♪♪ [ Woman Vocalizing ] ♪♪ [ Pop ] ♪ But now I’ve seen it through
And now I know the truth ♪ ♪ That anything could happen ♪ ♪ Anything could happen
Anything could ♪ ♪♪ [ Vocalizing Continues ] ♪♪ [ Ends ] [ Anthony Narrating ]
Every day, when I wake up... I still can’t believe I’m at Harvard. Like every freshman,
I get to live in Harvard Yard... and I get to eat breakfast
in Annenberg Hall. - What’s up, you guys?
- Hey. I really enjoy my freshman seminar,
“The Evolution of Aging.” It’s just me, 15 other students
and a faculty member. And I get to work directly with my professor
on research projects. I’m able to visit any of the other
great Harvard schools... like the School of Engineering... or the Kennedy School,
where I’ve heard world leaders speak... or the medical school,
which is pretty cool... because I’m also training to become an E.M.T.–
I want to become a doctor. Every day, I get to hang out with my friends
and try something new. [ All Shout ] Harvard is one university
with a million things to explore... and I’m glad I’ve got the next three years
to try them all. My name is Anthony,
and I’m from Tucker, Georgia. The house system is here to make
whatever you want to do at Harvard possible. There are 12 residential Harvard houses. [ Female Student ] Each house has
its own dining hall, its own community... its own population of students. After freshman year, you are randomly
sorted into one of those houses. Not only is the house a center
for non-classroom learning... but it’s also a hub for social activity. [ Female Student #2 ]
You all live together and eat together... and participate in events together. [ Female Student #3 ]
There are people from every country... every religion,
and that’s where you really learn. A lot of the opportunities that you have... to have those
close one-on-one conversations... with a professor, with someone
who’s visiting from another university– The place where you really get to engage
with those people is in your house. [ Man ] Our job’s really
to try and help this house... be as vibrant and intellectual
and fun as possible. [ Lowell Housemaster ] Lowell House
is a place that has a lot of traditions... like having tea on Thursdays at 5:00. - [ Female Student #4 ]
There’s an opera every year.
- [ Male Student ] Dances in the house. It’s a good time to get to know
other people in the house... to see your friends,
catch up on the week. It’s a place where you can be who you are
and discover who you want to become. I think coming back home
is a very comfortable space. [ Lowell Housemaster ] This is really an attempt
to create a community within a college. This is what makes a Harvard education
very distinctive. [ Jeremy Narrating ] I was born
the middle child of Asian immigrants. I’ve always loved playing the drums. I was an editor of my high school newspaper. And I got a summer internship
working for a senator. Academics have always been
important to me. I graduated from Harvard
with a major in economics... and a minor in sociology. Harvard’s an amazing place
that let me explore everything... and the place where I learned
I could become anything: an economist, a politician... or even a professional basketball player. My name is Jeremy,
and I’m class of 2010. ♪♪ [ Rock ] [ Man ]
♪ Whoo-hoo ♪ ♪♪ [ Continues ] ♪ Whoo-hoo ♪ ♪♪ [ Continues ] ♪♪ [ Singing, Indistinct ] ♪♪ [ Ends ] My name is Lucerito Ortiz.
I’m from North Hills, California. My parents are
two of the hardest-working people. My dad works in gardening. My mom found work as a housekeeper. We have a big family. We have to find ways to save
as much as we can. I learned to sew. We have chickens, so that way
we don’t have to buy eggs. They’re very, very delicious.
Much better than store-bought eggs. And we cook at home.
It’s different ways to save money. They’ll sacrifice anything and everything
for their children... and they’ve worked incredibly hard
to get us to where we are. My daughter is a very, very
responsible person... and she loved school. But I ended up applying
sort of as a joke, as a dare. A couple of friends and I were
out on the track one day, just chatting. We just said–
We were laughing– “It would be so funny
if you applied to Harvard. We could frame your rejection letter.” One day, Lucerito called me... and she said,
“Mom, guess what.” The letter was there.
I was on the phone with my mom. I said, “Mom, hold on.” And then she said,
“Mom, I was accepted at Harvard.” I ran all over my house,
just yelling and screaming... and told my whole family... and we were all just in utter shock. My husband and I talked about,
“We don’t have the money.” I found out that for a family like ours... we wouldn’t have to worry
about affording Harvard. Harvard has such an amazing
financial aid program... that for us, in reality,
it was much more affordable... than attending any of the state schools. I really, really admire her,
and I’m so proud of her. For me, Harvard wasn’t just for me... it was for my whole family... and I think my whole family
has benefited immensely... from our experience at Harvard. It’s an incredible feeling... to feel like I was finally able
to give something back to my family... after everything they sacrificed for me. One of the most important aspects
of teaching the humanities... is to transmit cultural values across time. We pursue the study with the conviction
that we’re training global citizens. Expanding your horizons
and learning how to ask new questions... and learning how to have
your questions answered. This is a place that has art museums
that are unique... in their depth and their breadth. The humanities shift and change
as the great public issues... and public questions of our times change. By the time you graduate and you’ve picked
a concentration or a major... you’re really poised to do many
and often unpredictable things. Harvard is, in the best sense,
a global university. [ Emerance Narrating ] You can look
just about anywhere from my house... and you would see strictly land,
and that’s about it. I live in Alberta, Canada. My great-great-grandparents
came over here over a century ago... and started a farm, and my dad
still farms the same farm today. In Canada, there’s only two seasons.
One season is farming season. The other is hockey season. I have a brother, Bronson.
My sister is Brittaney. I have a brother, Brock,
and a younger brother, Kache. We all play hockey. Since I was little, there was just one team.
I played with the guys. After that, I continued playing guys’ hockey. I wanted to challenge myself all the time... and prove to everyone that I could be
just as good as the guys. When I was 13 years old,
the team that I was playing on... went to Boston for a tournament. My mom and I went together,
and we toured Harvard. I fell in love with it right away. I told my mom,
“I’m gonna go here one day.” My mom and dad taught us kids
to work really hard... and always challenge ourselves. They told us to have a good work ethic,
and no matter what... no matter how hard it was,
to stick with it and you’ll get through it... and eventually, you’ll have success. My name is Emerance Maschmeyer... and I play goalie
for the Harvard women’s ice hockey team. [ Nicholas Narrating ]
I’m a journalist and Harvard class of 1982. I’ve lived all over: Egypt and Oxford. China and Congo. And in my travels, I’ve discovered
that Harvard isn’t just a place... it’s a community. I found support through Harvard bonds. There are more than 350,000 alumni
scattered all over the world. We’re waiting for you to join us. My name is Nicholas Kristof. When you consider Harvard,
make sure to consider... what comes after. [ Male Student Narrating ]
My professor is the president... of the Society for the Study of Evolution... and the American Genetic Association. He’s respected for employing genetic tools
for the study of evolutionary biology. He believes that close social bonds help
the group to work better together in the lab. We work side-by-side to analyze the data
from my field research in Australia... and to study the evolution of a pathogen. We’re doing the kind of science
that the world expects from Harvard. I just never expected to do it
over breakfast. The first line of my application here... said, “For as long as I can remember,
I’ve wanted to be an actor.” It was asking kind of who you were,
and that was really who I was... and I wanted them to know who I was... and, whether they accepted me or not... I wanted them to know
who they were gonna let in or not. Having grown up here, I think I had one way
of looking at Harvard– kind of a townie view of the school. Suddenly walking through
as a prospective student... I just started to really take in
how impressive it was. I assumed if I could get
into an Ivy League school– That kind of touched every base for me. And then I got into Harvard,
and it’s a very tough place to turn down. This great teacher named Anthony Kubiak–
I took a number of his classes. This was the final one that I took.
It was the playwriting class. I handed in the first act
of a three-act movie– what eventually became
Good Will Hunting. I apologized to him when I handed him
this 40-some-odd page document. I just said,
“I don’t think I did what you wanted. I was supposed to write a one-act play... and this is clearly the first act
of a three-act movie.” He was unbelievably encouraging. He gave me a flat “A” in the class,
which was a big deal. He wrote extensively in the margins– or on a cover page that he put on it– to “please keep up with this”– that it was worthy,
that it was good... that it wasn’t anything
close to a failure... that it was something I had to pursue. So I showed it to Ben Affleck,
and the rest is history. [ Crowd Cheering ] [ Chattering ] [ Crowd Cheering ] [ Joanne Narrating ]
I didn’t plan to end up in the food business. I started, right after graduation,
working for a consulting firm. I left the consulting firm
and got a job at a restaurant... and then I fell in love with it. So I came back to Boston
and opened a bakery. Now I own four bakeries and a restaurant. When I got to Harvard as a freshman– I’d always been kind of a math geek
in high school... so, to me, it seemed natural
to kind of fall into math. I realized there were so many other things
that I didn’t even know existed... that I could possibly be interested in. I think Harvard spends a lot of time
trying to make sure that all of its offerings... are really enticing
and well put together. When I first started, there was a whole world
that kind of opened up. It’s like going to a buffet where there’s
all the best desserts in the world. You just don’t know where to start. Would imagine everybody who goes
just takes a moment... says, “Wow. I thought I was gonna be ‘X’... but now I could potentially
be ‘Y’ or ‘Z’”... which is the fun part. My name is Joanne Chang.
I graduated in ’91, and I lived in Leverett House. My name is Evgenija Stojcevska. I’m from Skopje, Macedonia. My name is August,
and I was born in Vietnam. My name is Audrey,
and my home is Oakland, California. I’m from Thessaloníki , Greece. My name is Gaby Ruiz-Colón,
and I’m from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. My name is Haley Adams,
and I’m from Bureau County, Illinois. My name is Herman Bhupal,
and I’m from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I’m Josh McTaggart. I’m from England. [ Man Narrating ] Students from all 50
of the United States and over 100 countries. I’m just a California girl. My name is Majahonkhe Shabangu. All living, learning and growing together
in the one place they all call home. I’m from Sweden,
but I’m at home at Harvard. I’m at home at Harvard. I am from the Kingdom of Swaziland,
but Harvard is my home. ♪♪ [ Pop ] ♪ But now I’ve seen it through
And now I know the truth ♪ ♪ That anything could happen ♪ ♪ Anything could happen
Anything could ♪ ♪♪ [ Vocalizing ] ♪♪ [ Ends ]
