and the other classes you are joining today.<\/p>\n

Each year, I read the admissions folder for all of our new students, including your essays.\u00a0\u00a0 I learn so much about our students by reading what you have written about your lives, your challenges, who you admire, what you want to accomplish. \u00a0\u00a0In this speech, I will quote from some of your essays, and I hope you will give me your tacit permission to do so.\u00a0\u00a0 Since I do not have your explicit permission, I have tried to make sure that these quotes are not personally identifiable, with one or two possible exceptions that I think you won’t mind.\u00a0\u00a0 All of your quotes appear in italics in the body of my printed text.<\/p>\n

You have such big dreams for your future success!\u00a0 You have written in your application essays that you want to make “not just an impression… but an impact.”\u00a0 In this age of powerful female role models like Sonia Sotomayor, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Nancy Pelosi and so many others, you have drawn inspiration, strength and a sense of challenge from the great women you have observed.<\/p>\n

One of you wrote of your admiration for Rosa Parks:<\/p>\n

“[Rosa Parks] was an ordinary person who stepped out to do something extraordinary at a time of challenge, but at a time when the need for change became the cry of an oppressed people… Mrs. Parks serves as my role model ..Unfortunately, all too often, many African American youth are stereotyped and expected to have unwanted pregnancies, drop out of school, and become incarcerated.\u00a0 I am determined to help break the mold.\u00a0\u00a0 Sitting down [on the bus] was not merely an option for Mrs. Parks, but an opportunity that caused a nation to respond to what was stated in one of her famous quotes, “do what is right.”\u00a0 Her decision that day on the bus helped to alter history, make a better world, and pave the way for the first African American President…. When I go to college and successfully complete my major, I will be the first in my family to hold a college degree.\u00a0 I believe one can rise from the bitterness of obscurity to accomplish the dream of a lifetime… Just as Mrs. Rosa Parks has inspired and motivated me and left her footprints in the sand of history, I, too, not only want to make an impression, but an impact.” <\/em><\/p>\n

How many women here want to make not just an impression but an impact?\u00a0 How many women here want to be agents of change, actors for justice, just like Rosa Parks?<\/p>\n

Your journey to Trinity has come across many different terrains, learning new customs and languages:<\/p>\n

“I was raised in Cameroon, Africa, and I came to this country at the age of 15.\u00a0 Leaving Cameroon and adapting to the United States was an important learning experience.\u00a0\u00a0 Educational opportunities to maximize my full academic potential were rare in my native country, and political corruption and tribal competition created many obstacles for my family to advance… the transition [to the U.S.] was difficult because I was forced to leave my comfort zone and adapt to a new environment.\u00a0\u00a0 For example, my native language is French.\u00a0 Learning English was difficult because many of the ESOL teachers in the United States speak Spanish…”<\/em><\/p>\n

“Coming to the United States [from El Salvador] was the most wonderful and scariest experience I have ever had.\u00a0 As a first generation American, my transition to this country was challenging.\u00a0 I had little communication skills because I wasn’t able to speak English.\u00a0 It’s hard when you come to a place and don’t know anybody… However, one thing that impacts me the most is that to survive in this country you have to have some education… I know that education is the ‘key to success.’\u00a0 In the United States, I am free to make all my dreams come true.\u00a0\u00a0 I am able to be whoever I want to be… An educated person can get a decent job, and also respect…We are tomorrow’s leaders and I want to be one of them.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Quite a few of you have written similar stories about the difficulties, challenges and ultimate successes you have experienced in learning a new language and adapting to American customs.\u00a0 We have many students in this class with family roots in Africa, Asia, Central America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

You have known the depths of despair, and triumphed over traumas too much to bear:<\/p>\n

“Young, carefree, weak-minded and self-centered was a girl I once knew.\u00a0 She was filled with life and so much energy.\u00a0 She had everything a teenager wanted in her life.\u00a0 She enjoyed life like anyone should.\u00a0\u00a0 She had a great life and thought nothing could change that; until one event changed her life drastically and took everything away including herself…. This girl was sexually assaulted by two men.\u00a0 She couldn’t believe what happened to her.\u00a0 Her life became a depressing story…From my past experiences in life I have gained maturity, dedication, determination and strength…”<\/em><\/p>\n

One of you wrote a remarkable phrase — that you want “…to turn my setbacks into comebacks…”<\/em> — and the spirit of that phrase echoes through so many of your essays.<\/p>\n

You have overcome abuse, homelessness, the deaths of parents and siblings, racism, illness, moms on drugs and absent dads..<\/p>\n

“Of all the problems that I have had, I learned to appreciate all that I have and own.\u00a0 I am independent.\u00a0 I have my own jobs and responsibilities.\u00a0 I do not need to rely on anyone to provide for me.\u00a0 I have learned how to take responsibility for my actions and how to handle my problems. \u00a0\u00a0No matter how stressful life can be at times, I will view everything as a learning experience and continue to grow…”<\/em><\/p>\n

By your presence here today, you are triumphing over a culture of discouragement, a sickness of racism and sexism that diminishes the aspirations of young women:<\/p>\n

“Growing up on the south side of Chicago exposed me to reality far earlier than what I had expected.\u00a0 I have witnessed young black women beaten, raped and verbally abused.\u00a0 At age fourteen, I would wake to phrases such as, ‘You’re stupid!’\u00a0 I would also encounter painful words … informing me that my only purpose in life was to have babies…I want to go to Trinity because I do not want to be another negative statistic.\u00a0 I want to be something and make something of my life.\u00a0\u00a0 I enjoy being around young children and that is why I want to major in Early Childhood Education and minor in Sociology… I know that if you can help children and influence them to be better people when they are younger,\u00a0 you will give them hope and create a great impact on their lives and the community.”<\/em><\/p>\n

“I am a proud Hispanic woman and I hope to become the first in my family to go to college.\u00a0 Some people have told me: ‘You will never go to college,’ or, ‘Because you are poor, you will end up working in McDonald’s and will never be successful in life.’\u00a0 I [will] prove them wrong, that everything is possible in life if you ‘believe you can achieve.’\u00a0 Everything is possible in life if you believe in yourself.”<\/em><\/p>\n

You know the challenges of growing up on the mean streets of some of our neighborhoods in this town:<\/p>\n

“My greatest strength is my determination for success.\u00a0 My weakness was that I allowed statistics to define my future…Living in a neighborhood where the crime rate is high has helped me to grow in so many ways possible.\u00a0 These communities can either break you or build you and I must say that I consider myself someone who has been built.\u00a0\u00a0 I’ve seen my guy friends’ lives lost to the streets, my teenage friends having babies and so many things you can possibly think of… My neighborhood is my motivation.\u00a0 It motivates me to dream big and beyond the hood.\u00a0 The lifestyle and mentality are below what I envision in life.\u00a0\u00a0 Because in my future, I am somebody and I am going to be somebody.”<\/em><\/p>\n

“Most of the kids I grew up with want to be drug dealers as this is what they know, but not me.\u00a0\u00a0 I wanted to be a leader, not a follower.\u00a0 I want to be able to change the youth in my community’s point of view\u00a0 .. When I tell people what neighborhood I live in they stop and look at me like I’m an alien from another planet.\u00a0 I want to be judged by who I am and not by from where I live…”<\/em><\/p>\n

You have had to overcome insidious stereotypes:<\/p>\n

[This student writes of American students making fun of her name when she started grade school here]: “I hated being Nigerian, the accent, the food, the names and most of all the stereotypes…\u00a0 Stereotypes that followed me everywhere things like, … ‘Can your mom braid hair?’\u00a0 It’s amazing how society plays a role in what people believe.\u00a0\u00a0 I could not change my name; no matter how hard I tried I could only be me.\u00a0\u00a0 It took me so long to realize this is me.\u00a0 What really made me find myself was going to Nigeria.\u00a0 Being around my family and growing accustomed to the culture.\u00a0 I saw how beautiful it really was.\u00a0 The simplest task of going to the well for water or sitting around with family and friends peeling cassavas made me realize who I am.\u00a0 I can remember the hot sun burning my skin the day and seeing every star in the sky at night because all the electricity was cut off.\u00a0 Simply paradise is how Nigeria can be described.\u00a0 I grew to cherish some of the simple things such as running water, electricity being on all day, and indoor plumbing.\u00a0 Then, I look at society today and shake my head….\u00a0\u00a0 Since I have gone through so much I wanted to enter a profession where I can help others… I want people to realize how much they are worth, and not to let others put them down.\u00a0\u00a0 When I decided to become a psychologist it was based on me wanting to support others.\u00a0 Now my reasoning is more than that, I want to understand why does society treat each other so wrong…”<\/em><\/p>\n

“When I was 9 my mother remarried and we moved to Texas.\u00a0\u00a0 I was devastated.. I was moving away from everything I loved and grew accustomed to.. Growing up in a predominantly African American neighborhood, I felt like an outsider moving into a predominantly white and Mexican area. … Every day I wished I could return to DC because I felt as though my skin color did not blend well with the ones in my new home in Texas.\u00a0 I started middle school where I then met a friend who was of Mexican descent.\u00a0 Before, I could never connect with anyone outside my race, but she was different… It was then I realized that the color of your skin did not determine your destiny …\u00a0 My move to Texas was the best and worst thing that happened to me.\u00a0 I was the worst because I had a hard time adapting socially.\u00a0 The best was when I realized that anything is possible, and the world as I grew seeing was completely different… I befriended people of races that I would never imagine had I not moved to Texas… I now see the world completely different.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Your experiences with injustice due to race, ethnicity, gender or other conditions have made you fierce women warriors in the cause of justice:<\/p>\n

“There are some Africans that go through hard times when they first arrive in the United States…when I first came to America [from Cameroon] I had low self-esteem…and loneliness that got me scared and terrified about America.\u00a0 As I walked into the classroom for the first time, with short hair and an unflattering outfit, I had all eyes turned to me.\u00a0 I felt scared and terrified, and wanted to go home and hide under my covers.\u00a0\u00a0 As I opened my mouth to ask a question, my accent made it hard for my classmates to comprehend…sometimes I listened to my classmates talk about my country disrespectfully, and I didn’t have the courage to standup for myself or my country because of my fear of them laughing at me…..As I grew older, I created a state of mind that didn’t care about what others think, wasn’t afraid to stand up for what I believe in, wasn’t afraid to take on a challenge and always strive to be better…When I look back I realized that everything that happened was for the best, it helped create a more confident person who feels that she can overcome anything… This experience created a person that is not afraid to tell you how proud she is to be a Cameroonian…To all those that tried to put Africans down, I now have a great amount of confidence to tell them that I am an African who is proud of her ethnicity…”<\/em><\/p>\n

“Being a Latina, I feel as though it is my duty to stand up for what I believe in.\u00a0 I believe that all Latinos in the US should have the right to live their live without the fear… the fear that they will be taken away from their family and their pursuit of a better life…I have been a very active person in many rallies and protests concerning the rights of Latino immigrants because of the many laws and policies that are in place which I believe are unfair and unjust… I hope to become an immigration lawyer… to fight for Latinos rights.”<\/em><\/p>\n

How many “wise Latina women” do we have in this class?\u00a0 Quite a few!<\/p>\n

Life experience has motivated your vision for your future careers:<\/p>\n

“The major experience that transformed my life was the death of my grandmother… As a young child born in Sierra Leone, Africa, I was raised by my grandmother, mother and extended family.\u00a0\u00a0 My mother had me at a very young age so my grandmother took care of me… My mother came to the United States to find a better life and have more opportunities than what was in Africa.\u00a0 I stayed behind with my grandmother….” <\/em>[She later came to the US with her grandmother, who then became ill]…. “Her illness gave me the desire to work in the medical field.\u00a0 …I appreciated the nurses who took care of her every day and swore to myself that one day I too would take care of someone else’s grandmother…”<\/em><\/p>\n

You have discovered your many talents:<\/p>\n

“At age 5, my mother put me into a Folklore dance institution and ballet.\u00a0 I began touring with my dance group…My first performance was in front of thousands at the Metropolitan Ethnicity Festival… At age 7, my father brought home my first piano… It was my love for the arts that shaped me into who I am today…”<\/em><\/p>\n

You have a sense of obligation to your parents:<\/p>\n

“I am a dedicated and driven Latina who deserves to continue my education in the United States.\u00a0 I am a Latina who comes from immigrant parents who migrated to the United States from Guatemala.\u00a0 My parents came to the United States in order to give me a better life and education.\u00a0\u00a0 My parents have given up a lot for me and I am willing to pay them back by fulfilling their dream and mine of being the first to go to college…To the United States I am considered another minority.\u00a0 I am not just any other minority.\u00a0 I am a human being with a bright mind and with many goals to fulfill…I am an intelligent, strong Latina in the United States…”<\/em><\/p>\n

You have an especially well-developed sense of women’s rights and empowerment, the whole reason why Trinity exists:<\/p>\n

“Trinity’s unparalleled commitment to women’s education… has been a model of inspiration for women seeking to pursue higher education.\u00a0 As an immigrant from a developing nation I recognize that such a unique commitment can never be taken for granted.\u00a0\u00a0 Many women in developing nations face economic and social constraints that impede them from accessing quality education.\u00a0 Trinity’s steadfast mission to educating women and providing global leadership through academic excellence resonates with my own deeply held convictions on diversity, justice, fairness and compassion…”<\/em><\/p>\n

Trinity’s alumnae prove the worth of our mission in women’s education every day.\u00a0\u00a0 Just last week, Forbes Magazine published its annual list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World, and the list includes two Trinity Alumnae, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ’62 and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius ’70.\u00a0\u00a0 You are joining them and thousands of other alumnae in this great sisterhood of powerful women dedicated to improving conditions for all people around the world.<\/p>\n

We asked you to name three people you’d like to invite for dinner some day, and you came up with the most intriguing list.\u00a0 Some of the people you want to invite for dinner include:<\/p>\n