Receiving an honorary degree from my alma mater is an honor of a lifetime. Two days later, I’m still processing the entire experience. Boston College / Boston College Law School has always represented a place of deep learning and personal and intellectual growth for me. It’s where I started really asking myself who I was called to be and why, and what I was meant to give and why.
There is such freedom and privilege arising from the opportunity to grapple with answering these questions, and to understand how to reassess over the years your priorities, needs, wants, your purpose, what gives you meaning, and what brings you joy.
Throughout the last couple of days, I have been deeply moved by all of the words of encouragement and support by so many in the BC community, including members of the Board of Trustees, the Board of Regents, the Boston College Alumni Association Board of Directors, the Boston College AHANA Alumni Advisory Council, Boston College Alumni, current students, and my fellow honorees. The joy, gratitude, belonging, inclusion, connection and community I felt has no words.
My parents could have never dreamed of a moment like this after coming to the US from the Dominican Republic - he and my mother who came as teenagers and ultimately built their life here, working tirelessly to provide an education and safe home for me and my sister. They showed us what work ethic meant and the importance of identity, community, family, faith and service to others.
BC opened doors to opportunities I never thought were possible for someone like me.
I’m eternally grateful for that and for being conferred my honorary degree of doctor of laws. The moment is captured in the picture below. It was surreal to look out at the nearly 20,000 in attendance at commencement, with my family watching to recieve this honor.
Shout out to Edilma Reyes Hosein for capturing this picture and for her unwavering support, always.🙏🏽
To the class of 2022, congratulations! Continue to serve others and remember you have the power to step into who you are called to be in this life. It’s OK if you’re unsure or finding your way, we all are at different times in our lives. Just keep staying true to yourself and the path will show itself to you, with all its twists and turns that life inevitably brings.
🦅Go eagles.
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