On a much needed warm spring day, I was on a work assignment in Harlem, NY when I got a phone call from a number I did not recognize. Later on when I had a moment to spare, I saw a voicemail that was longer than what scammers and robo dialers leave. As I listened to the voicemail, to my surprise it was a call to inform me that I had been chosen by faculty of my program to be a graduation ceremony speaker. I literally squealed. Disbelief, excitement, and the spikes of anticipation coursed through me at once.
In preparation for the day, I kept on asking myself, what is important? In the 3-5 minutes I was given, how could I say something that mattered, capturing the true spirit of my journey and those who I had crossed paths with?
It is amazing to reminisce on the amount of drafts and practice in preparation to do justice to this honor. I loved every minute of it from conception to execution.
As my family and I exited the church where the ceremony was held, we exchanged congratulations with other celebrating groups. The energy was infectious. I will never forget a beautiful Haitian family of a fellow graduate that I had never met until that day. They were unapologetically hyping me up, insisting that I deserved it. As our photo session concluded, right before we walked off one of the grandmothers of the family spoke with my parents. She said to them, “She represented us well.” In that moment, I paused and was humbled. That will always stay with me.
