Latinx Graduation, University of San Diego, May 24, 2024
Words by Professor Antonieta Mercado
Associate Professor Department of Communication
Director of the Program in Latin American Studies
My dear Latinx, Chicanx, graduates:
Thank you for inviting me to your special day. It is my honor and privilege to deliver these words. I speak to you from a place of respect and admiration. Today, we celebrate with profound joy and pride your graduation. You are the Latine and Chicanx students who started college during the first year of a global pandemic and have persevered through many challenges.
I want to begin by expressing my deepest gratitude to the parents, friends, mentors, and family members who have supported you throughout this journey. Those who love you, and who are here beaming with pride, those are your people, those are your greatest wealth in life because they have supported you every step of the way, making this moment possible. Your people teach you that love is the greatest motivation behind your efforts to succeed. Do not forget that a successful life has space for joy, creativity, hope and rest.
As you leave the University of San Diego and enter the next chapter of your lives, I know you face a future filled with both, promises and uncertainty. As your teacher, I fear you will find “a burning world” as I see the challenges our world is facing, from the dire threats of climate change, the ongoing struggles against police brutality, the movements for immigrant and gender rights, to the current mobilizations for promoting peace and defending human rights in Gaza. These issues can seem overwhelming. But I have seen first-hand the remarkable resilience, creativity, and moral compass that each of you possess, and I am confident you are ready to face any challenges.
You started your college live in the tumultuous year of 2020, taking remote classes and with all the uncertainties that a global pandemic brought to all of us. Yet, you never lost sight of your goals, or your commitment to justice. In the face of adversity, you joined worldwide mobilizations, raised your voices against injustice, and have fought every step of your academic career for a more equitable, just, and compassionate world. Your cohort of Latinx students has been at the forefront of transforming this university into a true Hispanic Serving Institution. In the Fall, I attended a forum organized by Latinx, Chicanex student organizations and leaders, some of whom are graduating today, to address different issues regarding USD standing as an HSI. You have provided crucial feedback and laid the groundwork for the university to better serve the needs and perspectives of Hispanic students. As your teacher, I have been inspired by your dedication and your vision, and I want you to take a moment, and reflect on how important and inspiring you are for all of us.
When I think back to my own experience as a first-generation college student, seeking liberation through education, I am reminded of how important it is to honor the knowledge and wisdom in our communities, and learn about our history in our education. Your generation has demanded nothing less from the university – and in doing so, you have left an impact that will benefit not only future students, but also us professors and Latinx workers in this institution.
A college degree is something that will allow you to open doors, it is not an end on itself. I am sure that all of you will make a good use of this achievement as a tool for moving forward and to improve society.
This is why I must encourage you to take time to rest, relax and celebrate your recent accomplishments. Do not feel that you must immediately enter a rat race of endless productivity and competition as you start your career. A couple of years from now, do not compare your life with the photos of your peers on social media and feel that your achievements are not measuring up to your expectations. As Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano said:
“the world is just… a bunch of people, a sea of little fires. Each person shines with its own light among all others. No two fires are the same. There are big fires and small fires, and fires of all colors. There are people of serene fire, who don´t even notice the wind, and people of crazy fire who fill the air with sparks, and others burn with such passion that one cannot look at them without blinking, and whoever comes close to them, lights up.”
To keep being that fire that lights others up, I encourage you to focus more on creation than production, more on dreaming than worrying, and more on resting than hustling. Keep cultivating spaces of hope and resistance, no matter how small, spaces where you do not feel what people have called “impostor syndrome.” As the Zapatista said, these are places “where a world with many other worlds inside, can exist” and you cannot feel as an impostor in a world that reflects and honors who you are and what you care about.
In moments of doubt, which will inevitably come, embrace your culture, your family, your friends, and our siblings of nature – the trees, mountains, rivers, the ocean, and the animals who share this world with us. Most importantly, look inward and be at peace with all the versions of yourself, no matter how contradictory they may be. When you reflect within, you will find the wellsprings of power passed down from your ancestors, giving you strength. Once you know yourself well, look outward at the communities you have built, those will be your greatest assets in the years ahead.
There will be obstacles, there will be struggles. But I have complete faith that you are ready. Your education has equipped you with critical thinking and problem-solving skills to tackle the challenges ahead. Your generation is teaching us profound lessons about resilience, about resistance, about love, about solidarity, joy, and generosity. You are true warriors, fighting to heal our wounded world.
As you begin this new journey, I want to thank you. Thank you for your courage, your passion, your refusal to back down. You are an endless source of inspiration and hope, and because of you, I know that the "burning world" I feared, will instead be a vibrant sea of fires, fires of all colors, fires that light up, illuminate, and guide the lives of others. I want all of us to take a moment and celebrate the Class of 2024.
Antonieta Mercado