President’s Award- Santiago R. Lerma

The National Hispanic University
Commencement
June 6, 2009

Mr. President, I would like to thank you for bestowing this great honor upon me and providing me with the opportunity to speak to the graduating class of 2009 and all of our distinguished guests. Your leadership and positive attitude are testaments to Dr. Roberto Cruz's vision of this university and the future of Latinos in this country. I want also to take time to thank the individual faculty members who have been instrumental in my success at NHU. Firstly I would like to thank Prof. Judy Clemons, the chair of the Business Administration department, you dedication to giving us a first class business education has given me the confidence and knowledge to compete in the in any field I may choose.

A few others I would like to thank are Dr. Guim, whose unique perspective, knowledge and comprehensive understanding of process and systems are absolutely essential to the intellectual development of our students, as well as their ability to question the world they live in. Above all I would like to thank my parents for their patience, generosity and for being examples of possibility that we all need to succeed. This has been a long journey for all of my family. And that brings me to what I wanted to talk a little bit about today.

Today, a great transformation has occurred; one that will not only forever change your life but will forever change the lives of those who look to you for love, guidance and support. Today you become the example of possibility and proof that our destiny is not yet defined or limited by anyone but ourselves. This is especially significant for those who are first generation, college graduates and those who made great physical and emotional journey and sacrifice to become members of this nation, state, city and community. Never let anyone question, your place or your contribution to this nation.

To the first generation graduates, I congratulate you all for breaking the cycle lost opportunity or differed dreams and aspirations. To those who are second, third or fourth generation college graduates I congratulate you for continuing down the down the path of discovery and the journey to enlightenment.

Though the road we have taken to this day may be different and our motivations varied, we all share a common bond. That is that none of us here will ever be a negative statistic, giving cause to those who think Latinos do not value education or face insurmountable obstacles to reaching their highest and best potential.

Though this is significant there is an even greater bond that we share, one that holds far greater consequence for ourselves and for future generations of this nations and this world. As of today not one single one of us can claim ignorance as an excuse for not doing our best, righting the wrongs we see or not raising our voices in defense of our right to live in a peaceful and just world.

Graduates, guests and NHU faculty, it is no secret that we face one of the biggest cultural and economic crisis in American history. There is uncertainly and division everywhere, our schools, business and most treasured institutions are threatened like never before. And we have no template to solve these problems and we do not know if tomorrow will be a brighter day.

I wish that I could stand here before you and offer solutions or tell you that everything will be fine, but I cannot. What I can say, however; is that if we apply what we have learned at NHU with the fundamental understanding that all of our problems require a common purpose, we can begin to break down barriers and find new and creative solutions and open our minds to great possibility. As we work to build our lives for ourselves and our family we must not forget that we are all in this together and it is all of our responsibility to help each other reach our highest and best potential.

For all of us the journey to this day has been a struggle, be it financial hardships, family or work obligations or merely finding the time to put our best into all the work we do.