As we recover from Senior Week
and sit down with our family and friends from
home, this question will come up over dinner and in
many situations in the future. So, what did you
learn at Harvard? What will you tell them? What has our Harvard
education really been? Our Harvard education. It could have been
discovered in our passions, realizing disciplines
that we'd never heard of before coming to
college, extracurriculars that we somehow
ended up spending hours on without realization. Our Harvard education. Perhaps it was the realization
that when a friend strikes up a meaningful, late
night conversation, that paper or problem
set could wait. Or learning the importance
of thinking of a friend and stopping by their
room just to check in and see how they were doing. Our Harvard education. Oftentimes, it may have been
failing and dusting ourselves off and getting back up and
facing everything again. Our Harvard education. Maybe it was realizing that we
were not content simply being a product of Harvard,
that we wanted Harvard to be a product of us, that
we wanted to do something so that we could look back
at our college and say, this is an institution
that better reflects me and the values I hold dear
because of my efforts. Our Harvard education. It could be about becoming
more comfortable with being uncomfortable, with inevitable
uncertainty, steadfast turmoil in constant flux. Our Harvard education
could have been about taking risks, embracing
our fear of the unknown and moving forward despite of
it, and taking deep breaths and making decisions to change
our lives when we weren't living the realities
that we wanted. So, what did our time
at Harvard teach us? How will it help as we go
forth into the real world? We may not have all the
answers now, and that's OK. We don't and can't know now
everything that we have learned and all the ways in which we
have changed here at Harvard. That ceremony we have tomorrow,
commencement, means beginning. We are just getting started. And as we go forth
from Dexter Gate, having hopefully grown in
wisdom and soon departing to better serve thy
country and thy kind, I hope that we stay
true to ourselves. It has taken us so much courage
and grit to grow up and become who we are during the
challenging and incredible experience that
Harvard has been. With each decision that
we make with our hearts, our compass is tweaked a
little here, a little there, to ultimately land each of us in
the spot that is right for us. Thank you so much class of
2014, and congratulations. [APPLAUSE] Thanks Jen. My name is Arjun Modi, a proud
resident of Kirkland House, and I am your class treasurer. [CHEERING] I'm Rainjade Chung, and I
represent Kirkland House on the senior class committee. [CHEERING] It is our great pleasure
to introduce to you today a man who holds a special
place in all of our hearts. The one and only, Dean Pfister. [APPLAUSE] Dean Pfister is the Asa Gray
professor of Systematic Botany, and his love of plants,
trees, flowers, and fungi is known all too
well by most of us. Dean Pfister joined Harvard
40 years ago in 1974. Since then he has been
intimately involved in undergraduate life. In 1982, he assumed a role
special to myself and Rainjade when he became comaster
of Kirkland House, serving for 18 years
with his wife Kathleen. Most recently he was Dean
of Harvard summer school before leaving
that post to serve as interim dean of the
College this past year. And what a year it has been. In a message to the class
declaring that we already beat Yale, the weekend
before the game, he reminded us that Harvard
is home to the world's largest university owned herbarium
with more than five million specimens
to Yale's 350,000. [LAUGHTER] [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] Because of this he said
that Yale could not even compete with us,
a premonition that was confirmed when we
won the game 34 to seven. [APPLAUSE] From sharing his reading list
with the class, which often consists of mystery novels
such as How the Light Gets In, a Chief Inspector Gamache novel,
to helping us identify fungi around Harvard
Yard, to reminding us to take care of
ourselves and others amidst difficult times on
campus and off, Dean Pfister has undeniably been a
source of comfort, support, and many a laugh. He has brought us
cupcakes in Lamont, traveled with us to
class on the shuttle, and helped us welcome
freshman to their new homes on housing day. Dean Pfister, you will be missed
by the undergraduate community, and we wish you all the
best in your next adventure. Please join us in a warm round
of applause for Dean Pfister. [APPLAUSE] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is wonderful. Greetings and congratulations
to the class of 2014. My congratulations are not only
to the remarkable women and men who will march tomorrow
toward their future, but also parents and friends who
have made the journey possible. Thank you too. At last, I have you all here
in my extended classroom. Please pay very close
attention because tomorrow we pass out the exams. Allow me to review the syllabus. Look over toward
University Hall here, a single pine stands there. Its predecessor,
also a white pine, was blown down in one
of the hurricanes that occurred in the 1980s. Originally, a row
of pines marked a special spot, the site in
times before indoor plumbing, of the college outhouse. Such an essential place. So full of history-- [LAUGHTER] --that marks the spot where
we celebrate our last days together. Time flows on, things change. Just as Harvard has changed
over time, so have you. During this interim year, I
have had the singular pleasure and honor of greeting a freshman
class whose graduation I will not oversee, and
celebrating today and all year a senior class that
I did not welcome as freshmen. We have all been on a journey. Yours has been one
of concentrations and requirements,
performances, competitions, high points, low points. Well, mine has been
characterized by what? Perhaps I could
summarize it a bit as learning about the
complicated ecosystem of academic administration. And more importantly,
following you all in your final
undergraduate year. In The Fellowship of the
Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, "Not all those who
wander are lost." Facing the challenges
in our journey, I suspect that all of us
have felt at times lost. But now in retrospect,
I think we may just be wandering quite a bit. When I talked to freshman
at convocation in September, I reflected on my
early academic journey. How I grew up in Ohio,
that my sister and I were the first in our
family to attend college, that I went to Miami University,
the real Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Looking back, I must
confess that I was clueless. Perhaps when you review
your first year now you'll get the same sense. I was a small town kid
on a pretty small campus, inadequately prepared to cope. Despite my rough start, I
discovered an academic field and a set of mentors
who saved me. By telling the freshman about
my initial college difficulties, I hope to encourage them to
reach out, extend themselves to find what would
compel and inspire them. Today my point in telling you
about my undergraduate trials is that you and I share
an important aspect of our journey. We succeeded. Henry Ward Beecher wrote,
"We should not judge people by their peak of excellence,
but by the distance they have traveled from the
point where they started." Personally, I find
these words reassuring. You may also find them
worth remembering. So here we are. We have traveled to the very,
very eve of commencement. It may interest you in the early
days of Harvard-- Jen stole some of this from
me-- commencement came not at this point in time
of the year, but in the fall after a summer break. It came when the year was
commencing, a beginning. In the spring there was another
type of celebration, Class Day. Class Day was the
last day of term. In the 1830s, seniors
met in the morning in one of the common
rooms in University Hall. There they had a
religious service conducted by one of
their own before marching in procession two
Wadsworth House where the president lived. The seniors then escorted the
president to Holden Chapel where there were
prayers, orations, poems, a class ode, most in Latin. Later a new set of customs
that included dancing around the Liberty Tree
and Elm near Holden Chapel. On those occasions,
as one writer noted, "The seniors provided
punch in a barrel and brandy and water in pails which were
placed at the foot of the tree and were steadily
replenished all afternoon, mugs being provided
for all comers. There was singing and
dancing, speaking, intermingled with
unlimited drinking. Not the slightest
attempt was made to control or repress this. It was simply a brutal
hallowing orgy." [LAUGHTER] "There was little
attempt at fun, no kind of system of
traditional order. Nothing but steady drinking
and the resulting drunkenness." Now a few of you think, perhaps,
that you invented everything anew. [LAUGHTER] The tree is long
gone, killed by elm disease early in
the last century. But Class Day spirit lives on. Now the celebration of
commencement and class day have merged and changed. Today and tomorrow you have
orations, singing, and pomp. Maybe not so many barrels of
booze around, though I'm always surprised and grateful
to note the grounds crew has managed to collect all
the discarded bottles and cans and cups before the
arrival of your guests on commencement morning. Still, our language of
commencement beginning carries on. For you this is another
sort of beginning. So let me tell you
what to expect tomorrow regarding the venerable
exercises here in Tercentenary Theatre
and your role in them. During the
commencement exercises, the president will
confer degrees upon the university's graduates. First Ph.D. and Master's
degrees are called. Then the professional
schools will be acknowledged in the reverse
order of their founding. Each of the schools has
its own little cheers and its members will wave about
their special little props. Then last, the
college is called. That gives us a chance
to outdo them all. When you are recognized,
it's your moment to inform the graduate
and professional school students about which school
is the true jewel in Harvard's crown. I hope you will seize the
day and out-cheer them all. Make sure that
those cheers can be heard all the way to Somerville. And then when you quiet down
I will begin the salutation. Madame President and Fellows
of Harvard College, this refers to Drew Faust in
the Fellows of the Harvard Corporation. They form the legal entity
that is Harvard University. Next I will greet Mr.
President and members of the board of overseers. This refers to the
second governing body of our university
and its presidents. After these salutations
I will attest that you have fulfilled
the faculty's requirements for the first degree
in arts and sciences. At that point right
there is no going back. We've given away your room. Much as we love you, we
have opened the doors to a new class. Like Adam and Eve,
you're cast out. [LAUGHTER] You have gone to the other side. Finally, I will pronounce
that each candidate stands ready to advance knowledge,
to promote understanding, and to serve society. To advance knowledge, to
promote understanding, to serve society. Such a noble affirmation. But the fact is we leave
a lot to your imagination and ingenuity about what
those noble words mean. Fortunately during
your time at Harvard, you have all been
engaged in these goals, whether you liked it or not. What we are certifying
and my deepest hope is that as you go
out from Harvard, you will indeed advance,
promote, and serve. It is what we expect of
you, whether in education, in business, in
professions, in life. Are these obligations? Yes, they are responsibilities. But this is what we
expect of ourselves and for our fellow inhabitants
of the small planet. One of my favorite
spots in Harvard Yard is behind Holden Chapel
toward Massachusetts Avenue. The chapel was built
to face the street. And this outward facing part is
the fancy side of the building. It is near the spot that
the class tree stood. You will find a sundial there. Many of you may have
already found that. Inscribed around the
support are the words, "On this moment hangs eternity." Keep this in mind tomorrow
when you celebrate. On this moment hangs eternity. You need to make the
best of the moment. It leads us forward. What we do and decide now
is with us to eternity. Meanwhile, we are
here now, closing in on these last moments under
this magnificent green but wet canopy. I have enjoyed and valued our
time together immeasurably. There were many performances
by various groups-- the Harvard Pops, Din & Tonics, I, Too,
Am Harvard-- visits to houses, and the senior scavenger hunt. When it looked like you
could use a cupcake, I was glad you bring it to you. It pleased me to see so many
students in my office hours to discuss concerns
or just to say hello. Riding the shuttle bus
on a winter's morning allowed me to chat
with some of you and gave me a sense of what you
were doing in order to juggle classes, activities, athletics. And of course there
were the emails. For many of you my periodic
messages were informative. If they made you
smile and brought you a bit closer to this
marvelous community, well, that was perhaps
most important. The last few days are your days. Amid the hustle and bustle,
please spend a moment to reflect on what
you have done, the races run, lost, and won,
the perspectives examined, the minds changed-- yours,
and perhaps your parents-- papers written, problems solved. Bear in mind that with luck
and health, those friends you hold dear today
will come to join you sharing the fifth,
10th, 25th, reunions. Much has happened
in these four years. Much has changed. There is a saying, no one ever
steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river,
and it's not the same person, though you cannot step back
into the same Harvard we have shared, this Harvard, you and
I, in the same river together. I'm proud of you. I will close with the first
lines of Tolkien's poem. It's a riddle, really. "All that is gold
does not glitter. Not all those who
wander are lost." May you, the graduates, find
the gold that does not glitter. Friends, family, the
love of your life, perhaps children, and
your own kind of success. And may you wander
but always come home. Best of luck to you all. Congratulations. [APPLAUSE] Thank you so much, Dean Pfister. And good afternoon,
class of 2014. My name is Michele Dimino,
and I am your class secretary. My name is Michelle Luo. I am one half of the senior
class tech and media team. And I'm Karen Xiao, the other
half of your tech and media team. It's hard to believe that four
years have passed since we sat in this very place at our
freshman convocation, strangers to one another and to
the campus around us. After hundreds of hours spent
in dining halls and classrooms and thousands of steps
through the gates of the yard, these places and faces
have become, at the least, familiar to us. And often, they've
come to mean much more. Tomorrow when we
receive our diplomas and officially become
alumni of Harvard college, we will do so in houses
that have become our homes and with people who have
truly become our family here. It has been our pleasure
as your class committee to see our 2014 community grow
and strengthen during a very special senior year. And it has been my
particular pleasure to flood your inboxes
with emails and event updates along the way. In the years to
come, we look forward to making this community
even more connected and to continuing to see old
classmates become new friends. As you look ahead, know that
the Harvard alumni network will be there for you, and that your
classmates will have your back and be at your side,
just as they are today and have been since we came to
Harvard as the class of 2014 four years ago. We know that for all of you
here, adventure is out there. Being spread out
across the world doesn't mean that
our class will not be able to stay connected
with one another. We are overjoyed to see so
many of you pinned on Map14. From those of you
staying in Boston to those of you moving
halfway across the world, remember that wherever
you are, you can always revisit the class of
2014 Facebook page whenever you're feeling
nostalgic for senior bar photos. You can always reach out
to your city captains who will be dedicated to keeping
you in touch with each other as well as with
other Harvard alumni. Finding a new friend
in an old city can be as simple as browsing
our city Facebook groups or opening up Map14. Even as we go our
separate ways, we will continue to learn and
grow together as a class. Today marks the end of
a four year journey, but the beginning
of lifelong one. By Friday at 5:00 PM, we
will lose swipe access to all Harvard buildings. [LAUGHTER] And with that, we lose our
beloved daily dining service, the $65 of Board
Plus every semester, and the ability to
walk out the door and be surrounded by hundreds
of loving tutors, friends, and classmates. But we will never
lose the memories of all nighters spent
in the dining halls, the delicious taste of
Cape Cod chips from Fly-By, and the experiences we have
shared these past four years. Don't forget that those
friends and memories are just a Facebook post, a
text, or an email away. We hope to see you cheering
in the stands at Harvard Yale next year, and returning
for our five year reunion, and many more after that. Don't be a stranger. Keep in touch. [APPLAUSE] Thank you, Michele,
Karen, and Michelle. [LAUGHTER] We are looking
forward to staying connected in the coming years. I am Caitlin Fai, Currier
House representative. I am Sarah June, Lowell
House representative. During these past four
years, we had taken a part in a number of
Harvard traditions. We played Yale in football
and won each November. We celebrated our houses
with shouts and cheers, on housing day and
every day since. Some of us even jumped
from Weeks Bridge into the questionable
waters of the Charles River. Some of these traditions
were stayed and respectable, such as convocation, while
others were decidedly less proper, such as primal scream. Running a naked lap around
Harvard Yard on the night before exam period may not
seem like a typical Harvard tradition, but we
participated undeterred. Through traditions we have been
able to cultivate and celebrate past, present, and future
shared experiences. Today we are here to introduce
one of the more respectable Harvard traditions, the
tradition of class color. The class color tradition began
when the senior class of 1882 wore green and white rowing
uniforms to distinguish itself from the other class boats
on the Charles River. The three original colors--
green, orange, and blue-- represented Harvard's fiercest
athletic and academic rivals-- Dartmouth, Princeton, and Yale. Wearing the colors of
our rivals was a way to express victory
over them, to triumph. In 1904, students began to wear
pins with their class colors on them. As the tradition developed,
wearing the colors on t-shirts and ties create a
sense of unity and cohesiveness among the class. The class color tradition
lapsed in the mid 20th century, but the senior class
revived it in 2012. Today we continue the
tradition as the class of 2014 receives the color green. Green was originally meant
to represent Dartmouth, one of our foremost
athletic rivals. However, in the past year
Harvard swept Dartmouth in men and women's soccer,
basketball, squash, swimming, and even ice hockey. Since it's not much
of a rivalry anymore, green signifies
something different for the Harvard class of 2014. It represents
growth and renewal. Since we arrived on
campus four years ago, we have changed and matured. Some of us would barely
recognize our freshman year selves, and all of
us have broadened our intellectual horizons. Now we are ready to move
forward from Harvard, wisened and enlightened,
or so we think. Yet our class color
green will be passed on to the rising sophomores,
class of 2017. They will adopt it
as their own, and we, during this time of
rebirth, will move forward to new things. Class of 2014, we
will leave Harvard, but will forever be
linked through the color green to the
classes that follow. Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Go Roland! [CHEERING] Good afternoon, 2014. My name is Roland Yang, and I
am one of your class marshals. I have the honor
and the pleasure of introducing our incoming
president of the Harvard Alumni Association, Cynthia Torres,
Harvard College class of 1980, and Harvard Business
School class of 1984. Hailing from Santa
Monica, California, Torres was a resident
of Lowell House and a government concentrator
in her undergraduate years. She also served as a business
tutor in Winthrop House during her time at
the Business School. Torres has been active
in alumni affairs ever since her graduation,
and her involvement reads like a guide on how to
stay connected with Harvard. From chairing two committees at
the Harvard Alumni Association to serving as first Vice
President of the Executive Committee, Torres has seen
many aspects of alumni life, and she brings a
wealth of experiences to the Harvard community. Our speaker today has a
special bond with the year 2014 and with our class. First, 2014 marks Torres' 30th
reunion at the Business School. Second, Torres was with
us from the very beginning of our Harvard careers, serving
as a marshal at our freshman convocation. Third and most important,
she is the proud parent of Spencer Gisser, who
as a fellow senior, is graduating with us from
Pforzheimer House this year. We are delighted to have
Cynthia Torres with us on this incredibly
special occasion as she welcomes us to our new
Harvard community as alumni. Please join me in
welcoming Cynthia Torres, incoming president of the
Harvard Alumni Association. [APPLAUSE] Thank you Roland, for that
kind and generous introduction. Greetings class of 2014. Today you are one of 1,650
graduating undergraduates. Tomorrow you'll be
welcomed by President Faust into the fellowship of
educated men and women and join a larger
global community of 320,000 proud Harvard alumni. As the incoming president of
the Harvard Alumni Association, I want to talk about what
the HAA can do for you. As Roland mentioned, I do feel
a special bond with your class. Four years ago I served as
the lead marshal for the Mower Dormitory Group when you
marched into this same theater at your freshman convocation. I have returned to
campus often since then. One of your classmates is
my own son, Spencer Gisser, who today is a graduating
senior Pforzheimer House. I am so proud of him. And in that way, I know
how all your parents feel. Students, please make a point
today of hugging your parents and thanking your family
for all their support. And yes, Spencer, babe,
I am talking to you. [LAUGHTER] When I entered Harvard
in 1976 from my hometown of Eagle Rock in
urban Los Angeles, I had no idea what to expect. I had never lived in snow. I was mystified by the rivalry
between the fans of the Boston Red Sox and the
New York Yankees. I was a Dodgers fan being
from L.A. I didn't know anyone at Harvard and I wasn't sure how
I'd fit in or even if I would. My father had
grown up in poverty as a Mexican-American
migrant farm worker, and my mother was
a homemaker raising four children on a tight budget. And four years later
when I sat where you are, I imagined that my Harvard
experience, as transformative as it was, would
end upon graduation. But in fact it was
just the beginning. Since graduation I have
volunteered for Harvard every year in every city
that I have lived in, and I've moved a lot. Whenever I've moved
someplace new, I would contact the
local Harvard Club and ask how I could help. My freshman concerns
of not knowing how I'd fit into a
community were gone forever. I have sat at many
registration tables, met the Harvard alumni
who came through the door, and listened to
captivating lectures by the Harvard faculty. I have also interviewed some
of the amazing high school students who apply for
admission each year. You can do these things too. My Harvard alumni mantra is
attend, volunteer, learn, and connect. This last year, I traveled
around the world with the HAA meeting alumni leaders in Sofia,
Bulgaria, in Santiago, Chile, and in Sydney, Australia. For me, the true
magic of Harvard is its people, its extraordinary
students, faculty, and alumni. Think about it. You're joining a club that
includes presidents, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, Emmy Award
winners, technology titans, leaders of social movements. We even have Weezer's
Rivers Cuomo and Rashida Jones to make us all feel cool. [LAUGHTER] The alumni community that
you are about to join is here for you. Networking is entirely
different from what I thought it was when
I was in college. I have discovered that
the best networkers want to know what they
can do for you. So come to the HAA's
next global networking night, which is free of
charge and is happening in over 70 cities around
the world on June 23. Another way to connect is to
join a Harvard shared interest group. These are virtual communities of
alumni that you access through our website, which is
alumni.harvard.edu/cigs. There are now nearly 50
shared interest groups with about 20,000
participating alumni. The groups include
Harvard Alumni In Wine and Food, the Harvard
Asian American Alumni Alliance, Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs,
Harvard Radcliffe Science Fiction Networking
Society, and Harvardwood. All of Harvard's
shared interest groups are looking for young alumni and
welcome your energy and ideas. For the past three years I have
co-chaired an alumni careers task force that works closely
with the Office of Career Services. Our group has developed a long
list of distinguished alumni that spans the entire
occupational spectrum. These alumni are
here to help you. The earliest years
of their own careers often involved false
starts and meandering. But we also know that who
the undergraduates really want to talk to are
the recent grads to ask, what is it
really like out there? So we hope that a
short time from now you will volunteer
through Crimson Compass to aid students in their
career explorations. The Harvard Alumni
Association will be conducting our annual
meeting here tomorrow afternoon. Please join us back here
after your house graduation ceremonies conclude. We want you to discover that
your Harvard experience turns out to be so much more than your
four years here in Cambridge. So here is what I wish for you. That your Harvard
experience and education does not end with
your graduation. That you will choose
to remain engaged with the people who have
meant so much to you during your years here. That in time you will become
leaders in your professions and in your communities
and that the continuing support of your fellow alumni,
both your peers and those who have preceded you,
will help sustain you as you change the world. Congratulations, class of 2014. [APPLAUSE] Does anyone have a laptop? I need to go join my
local Harvard Club. [LAUGHTER] Thank you. Thank you, Cynthia. Hi everyone. My name is Katie Walsh, and
I am the 2014 senior class committtee representative
from Adams House. [CHEERING] Today I have the honor
of introducing our 2014 Senior Gift committee co-chairs. Arleen Chien, Preetha Hebbar,
Terah Lyons, Kavya Shankar, and Joshua Zhang. Our five co-chairs come from
separate segments of Harvard. They cover four different
academic departments and a slew of different
extracurricular pursuits, yet they have developed an
incredible bond as a team. After a year of close
collaboration on Senior Gift, our co-chairs have
created a friendship full of memories
and silly nicknames. Their friendship is a model
of Senior Gift's capacity to bring everyone
in 2014 together. Participating in Senior
Gift does not just mean donating to Harvard. It means thinking about and
appreciating our time here, paying it forward
to underclassmen, investing ourselves even more
in this institution we love, and creating new
while strengthening the long lasting,
incredible relationships we have made here. I am so grateful for what these
five individuals had given to our class and to
Harvard's future. Please join me in welcoming
our 2014 Senior Gift co-chairs. [APPLAUSE] Thank you, Katie. Hi everyone, and
happy Class Day. I'm Arleen. As many of you know, the theme
of our Senior Gift campaign this year was focused around
the metaphor of a puzzle. In our messaging
and conversations, we try to educate everyone about
the important role philanthropy plays at Harvard, and we
asked our fellow 2014-ers to join us and be
a piece of this. We each hold a unique piece of
the Harvard College experience, and together we are
the class of 2014. Thank you to the
1,185 seniors who decided to make a gift this
year, helping us hit 78% participation, the fifth highest
Senior Gift participation mark in the college's history. [APPLAUSE] Hi, I'm Preetha. [CHEERING] This year, we had
the honor to speak with many of our classmates
about their own individual experiences and their
reasons for giving back. These conversations were carried
out by our 150 person gift committee, comprised
of seniors who volunteer their time to
this important effort. Each conversation yielded
a unique narrative. And while we found
common threads, it was thought provoking to
glimpse into our classmates' individual Harvard experiences. Our campaign was a
class wide effort, so we really
appreciate the feedback and support given to
us by our engaging, thoughtful, and
incredible classmates. Giving back to Harvard is
a way to say thank you. But it is also a way to
be a piece of something bigger than ourselves. [APPLAUSE] I'm Terah. Throughout the campaign we
heard an incredible number of compelling reasons
for giving back. You gave because Harvard helped
you identify your passion, because it helps connect you to
incredible friends and mentors. You gave to support the
student organizations you have been a part of. You gave because you are about
athletics and high quality advising relationships. You gave because financial aid
made your Harvard experience possible in the first place. You gave because you want
the classes of 2018 and 2019 and 2020 to have as incredible
an experience as you did. Senior Gift serves as the
single largest collective act that our class will
ever participate in, and it is our way of showing
both alumni and underclassmen that we care about this
place and the transformative qualities that it possesses. [APPLAUSE] Hi, everyone. I'm Kavya. Senior Gift is
only the beginning of a tradition of giving back,
and we thank all the seniors who expressed their
intention to continue giving. Our gifts today, and in the next
few years, have a huge impact. They motivate and
energize other alumni as well as symbolize
our vote of confidence in the strength and
future of Harvard College. Tomorrow as graduates,
we join a community of alumni whose
generosity has helped to ensure that Harvard
continues to be a remarkable place for
all of its students. [APPLAUSE] Good afternoon, everyone. My name's Josh Zhang. To conclude, thank you again for
listening as we ask all of you to reflect upon your
experiences here, where H stands just as much for
home as it does for Harvard. Thank you for sharing your
thoughts and feedback with us, whether you agreed or
disagreed, as we continue to do what Harvard
students do best: challenge and
motivate one another. Thank you for coming
together as a class and giving back and
paying it forward so that generations
of students after us may enjoy an even more
beautiful and robust Harvard. We, the class of
2014, have already accomplished so much during
our four years together here as students. I can only imagine what
we'll accomplish as alumni. Thank you 2014. [APPLAUSE] Hello everyone. My name is Maria
Barragan-Santana, and I am incredibly thankful
to serve as the Winthrop House representative to the
senior class committee. And it is now my honor to
introduce our first student orator this afternoon. Many know this economics
concentrator and Winthrop House resident as a business
editor at the Harvard Crimson or as a cast member of the
Hasty Pudding Theatricals. Or perhaps have seen him
perform in other theatrical productions, including
playing the role of Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone. Most importantly, however,
he is a great friend. One, who I've had the pleasure
of knowing since my freshman year, in there, when we
were in the same entryway. He's the kind of friend
who you can count on to help you through the
everyday stresses that come with Harvard, believing
in you when you doubt yourself, and celebrating with
you when you succeed. So please help me and join
me in welcoming to the stage to deliver the Harvard
male oration, my friend, the enthusiastic, inspiring,
hardworking, and always supportive Adam Conner. [APPLAUSE] I failed Harvard. Hello, class of 2014. Let me back up a second. That might have
been a bit extreme. Hi Mom, and what's up Cheryl? Hello. Hi. You know, I did a
lot of preparation in writing this
speech for you today. And I did that mostly by
thinking about what a Harvard orator should look
and sound like. And what I came up
with was an image of a student implementing
sophisticated literary elements to effectively wear his
intelligence on his sleeve, and referencing deep,
thoughtful quotes scroll by erudite
classical poets, and weaving together brilliantly
constructed sentences of solid gold, using words taken
from deep and thoughtful quotes scrolled by erudite
classical poets. And maybe even overusing
the word erudite. [LAUGHTER] But for eight minutes at a
podium in Tercentenary Theatre, they are unblemished
and pristine. They are the ideal
Harvard graduate. I don't have any of
that for you today. I don't use a lot of
metaphors and I barely know what erudite means. Some might say that I'm
a failure in that regard. And so today, I come
bearing a simple message. We have endured what we
perceive as a failure without really even
knowing what failure is. We have conflated
failure with not getting exactly what we want. And in doing so, have diminished
our many accomplishments. Take me for example. I am a first generation
college student on one side. I spent the majority
of my free time here acting for thousands of
people, making them laugh, and sometimes making them cry. I was even once kissed square
on the mouth by Jack Bauer, if you can believe it. I was. I also couldn't get
into a final club. I lost my bid to become Business
Manager of the Harvard Crimson. I sometimes struggle
with grades. And I didn't secure a full
time job with the company that I interned with. To the untrained eye,
what does that look like? Success, or something different? Let me switch
gears for a moment. Harvard students,
we love to compare. After every exam
we clump together and we talk about what we wrote. I mean, who hasn't
done that before? We check our Facebooks and
see just how many people have more impressive jobs or
graduate opportunities than we do. Frankly, there's no more
blatant comparison of ourselves to others then there is on
Housing Day, and no more blatant perception of failure. I got quadded. I thought that was a failure. I did. I then got n minus 2 housing
within the quad, and I thought, that's a failure
within a failure. That's a fail-ception. [LAUGHTER] I think that Edgar Allan Poe
must have written something about that. Don't look that up. It's just strange for a group
of individuals hand picked by Harvard admissions to
bring continue successes to the greatest university
in the world, bar none, to at times feel compelled
to focus on looking for miniature failures
in the comparisons that we draw with one another. Why? I'm not saying that
comparing is bad. Sometimes comparison is great. The inherent sense of
competition among students here is extremely beneficial to
our development in some ways. It requires us to perform
better and to work harder. A little competition is
healthy and it makes you grow. But I am saying
that a lot of times we take these comparisons in
the most negative way possible. An aspiring doctor may feel
relatively unaccomplished when hearing about a friend's
cool tech internship. The lack of a thesis
paper from your suite of academic
accomplishments becomes a perceived intellectual
inferiority, despite your lack of interest in academic writing. Being ignored by or rejected
from a social organization becomes an assertion
that you may be cool or popular, but just
not enough for your peers. And from these differences that
we rebrand as deficiencies, we manufacture failure. But we're not failures, are we? No. Of course not. Without getting too cloyingly
preachy about Harvard, we are all on the
path to living out remarkably successful lives. And we knew that from
the moment we got here. We opened that email
from admissions after smashing the Refresh
button again and again on our inbox. We saw our acceptance and
we said, well, I'm set. And in a lot of cases, it didn't
even take a year for some of us to see some great thing that one
of our peers did and say, whoa. I'm no longer set. Our futures become
uncertain to us, often based on something
totally out of our control. And what's more, we
don't take the time to truly celebrate the
success in the first place. It might appear
that way sometimes in the form of a celebratory
meal or drink or gift. But at a certain point,
albeit a relatively minor one, it becomes an issue
of you being behind and you needing to catch
up so that you are not considered a failure. Now I don't mean to make
Harvard students out to be petulant frenemies who
constantly feel pessimistic about their abilities. They're not. They're diverse, down to
earth, and downright brilliant. Check out that fancy
literary device. And I'm honored to be
counted among the company of such talented individuals. But I am saying that sometimes,
not being first or the best can sour what we've
accomplished and drive us to saying or thinking, at
some point, I have failed. And as I said before, we
are so not failures at all. Look at us. We are poets,
musicians, artists. We are athletes and
champions at that. We are scientists, bound to
unlock the greatest discoveries heretofore in human history. We are future
politicians who will shape this nation
for the better. There may even be a future
president sitting in this crowd this afternoon. And guess what? That president might
not have had a 4.0. And that president may not
have gotten the dream job that he or she
thought they wanted. And you know what
I'm willing to bet? That president is sitting here
today and listening to me talk and looking back on
his or her for years, and might be reminded of
the failures rather than the future, disregarding all
of the great things happening right now and those that
will happen in the many years to come. So I stand up here before
you and I look back at the 45 months since I first
stepped into Harvard Yard-- I know, it's a lot of months--
as a fresh-faced, fledgling freshman. And what do I see? Well, I didn't get the social
standing I thought I wanted or the big leadership position
that I thought I wanted, or the grades that
I maybe wanted. [LAUGHTER] Or the job that I thought
I definitely wanted. On paper, that looks
a lot like failure. That's academic life,
personal life, social life, future professional life. On paper that's a
whole lot of nothing. You know what? That's fine. Because I didn't
really fail, did I? I just didn't get what
I thought I wanted. Instead, I got friendships
that will last a lifetime. I got a great job that I
love, keeps me close to home. I found a girl that I love. And I got a fantastic education. But I didn't get exactly
what I thought I wanted. None of us has always
gotten exactly what we want. And at one point or
another, we have all considered that failure. And it takes a long time to
resolve that perceived failure as a learning experience or as
an opportunity for other doors to open. But especially this
week, a week spent celebrating our hard
work and our triumphs, a week culminating in
a commencement so named because it marks
a new beginning, we should start
focusing on the success. Because in the end, we can try
to measure our relative level of success here at Harvard based
on the setbacks and the defeats and the B minuses. Or we can take a step back
and see just how little that matters in the long run. Only then will we truly
recognize how far we've come and how far we'll go. I failed Harvard. Or did I? Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Good afternoon, class of
2014, friends, and family. My name is Yolanda
Borquaye and I am one of the 2014
senior class marshals. Today I have the distinct
privilege and honor of introducing to you
a Pforzheimer House native and friend,
Christie DiSilvestro. Christie hails from
Haverford, Pennsylvania, and has spent much
of her time here at Harvard exploring the
intersection between psychology and medicine, particularly
as it pertains to the psychological issues
children and families face after traumatic injury
or long-term diagnosis. After graduation she'll
be continuing this passion in graduate school at the
University of Pennsylvania. When I asked several of her
friends to describe Christie, the two words that
they kept saying were kind and thoughtful,
and I am so honored and pleased that she'll be
addressing us here today. So without further
ado, please join me in welcoming our
next 2014 Harvard orator, Christie DiSilvestro. [APPLAUSE] A picture, a permanent record
of happiness or triumph or love, a small token to ensure
that a moment doesn't get lost in the fray. Photographs are everywhere. With the rise of Instagram
and the ever-growing Twitter and Facebook perfectly
coinciding with our college career, we have
endless opportunities to capture moments and
freeze them forever. We take pictures of
almost everything. We do this so much that we
don't think twice about it, and might not even realize
the significance of what we're capturing. Years from now we
will have the ability to look back on our college days
and have an array of memories to focus on, never having
to lose a flash of happiness as we grow more
distant from Harvard. But what about the memories
that we don't capture on film? The times when unexpected
challenges stop us in our tracks? These are the moments
when snapping a selfie is the furthest
thought from our minds. Think of all the tough
times that you've faced or the obstacles you've
helped a friend overcome, and how that's affected
you as a person. Think about surprising
opportunities that came your
way and caused you to choose a different path
than you had predicted. The truth is when we experience
something that changes us forever, whether
it is good or bad, we don't use an
iPhone to save it. We remember these
moments forever without the help of a lens. They can't be
captured in a picture. No words can easily
describe them. And yet, they define
our self-portrait. When we first
arrived on campus we were filled with the frenzy and
excitement of early freshman year. We had the opportunity to
entirely reinvent ourselves, starting fresh in a
place where no one had prior impressions of us. It was an adventurous, turn on
the camera type of experience when we pictured the story
of our new lives and the path that we would travel on
for the next four years. Now imagine that you could
read a letter written by that wide-eyed freshman
year self about who you were and what you wanted to become. What would be your
reaction today? Would those hopes
and beliefs map onto who you have
become as an individual? For all of us, our
college experience and even our identities
did not unfold in exactly the way we imagined. We have since migrated from
that first mold that we made. But the changes
we've experienced have made us into stronger,
more mature, and more resilient individuals. The event that has
changed the most crashed down on me in the
spring of my freshman year as a varsity water polo player. A double hip injury
assaulted my body and left me unable
to walk within days. The injury resulted in
two expensive surgeries and over six months on crutches. For more than two years, I
could not sit, stand, or walk liberally. Not only could I
not play sports, I couldn't navigate
campus, go to class, or live the normal life
of a college student. I took one semester of
final exams lying down in a bed in UHS and
another semester of finals standing and writing at a
podium while the proctor sat at the desks
because I could not sit. I was constantly in pain. But as our challenges often
do, this time of darkness showed me light and laughter
in places I never expected. An endearing new
nickname-- Crutchy-- that I heard more often than
my real name, and a pair of crutches that I
covered in zebra tape helped give me a boost when
moving at a snail's pace. I received help from
people I had never met, from people whose names
I would never know. Harvard is notorious
for its selective hand picking of students, and
through my experience, I learned that this campus is
full of the most compassionate people. I never felt alone in
such a warm community and received a helping hand
from everyone around me. In return, the most I could
do was lend my crutches to friends at parties
to help them meet guys, a tactics we found
surprisingly successful. [LAUGHTER] Tiny moments morphed
into great memories. Picture a handsome guy you
have a crush on inviting you to a party that you declined
because you can't walk up the stairs, so he offers
to give you a piggyback. I had to rely on others for
almost everything that I did. Even your classic Sunday
morning walk of shame was no longer independent. It's an entirely
different experience when he has to carry
you back to your dorm while his roommate carries
your crutches alongside him. If you're thinking that would
be awkward and hilarious, it totally was. But these memories are now
my most endearing treasures that sparked the beginning of
a long lasting relationship. When I look back at the
journey of my injury, my goals and my
impression of how I might fit into this
community completely changed. I tried to hold onto water polo
for two years after I was hurt, but I eventually
had to let that go. I learned to immerse
myself in joy. I learned how important
it is to surround yourself with the people who lift
you up-- in my case, sometimes literally--
and walk away from the ones who
bring you down. My injury was not a time
I was ready to pull out the camera and document. But it was important
and life changing. Many of our greatest lessons
are not learned in class or read in a textbook. We all tackled a huge
transition from the safety net of living at home
with our families to the autonomy of
a college campus. When we faced struggles,
we were forced to rely on our
friends and peers. We became mentors and shoulders
to lean on for others. Their hard times
became our challenges just as their moments of
joy became our celebrations. We created a new
definition of family, one that included all
those who are alongside us for our hurdles and heartaches. Through this
process, we developed our own unique
identities, preparing us to take on the real world. No matter what has caused you to
change over the past few years, embrace those changes and who
you have become as a result. Maybe you took an
elective senior year and surprised yourself with how
much you enjoyed the material, making you rethink your
career path late in the game. Maybe you had issues with
roommates and adjusting to a new living situation at
the beginning of a school year. Perhaps you made
a mistake, caused harm that you took the steps
to remedy and make right. Maybe you received
inspiring advice that made you turn your
life around and walk with more confidence. When you think of
the big moments that have affected your
college career, you don't need a digital
photograph to remember them. One of them, the
Boston Marathon, affected and unified
us unlike any other. Everyone remembers where
they were junior year when they heard about
the detonations, even if they weren't at
the marathon experiencing the terrifying panic firsthand. Everyone remembers
the entire day of lockdown later that week,
and the relief when it was over. This disaster taught
us the importance of appreciating the
strangers around us, knowing that at any
given moment they could be the very
ones to save us. It taught us to run to help
others rather than running away. As a class, leaning
on each other, we grew from this tragedy and
became stronger because of it. Eventually we
learned that it's OK if something blindsides
us and causes us to stray from the plan we
thought we were executing. Sometimes these
blindsides can teach us to appreciate what is
around us even more than we did before. I personally have a
renewed appreciation for the little things
that surround me. I now appreciate the
ability to walk freely around campus, the
ability to concentrate without the constant
reminder of physical pain, the ability to see
someone struggling and be able to offer
him or her that helping hand instead
of only receiving it. All these major changes
we have experienced in college-- the good and the
bad times that shape us-- these are the images that
captured memories, that aren't in a Facebook
album, but instead compile and create the album
of us, the self-portrait with moments we will
always hold dear. Embrace the changes
that come your way and enrich your
development as a person. Enjoy the little
things, for one day, you may look back and realize
they were the big things. So enjoy all the laughs
that make life so wonderful, but also take time to stop and
think about all the moments and changes that actually got
you to where you are today. The people you've leaned on and
those who have leaned on you, the friends you've celebrated
with in triumph and progress, the unexpected side roads
that you've traveled on. And then, yes. Take a picture. But be sure to appreciate
the entire self-portrait you are truly capturing. And when something
memorable comes your way, don't never hesitate to say,
but first, let me take a selfie. [LAUGHTER] Thank you! [APPLAUSE] Good afternoon faculty, friends,
family, and the class of 2014. My name is Catherine
Philbin, and I am thrilled to be serving
as the representative from the great Dunster House. [CHEERS] Today it is my honor to
introduce the Richard Glover and Henry Russell
Ames Memorial Award. As many of you already know,
the members of the class of 2014 have shown a great commitment
to the service of others. This includes the service
to Harvard, the nation, and our global community. Many members of our great
class have gone four years without any recognition for
their hard work, compassion, and determination
to help others. However, the Ames
Award works to honor two unsung heroes of our class. On June 19, 1935, Richard Glover
Ames and Henry Russell Ames, brothers and Harvard
students, gave their lives to save their father who was
washed overboard during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland. Every year since,
the Ames Award has been given in their
memory to recognize two members of our class
who have shown energy in helping others
and who exhibit the same heroic
character and inspiring leadership as the Ames brothers. The selection committee received
a large number of nominations from faculty, house masters,
tutors, and fellow seniors, and the decision process
was incredibly difficult, and we could not be more
proud of our classmates who have made such a tremendous
impact on their communities. I invite all of the nominees
for this year's Ames Award to please stand
and be recognized. [APPLAUSE] At this time, it is my
pleasure to introduce Akshay Sharma,
class marshal, who will present the first
recipient of the Ames Award. [APPLAUSE] Thank you, Cath. Good afternoon. What a beautiful day. [LAUGHTER] Congratulations again
to all the nominees, and thank you for your
outstanding leadership and heroism in
service to others. The Ames Award is
presented annually as the senior class leaves
the gates of Harvard, and it reminds us the importance
of connecting, engaging, and serving in the communities
that we are about to enter. Each one of us
has within ourself the potential to affect
positive change in this world when we combine the
skills we have developed, the passions that we
have cultivated here with an awareness of
the existing need. Ultimately, the success
that we measure in our lives will not be defined by how high
we reach or how far we travel, but by how many lives we change. Our first of today's
Ames Award recipients has been dedicated in his
pursuit to help those in need. In the face of grave
financial adversity, his sheer passion for learning
and high scholastic achievement afforded him the
opportunity to receive a fully funded
primary education. Upon arriving at
Harvard, he has set to the task of giving
back to the community that supported him in the past. Originally from
Swaziland, a country with one of the
highest incidence rates of HIV infection
in the world, he has dedicated
his last four years to combating the disease
that claimed many in his community, both
friends and family. He has spent the last three
years at the Reagan Institute of MIT, Harvard, and the
Massachusetts General Hospital researching the
immunological basis of HIV. He spent summers at the
Don McKenzie Hospital in Durban, South Africa,
implementing testing, counseling, and treatment
adherence programs for HIV. And last year, he
founded an organization by the name of
[? Salbona ?] Health, tasked with increasing and
improving the health of HIV patients globally by
increasing patient adherence to integral
antiretroviral therapies. Next year he will be
back in his home country Swaziland, working to
combat and find solutions to structural problems linked
to poor HIV treatment adherence, mainly food security. Members of this recipient's
house community at Harvard are confident that
he will succeed in bringing about a
genuine transformation in his community. They cite the nobility
and genuineness of his passion for
public service. And all the while, his
extraordinary achievement is coupled with
genuine humility. Please join me in congratulating
our first Ames Award recipient, resident of Pforzheimer House,
fellow member of the class of 2014, a healer of
the world, and hero, [? Mjhanke ?] [? Shbangu. ?] [APPLAUSE] It is now my honor to introduce
Erin Drake, class marshal who will present the second
recipient of the Ames award. [CHEERS] Go Erin! Woo! Thank you Cath, and
congratulations again, [? Mjhanke. ?]
Hello, class of 2014. You all look very
warm out there. It's warm up here. OK. Our next Richard Glover Ames
and Henry Russell Ames Award goes to a woman whose
recommender described her as a force of nature, an
advocate, a mentor, and someone who is relentlessly
loyal, keeping her friends a top priority, even when school
and extracurriculars could easily distract. This woman is someone
who I and many of you have met over the
past four years. She was a participant in the
First Year Urban program, a peer counselor for Room
13, and a tireless volunteer, supervisor, and director at
the Phillips Brooks House association's Harvard
Square Homeless Shelter. Alternatively,
you could know her as a girl who had a
Facebook picture with Drake. During her time here she
has studied psychology, but has learned to be a selfless
leader and someone whose friends describe as more
dependable than anyone, compassionate, and empathetic. Now she leads a team of
students in their effort to establish the first entirely
student run youth homeless shelter in the nation. Regardless of when or how
you came in contact with her, I'm sure she didn't just list
off her activities, leadership roles, and famous
friends as I just did. I'm sure that because,
like most unsung heroes, she lets her work
speak for itself. Well today, on a day when
there's time and an opportunity to honor two of many
unsung heroes in our class, join me in congratulating the
next 2014 Richard Glover Ames and Henry Russell Ames Award
recipient, Sarah Rosenkrantz. [APPLAUSE] Congratulations to the
2014 Ames recipients. [APPLAUSE] Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Raina Gandhi, and
I'm the proud representative of Mather House on the
senior class committee. [CHEERS] I'm Basil Williams,
and I'm proud to be the representative
of Pforzheimer House. Looking back to when we
last sat in this yard, during our freshman
convocation, we had high hopes for
the next four years. We expected that
we would change, that we would grow and
develop into smarter and more thoughtful scholars,
citizens, and people. Yet what we didn't
necessarily think about then was how growth depends not
only on positive change, but also on loss. Each loss develops
our character, teaches us something
new about life, and may challenge or
reinforce our own beliefs. The most tragic losses
involve the passing of those who we love. Many of us have lost relatives,
family, friends, and classmates without whom we would not
have reached this occasion. There are classmates who
started with us at Harvard but will not be walking with
us at commencement tomorrow. These classes have shaped
our experiences here and deserve to be recognized
for their contribution as long with ours. Please join us in
a moment of silence to remember the family, friends,
and members of the university community who are
not amongst us today. Thank you. As we graduate
tomorrow we wonder, where do we go from here? We'll be facing new
challenges after we pass through these gates. Yet we don't have
to face them alone. Cody Laramie wrote,
"We are part of lives we have yet to live and see." The lives we are a part
of are not just our own, but those of our
loved ones as well. Reach out to those around
you for support and guidance. Hold onto the memories
and relationships we've built during
our time here. They can help carry us
through both challenging times and triumphant times, trying
times, and joyous times. Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Good afternoon seniors,
friends, family, and loved ones joining us here today. Thank you to Raina and
Basil for their touching and beautiful remarks. My name is Anthony Palillo and I
am one of the 2014 senior class marshals. I am honored and excited to be
introducing Quincy House native and a good friend, Jenna Martin,
as our 2014 Female Ivy Orator. Jenna is originally from
Los Angeles, California. At Harvard, Jenna was an English
concentrator, the head writer of On Harvard Time, an on
campus comedic news show, and a member of the
Lampoon Lit Staff. Jenna was also involved with
sketch comedy on campus, and during her summers she
interned at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
and The New Yorker, where she was published twice
on the magazine's website. After graduation, she will
be returning to Los Angeles to pursue a career as
a television writer. Without further
ado, please join me in welcoming the amazing,
extremely talented, and wonderful Jenna Martin,
our 2014 Female Ivy Orator. [APPLAUSE] Thank you, Anthony. I'd like to thank you all for
coming, family and friends especially, because,
let's face it. No one likes going
to graduations. With apologies to any recent
middle school graduates, kindergarten graduation
is the last cute one. [LAUGHTER] And coming to this
one is like going to a wedding for 1,655
couples when you really only care about one-- [LAUGHTER --if that. [LAUGHTER] To the esteemed
professors and TFs, you've been to so
many graduations that I sincerely hope
you're playing a drinking game to get through this one. [LAUGHTER] I'll even say some key
words to get you chugging. Harvard. [LAUGHTER] Graduation. [LAUGHTER] Future. [LAUGHTER] Compassion. To the class of 2014,
I imagine we're all feeling some mix of
anxiety and relief. And if you're anything like
me, a little bit of anxiety is enough to overwhelm
whatever else you're feeling. That anxiety can make
you prematurely nostalgic for the days when your biggest
problem was a five to seven page paper, also known as a four
page paper with wide margins and a really long title. [LAUGHTER] Or when your biggest
problem with that you have too many advisers. By now each of us has
had a freshman adviser, a peer advising fellow, a
proctor, a resident dean of freshman-- those
last two are different, by the way-- a sophomore
adviser, an Allston Burr resident dean, a sophomore
advising coordinator, a concentration adviser, and
for the masochistic, a thesis adviser. [LAUGHTER] I sincerely thank
all of my advisors. But I just want to
put it out there that Luke Skywalker defeated the
empire with only one advisor. [LAUGHTER] And he spoke in
incoherent aphorisms-- [LAUGHTER] --had crazily
inconvenient office hours, and never once offered
Luke a mini Mr. Goodbar. [LAUGHTER] Despite the luxury
of too many advisers, there are some
questions on our minds right now that no one
can answer for certain. Like, will the clubs I
joined be enough to convince my future children
that I used to be cool? Will my concentration have any
application in the real world? It's common at this
point to bring up folklore and mythology. [LAUGHTER] But I don't think Celtic studies
gets the attention it deserves. [LAUGHTER] Most people either
don't know what that is, or think you're
pronouncing it wrong. [LAUGHTER] And perhaps the scariest
question of all, did I peak in college? I think that there
are two and only two answers to this question. Absolutely not and,
you know, probably. I'll entertain the you
know, probably answer first. We're about to enter a scary
world where our dumb mistakes will be met with a dubious
look and a wisecrack about where we went to college. At least here if someone
says, ugh, there's no way you go to Harvard,
it's usually a pickup line. [LAUGHTER] If I may speak from my own fears
of having peaked in college, when I first came to
Harvard, a part of me just wanted to study
English and write comedy, but another part of me wanted
to discover something new that would become my passion, like
anthropology or conceptual art, but hopefully
investment banking. [LAUGHTER] Four years later, I'm
getting a degree in English, and every club I joined was
somehow related to comedy, with the arguable
exception of the Lampoon. [LAUGHTER] It turns out I can't be changed. If I may sum up my experience
in the metaphor-- oh, I'm sorry, a simile-- [LAUGHTER] Who says an English
degree is useless? I'm like one of television's
many illustrious bad boys. Don Draper, Tony
Soprano, Chuck Bass. Harvard's Gen Ed requirements
and activity fairs are like another character
who thinks it can change me, but sorry Harvard. I can't be changed. And that's why this
day makes me sad. Because not only can I no longer
compare myself to Don Draper, but I also don't
know for certain if I'll find another place where
I can be so completely myself and still have friends
and feel fulfilled. Where else will I be
surrounded by so many people just being their dorky selves
and doing what they love? Except at a white collar prison. [LAUGHTER] So maybe it's all
downhill from here. Just like it's been downhill
for commencement day speakers since Oprah
came last year. [LAUGHTER] But I mean, seriously. Good luck tomorrow, former mayor
of something what's his face? [LAUGHTER] However, the one thing I do
like about graduation also leads me to believe that we
didn't all peak in college. My fellow graduates,
there's probably someone in the class of
2014 who makes you think, well, I'm screwed. But that guy is
going to be amazing. Well, graduation allows
you to share something with that person. And I'll bet
there's someone else who feels the same
way about you. Why, the person
who looks up to you could even be speaking right
now if your name is Zamyla Chan. [CHEERS] If you're still worried that you
might have peaked in college, then think of your
favorite Harvard grad. Could be JFK, could
be Natalie Portman. Mine hands down is John Adams. I mean, his life
probably didn't turn out the way he expected
when he graduated, but he still became
our second president. You might even say he was
the Yale of presidents. [LAUGHTER] He married an incredible lady
and inspired an entire mini series. [LAUGHTER] When I was accepted
into Harvard, I couldn't wait to go to the
same school as our grouchiest founding father. You might even say I
came for the John Adams and then stayed
for the Sam Adams. [LAUGHTER] Yeah, but please don't say that. My parents are in the audience. My point is, the person who
made you excited to come here should also make you
excited to leave. Class of 2014, I'm not
saying you can do anything. As you will discover
tomorrow, you can't look good
in a cap and gown. [LAUGHTER] But at least there's
a good chance you didn't peak in college. Congratulations to the class
of 2014 and their families. [APPLAUSE] Thank you, Jenna, for
a beautiful oration. Good afternoon class of
2014, friends, and family. My name is Natalia Duarte, and
I am the senior class committee representative for
Leverett House. [CHEERS] Yay, bunnies! [LAUGHS] The person I am now
introducing actually once had the task of introducing
me at a Leverett House charity date auction. When I thought I was going to
be going for the lowest bid he turned the tables, riled up
the crowd with southern twang and innuendos,
and somehow had me auctioned as one of the most
expensive prizes of the night. He made me feel like
the belle of the ball, and now I must do the same. Today I have the
distinct privilege of introducing someone who
is not only a fellow Leverett House resident. He's a very dear friend to
me, and has been over my time at Harvard. Zack Guzman is one of
those rare individuals who always somehow
manages to make your day, and with whom there is
never a dull moment. Originally from Virginia,
Zack has anchored Harvard sketch comedy
show On Harvard Time and broadcasted sports for WHRB,
Harvard Student radio station, including a recent stint
in Spokane, Washington, covering Harvard's
March Madness victory. This experience
got him a full five seconds of fame on television. Zack would like to thank his
roommates, Andrew Walsh, Joe Lair, Matt Lowe, and James Sun
for always being there for him. And even though this
isn't a date auction, Zack would like to remind
the ladies of the crowd that love knows no age. Getting a little
desperate, aren't we? Ladies and gentlemen,
without further ado, I present to you Zack Guzman,
your 2014 Male Ivy Orator. [APPLAUSE] Thank you, Natalia. Hello fellow classmates,
family, and encroached upon squirrels of the yard. My name is Zack Guzman,
and I am in love. I have been in an
ongoing relationship for quite some time,
and perhaps some of you out in the audience, or
dare I say sitting up here with me on stage, might think
that this is a foolish notion. But I am not alone. I wouldn't be surprised if every
one of us in the class of 2014 said the same thing. You see, our love
affair started even before we met the
love of our lives. In high school we
were desperately searching for a
significant other, and we set our eyes
on the most sought after, desirable piece of
assuredness on the market. She had everything my
hormone-filled teen self could ask for. Intellect, financial
stability, and as we saw with the whole satanic black
mask thing, a reverse tiger mom and Drew Faust who
allowed Harvard the freedom to do whatever she
wanted in the basement. [LAUGHTER] But as we learned at
the first chance dance, you can't just walk
up and tell someone you want to spend the rest
of your life with him or her. No, no. As society dictates, the
more appropriate strategy is to tell this to their friend. [LAUGHTER] To instill the appropriate
level of jealousy, I reached out to Stanford,
Harvard's tanner Californian friend. [LAUGHTER] But I missed the chitchat of
startups, golf, and something about the weather being
an unbearable 64 degrees. I decided to cut things off. It would be better for her
this way, and in the end, we caught Harvard's eye. The true problem,
though, was how many others saw what we
saw in our love. On our Tinder profile which,
for the parents in the crowd, is today's premier and
shadiest iPhone dating app-- [LAUGHTER] --Harvard had 35,023
people swipe her to the right, which you only do
with the most attractive users. To put that in perspective--
because some of you might not know this--
in my four years here, my farmers only profile, which
is described as Tinder for, quote, "Good old country folk,"
has been viewed only once by a farmer in rural
Mass with the username XOXOHarvardSexyFunGuy
[? #FeanDister. ?] [LAUGHTER] Serious love prospects
only, Dean Pfister. But lo and behold, we
were swiped to the right too, sparking the
honeymoon phase, where nothing at all about the
other person could bother you. Not her coldness, not
her crippling fear to only refer to herself as a
school in Boston when others ask, and not the kinky
demands that everyone pee on John Harvard's foot
in order to graduate. We found it cute that
security guards wanted to check and make sure
we weren't stealing books from the library. You didn't mind the
fact that Harvard's idea of culinary variety meant
variously colored yet strangely similarly tasting
sauces on top of freshly cut, cage free endangered fish
known simply as [? Sui ?]. [LAUGHTER] And if it wasn't beef
fettuccine Alfredo night-- which God help us
all if it was-- [LAUGHTER] --you didn't mind Harvard
bought the recycled fiberglass version of single
ply toilet paper and limited your use
to two roles per week. [LAUGHTER] Yet after a while, as is the
case with most relationships, the luster began to wear. It didn't take
long to discover we were captives of
a crazed romantic. Suddenly Harvard wanted to
put a label on everything. What is your concentration? The answer to this
question depended on each of our prior interests. Perhaps you want something
serious so you chose gov. [LAUGHTER] Maybe you wanted
something casual, so you chose
applied mathematics. [LAUGHTER] If you had a crush on governor
Chris Christie or Beyonce, you chose economics
because you're heard ec had even better curves. [LAUGHTER] But by junior year,
I started to doubt why ever fell in love with
Harvard in the first place. I no longer found backpack
checking in Lamont Library cute, and started to play the
game, how many books can I steal without the
security guard noticing? [LAUGHTER] Two course backs, a signed
copy of [INAUDIBLE] textbook, and an Orangina is
a personal best. [LAUGHTER] Then word got out we
might have cheated on her or at least collaborated
with multiple individuals, causing Harvard to read
through all of our emails. [LAUGHTER] Yet still with all
of Harvard's quirks, senior year reminded us
that time is fleeting. Oh, what you wouldn't
give now to be back with Harvard in the stacks
of Widener one last time. I myself have a memory
of discussing my grade with a TF in the stacks, only
to learn I couldn't get it up. [LAUGHTER] Perhaps you too
have fond memories. But this doesn't
need to be goodbye. And I don't believe
today is a break up. In fact, it looks
more like a wedding. I mean, our parents are here. They've paid quite the dowry. [LAUGHTER] And Harvard's reverse tiger mom
is still nowhere to be found. [LAUGHTER] And perhaps it's easy to think
that we're all marrying out of our league when we
look at Harvard's exes. I mean, just off the top of my
head I could name presidents. Henry David Thoreau, Bill Gates,
Tommy Lee Jones, and the Artist Formerly Known as-- and
still known as-- Yo Yo Ma. Yet with all of that in
mind, we must not forget, Harvard chose us too. She liked us enough to
put a one ring on it. It's not a one-sided
relationship like most of those we
knew in high school. Tomorrow we will leave,
but be bonded forever. My father, who is Mexican, which
really doesn't have anything to do with this
part of the story-- [LAUGHTER] I just mention it, because
the last time I did, Harvard accepted me. [LAUGHTER] So I'll throw it
out there again. [LAUGHTER] He once told me, marry
the right person and life, no matter how difficult the
challenges you might face, will always be fun. I have no doubt our challenges
will get more serious than our complaints of having to walk
10 minutes to get to bio labs, dealing with getting snubbed
from Harvard's student model fashion show-- four
years in a row-- [LAUGHTER] --probably because
you're too good looking. Or stomaching an
endangered fish. Seriously, that last
one's not a joke. Google it. S-W-A-I-- someone's got to
do something about that. [LAUGHTER] But through it all, Harvard
will be there with us. And even though we might
be marrying someone roughly 354 years older
than us, Harvard's vitality has never wavered. AKA, don't plan on getting
any of the endowment, you dirty gold diggers. [LAUGHTER] To conclude, I'd like to
congratulate the happy couple that is all of us
and all that we have gained in our four
years we've been together. Despite what those jealous
of our liberal arts schooling might say, truly think of
all the applicable gifts we have been given. I mean, just for
myself tomorrow, I graduate with a
Spanish citation, which means I can
legally hablas Espanol. [LAUGHTER] I got a degree in
economics, which means according to the
study I just conducted with the only other
econ alum up on stage, I'm going to be a billionaire. [LAUGHTER] And a woman. [LAUGHTER] Yes, I will be a billionaire. Provided, of course,
I download the Lean In audio book on my iPod
and immediately delete the contradictory message
delivered by Fat Joe's 2004 hip hop classic, Lean Back. [LAUGHTER] How Ms. Sandberg can refute Mr.
Joe's well articulated thesis of pulling up your pants,
doing the Rockaway, and proceeding to lean
back, lean back, lean back, is not my place to say. But I am sure she will
address such in her speech. And as if that wasn't
enough, I get a secondary in neurobiology,
which means I only need to operate on brains
if someone who concentrated in neurobiology isn't around. [LAUGHTER] Your gifts might be these. Most likely even
better than these. The point is, we've
worked hard to get here, even harder
to get here today. And I'd wager once we
are thrown into a world without great inflation,
probably our hardest tomorrow. [LAUGHTER] But we are ready. With our fair spouse at
our side, we say, I do. And before
consummation tomorrow-- [LAUGHTER] --before consummation I'd
like to propose a toast. [LAUGHTER] I thought there was
champagne served at these things
for all of you too. I'm sorry. [LAUGHTER] May we live our
lives not comparing to those that came before
our class or those that may come after, but rather
cherish in the comfort knowing that we will have this
place that we love forever in our hearts, for the rest
of our lives, till death do us part. Cheers and congratulations
class of 2014. Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Dad. [APPLAUSE] [MUSIC- TERROR SQUAD, "LEAN
BACK"] Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Irene Chen, and
I am a proud representative of Cabot House on the
senior class committee. [CHEERS] Hi, my name is
Ginny Fahs, and I am one of your 2014
senior class marshals. [CHEERS] We are very honored today to
introduce our featured guest and our keynote speaker,
Sheryl Sandberg, who has made significant
contributions in government, business, and technology. Sheryl graduated
from Harvard in 1991, a time when laptops
didn't exist and very few students used computers. Sheryl used Harvard's
computer system only once as an
undergraduate, to run regressions for
her senior thesis. She remembers storing her data
on large, heavy magnetic tapes that she had to lug in
big boxes around campus. She had to stay up all
night spinning tapes to input her thesis
data, and when she tried to execute
her final calculations, she brought down the
entire computer system. So years before Facebook's
founder Mark Zuckerberg famously crashed the
harbor computer network, our speaker beat him to it. The data was worth
the crash, and Sheryl graduated with a summa cum
laude degree in economics. She went on to Harvard
Business School where she graduated top
of her class in 1995, and later served as
the Chief of Staff to the United States Secretary
of the Treasury, Larry Summers, who had been her thesis adviser. In 2001 she joined Google
in its early stages as vice president of global
online sales and operations. Then in 2008, Mark
Zuckerberg approached her about joining a growing
company called Facebook. Sheryl became Facebook's
Chief Operating Officer and just celebrated
her sixth year there. During her undergraduate
years, Sheryl was an enthusiastic
Harvard booster who gave tours with the
Crimson Key society, taught aerobics in the
MAC five days a week, and served as a big
sister for a program through the Phillips
Brooks House Association. Today Cheryl is aiming to
be every woman's big sister. In 2013 she released
her first book, Lean In, which looks at barriers both
internal and external that prevent women from
taking leadership roles in the workplace. Her book inspired the Lean In
movement, which provides women with tools and community
support to help them achieve their ambitions. In selecting a
keynote speaker, we were hoping to find someone
who had demonstrated an extraordinary
ability to succeed, someone who has taken
significant professional risks, someone who has been an advocate
for a pressing social issue, and someone who can
lead us all in aerobics. [LAUGHTER] Sheryl meets all these criteria. Please welcome Sheryl Sandberg. [APPLAUSE] Thank you. Thank you guys. Thank you. Congratulations everyone. You made it. [APPLAUSE] And I don't mean to
the end of college. I mean to Class Day. Because if memory serves,
some of your classmates had too many scorpion bowls
at the Kong last night and aren't with us today. Given the weather, the one
thing Harvard hasn't figured out how to control, some of
your other classmates are someplace warm
with a hot cocoa, so you have many reasons
to feel proud of yourselves as you sit here today. Congratulations to your parents. You have spent a lot of
money so your child can say she went to a small
school near Boston. [LAUGHTER] And thank you to
the class of 2014 for inviting me to be
part of your celebration. It means a great deal to me. And looking at the list of past
speakers was a little daunting. I can't be as funny
as Amy Poehler, but I'm going to be
funnier than Mother Teresa. [LAUGHTER] 25 years ago, a man named Dave
I did not know at the time but who would one day
become my husband, was sitting where you
are sitting today. 23 years ago, I was sitting
where you are sitting today. David and I are back this
weekend with our amazing son and daughter to
celebrate his reunion. And we both share
the same sentiment. Harvard has a good
basketball team. [LAUGHTER] Standing here in the yard brings
memories flooding back for me. I arrived here from
Miami in the fall of 1987 with big hopes and
even bigger hair. I was assigned to live in one
of Harvard's historic monuments to great architecture, Canaday. [LAUGHTER] My go-to outfit-- and
I'm not making this up-- was a jean skirt, white
leg warmers and sneakers, and a Florida sweatshirt,
because my parents who were here with me then as
they're here with me now, told me everyone would
think it was awesome that I was from Florida. [LAUGHTER] At least we didn't
have Instagram. For me, Harvard was
a series of firsts. My first winter coat-- we
didn't need those in Miami-- my first 10 page paper--
they didn't assign those in my high school-- my first C,
after which my proctor told me that she was on the admissions
committee, and I got admitted to Harvard
for my personality, not my academic potential. The first person I ever
met from boarding school-- I thought that was for
really troubled kids-- the first person I
ever met who shared a name with a whole
building, or so I met when the first
classmate I met was Sarah Wigglesworth,
who bore no relation at all to the dorm, which
would've been nice to know at that very
intimidating moment. But then I went
on to meet others. Frances Strauss, James Weld,
Jessica Science Center [? B. ?] [LAUGHTER] My first love, my
first heartbreak, the first time I
realized I love to learn, and the first and
very last time I saw anyone read
anything in Latin. [LAUGHTER] When I sat in your seat
all those years ago, I knew exactly
where I was headed. I had it all planned out. I was going to the World Bank
to work on global poverty, then I would go to
law school, then I would spend my life
working in a nonprofit or in the government. At Harvard's
commencement tomorrow, as your dean
described, each school is going to stand up
and graduate together-- the college, the law school,
the med school, and so on. At my graduation, my class
cheered for the Ph.D. students and then booed the
business school. Business school seemed
like such a sellout. 18 months later I applied
to business school. [LAUGHTER] It wasn't that was
wrong about what I would do decades
after graduating. I had it wrong a year
and a half later. And even if I could
have predicted I would one day work
in the private sector, I never could have
predicted Facebook. Because there was no internet. And Mark Zuckerberg was
in elementary school. [LAUGHTER] Already wearing his hoodie. [LAUGHTER] Not locking into a
path too early gave me an opportunity to go into a
new and life changing field. And for those of you think I
owe everything to good luck, after Canaday, I got quadded. [LAUGHTER AND CHEERS] What's up, Adam? There is no straight
path from your seat today to where you are going. Don't try to draw that line. You will not just get it wrong,
you'll miss big opportunities. And I mean big. Like the internet. [LAUGHTER] Careers are not ladders--
those days are long gone-- but jungle gyms. Don't just move up and
down, don't just look up. Look backwards,
sideways, around corners. Your career and
your life will have starts and stops
and zigs and zags. Don't stress out about the white
space, the path you can't draw, because therein lies
both the surprises and the opportunities. As you open yourself
up to possibility, the most important thing
I can tell you today is to open yourself
up to honesty. To telling the
truth to each other, to being honest with
yourselves, and to being honest about the
world we live in. If you watch children
you will immediately notice how honest they are. My friend Betsy was pregnant and
her son, or their second child. Son Sam was five,
he wanted to know where the baby was in her body. So he asked Mommy, are the
baby's arms in your arms? And she said, no, no, Sam. Baby's in my tummy. Whole baby. Mom, are the baby's
legs in your legs? No Sam. Whole baby's in my tummy. Then mommy, what's
growing in your butt? [LAUGHTER] As adults, we are almost
never this honest, and that can be a
very good thing. When I was pregnant
with our first child I asked my husband Dave if
my butt was getting big. At first he didn't answer but
I pressed, so he said, yeah. A little. For years my sister-in-law
said about him what people will now say about
you for the rest of your life when you do something dumb:
and that guy went to Harvard. [LAUGHTER] Hearing the truth at
different times along the way would have helped me. I would not have
admitted it easily when I sat where you sit. But when I graduated I was much
more worried about my love life than my career. I thought I only had a
few years, very limited time, to find one of the good
guys before they were all taken or I got too old. So I moved to D.C.,
I met a good guy, and I got married at the
nearly decrepit age of 24. I married a wonderful
man, but I had no business making that kind of commitment. I didn't know who I was
or who I wanted to be. My marriage fell apart
within a year, something that was really embarrassing
and painful at the time. And it did not help that so many
friends came up to me and said, I never knew that. Never thought that
was going to work. Or, I knew you two weren't
right for each other. No one had managed to say
anything like that to me before I marched
down an aisle when it would have been
far more useful. And as I lived through those
painful months of separation and divorce, boy
did I wish they had. And boy, did I wish
I had asked them. At the same time in
my professional life, someone did speak up. My first boss out of
college was Lant Pritchett, an economist who
teaches at the Kennedy School who's here with us today. After I deferred law
school for the second time, Lant sat me down
and said, I don't think you should go
to law school at all. I don't think you want
to go to law school. I think you think you
should because you told your parents you
would many years ago. He noted that he
had never once heard me talk about the law
with any interest. I know how hard it can be to
be honest with each other. Even your closest
friends, even when they're about to make
serious mistakes. But I bet sitting
here today, you know your closest friends'
strengths, weaknesses, what cliff they might drive off. And I bet for the most
part you've never told them and they've never asked. Ask them. Ask them for the truth,
because it will help you. And when they answer
honestly, know that that's what makes
them real friends. Asking for feedback is
a really important habit to get into as you leave
the structure of the school calendar and exams
and grades behind. On many jobs, if you want
to know how you're doing, you're going to have
to ask, and then you're going to have to listen
without getting defensive. Take it from me. Listening to criticism
is never fun, but it's the only
way we can improve. A few years ago, Mark
Zuckerberg decided he wanted to learn Chinese. And in order to
practice, he started trying to have work meetings
with some of our Facebook colleagues who are
native speakers. Now you would think his very
limited language skills would keep these conversations
from being useful. One day he asked a
woman who was there how it was going, how
did she like Facebook? She answered with a long and
pretty complicated sentence. So he said, you
know, simpler please. She spoke again. Simpler please. This went back and
forth a couple of times, so she just blurted out of
frustration, my manager is bad. [LAUGHTER] That he understood. So often the truth is sacrificed
to conflict avoidance, or by the time we
speak the truth, we've used so many caveats and
preambles the message totally gets lost. So as you ask each other for
the truth and other people, can you elicit it in
simple and clear language? And when you speak
your truth, can you use simple and clear language? As hard as it is to be
honest with other people, it can be even more difficult
to be honest with ourselves. For years after I had children
I would say pretty often, I don't feel guilty working
even when no one asked. Someone might say, Sheryl,
how's your day today? And I would say, great. I don't feel guilty working. Or, do I need a sweater? Yes, it's
unpredictably freezing. And I don't feel guilty working. I was kind of like a
parrot with issues. Then one day on the treadmill
I was reading this article in the sociology journal about
how people don't start out lying to other people. They start out
lying to themselves. And the things we
repeat most frequently are often those lies. So as sweat was pouring down my
face I started wondering, well, what do I repeat
pretty frequently? And I realized, I
feel guilty working. I then did a lot of research
and I spent an entire year with my dear friend Nell
Scovell writing a book, talking about how I was
thinking and feeling. And I'm so grateful that so
many women around the world connected to it. My book, of course, was
called Fifty Shades of Grey. [LAUGHTER] I can see a lot of you
connected to it as well. [LAUGHTER] We have even more
work to do in being honest about the
world we live in. We don't always see the hard
truths, and once we see them, we don't always have the
courage to speak out. When my classmates
and I were in college we thought the fight for gender
equality was won, it was over. Sure, most of the leaders
in every industry were men, but we thought changing that
was just a matter of time. Lamont Library right over
there, one generation before us, didn't let women
through its doors. But by the time we sat in your
seats, everything was equal. Harvard and Radcliffe
was fully integrated. We didn't need feminism
because we were already equals. We were wrong. I was wrong. The world was not equal then,
and it is not equal now. I think nowadays we
don't just hide ourselves from the hard truths and shut
our eyes to the inequities, but we suffer from the
tyranny of low expectations. In the last election cycle
in the United States, women won 20% of
the Senate seats. And all the headlines
kept screaming out, women take over the Senate,
women take over the Senate. I felt like screaming back,
wait a minute everyone. 50% of the population
getting 20% of the seats? That's not a takeover. That's an embarrassment. Just a few months ago this year,
a very well respected and well known business executive
in Silicon Valley invited me to give a speech
to his club on social media. I'd been to this club a
few months before when I'd been invited for
a friend's birthday. It was a beautiful building. And I was wandering
around looking at it, looking for the women's room,
when a staff member informed me very firmly that the
ladies' room was over there, and I should be sure
not to go upstairs because women are never
allowed in this building. I didn't realize I was
in an all-male club until that minute. I spent the rest of
the night wondering what I was doing there,
wondering what everyone else was doing there, wondering
if any of my friends in San Francisco would invited me
to a party at a club that didn't allow blacks or
Jews or Asians or gays. Being invited to give a
business speech at this club hit me as even more
egregious, because you couldn't claim that
it was only social. Business wasn't done there. My first thought was, really? Really? A year after Lean
In, this dude thought it was a good idea to invite me
to give a speech to his literal all boys club. And he wasn't alone. There was an entire committee
of well-respected businessmen who joined him in issuing
this kind invitation. To paraphrase Groucho
Marx-- and don't worry, I won't try to do
the voice-- I don't want to speak at any club that
won't have me as a member. So I said no, and I did
it in a way I probably wouldn't have even
five years before. I wrote a long and
passionate email arguing that they should
change their policies. They thanked me for
my prompt response and wrote that perhaps things
will eventually change. Our expectations are too low. Eventually needs to
become immediately. [APPLAUSE] We need to see the truth
and speak the truth. We tolerate
discrimination and we pretend that
opportunity is equal. Yes, we elected an African
American president, but racism is pervasive still. Yes, there are women who run
Fortune 500 companies-- 5% to be precise-- but
our road there is still paved with words
like pushy and bossy, while our male peers are
leaders and results focused. African American women have to
prove that they're not angry. Latinas risk being
branded fiery hot heads. A group of Asian American
women and men at Facebook wore pins one day that said, I
may or may not be good at math. Yes, Harvard has
a woman president. And in two years
the United States may have a woman president. [CHEERS] But in order to get
there, Hillary Clinton is going to have to overcome
two very real obstacles, unknown and often ununderstood gender
bias, and even worse, a degree from Yale. [LAUGHTER] You can challenge stereotypes,
both subtle and obvious. At Facebook we have posters
around the wall to inspire us. Done is better than perfect,
fortune favors the bold, what would you do if
you weren't afraid? My new favorite:
nothing at Facebook is someone else's problem. I hope you feel that
way about the problems you see in the world
because they are not someone else's problem. Gender inequality harms
men along with women. Racism hurts whites
along with minorities. And the lack of equal
opportunity keeps all of us from fulfilling
our true potential. So as you graduate today, I want
to put some pressure on you. I want to put some
pressure on you to acknowledge the hard
truths, not shy away from them, and when you see
them to address them. The first time I
spoke out about what it was like to be a
woman in the workforce was less than five years ago. That means that for
18 years from where you sit to where I
stand, my silence implies that everything was OK. You can do better than I did. And I mean that so sincerely. At the same time I wanted to
take some pressure off you. Sitting here today
you don't have to know what career
you want or how to get the career
you might want. Leaning in does not
mean your path will be straight or smooth,
and most people who make great contributions
start way later than Mark Zuckerberg. Find a jungle gym you want to
play on and start climbing. Not only will you figure out
what you want to do eventually, but once you do,
you will crush it. Looking at you all here
today I am filled with hope. All of you were admitted to
a small school near Boston, either for your academic
potential, your personality, or both. You've had your
firsts, whether it's a winter coat, a love, or
a C. You've learned more about who you are and
who you want to be. And most importantly,
you've experienced the power of community. You know that while you are
extraordinary on your own, we are all stronger and
can be louder together. I know that you will
never forget Harvard, and Harvard will
never forget you. Especially during the
next fundraising drive. [LAUGHTER] Tomorrow you all become part
of a lifelong community which offers truly great opportunity,
and therefore comes with real obligation. You can make the world
fairer for everyone. Expect honesty from
yourself and each other. Demand and create truly equal
opportunity, not eventually, but now. And tomorrow, by
the way, you get something Mark Zuckerberg does
not have: a Harvard degree. Congratulations everyone. [APPLAUSE] Thank you so much Sheryl. That was wonderful. Hello everyone. My name is Alicia Johnson,
and I have the pleasure of serving as the house
representative of Quincy House. [CHEERS] My name is Sharon Carlson and
I am the house representative for Elliot. [CHEERS] Together we have the honor
of introducing the class ode. Each year, members of the
class have the opportunity to write two verses in
the tune of Fair Harvard and compete for the chance to
present their opus on Class Day. While there are more than
1,600 different class of 2014 experiences,
the class ode strives to find
our common strands and create a piece of work
that we can all relate to. From late nights at Lamont to
even later nights at the Quincy Grill, we have been through
a lot during our time here, and the class ode creates
an opportunity for us to celebrate our class and
experienced through song, allowing the class
of 2014 to live on, long outlasting our short
time within these ivy walls. Two verses maybe
not seem like a lot to express everything we
have felt during our time here, like the refreshing
and liberating feeling of the frigid
Cambridge air caressing our skin during your first
primal scream and the pain in your knees after getting
caught in your first pile up. The embarrassment you fell
after walking into Lowell House and naively asking, where
is the lecture hall? Or the moment you turned in
your thesis simultaneously turning [INAUDIBLE]. But this year's writers
of the class ode have done a remarkable
job at representing a piece of our college
lives in 124 words. We would like to introduce
the writers hailing from the Harvard
University band. [CHEERS] Thank you. Allyson Freedy, Sebastian Gomez,
Radhika Jain, Stephen Kent, James Looney, and
Georgia Abrantes Shelton to present the 2014 class ode. [APPLAUSE] Please rise now and join us in
performing the class ode sung to the tune of Fair Harvard. Lyrics can be found
printed in your program. [MUSIC] [SINGING] Come classmates and loved
ones, rejoice on this day. Take a breath now that
four years have passed. From bright crimson lanyards
to tassels and gowns to the futures with
which we've been tasked. First housing day nerves,
then storming the yard, taming Yale yet again and again. All nighters, plans changing,
fears hidden and shared, till we stood not
alone but as friends. Resolutely we plunged
into erudite toil, treasured instincts
of home we soon found. Then deadlines they seemed
not to matter at all, as we echoed the
strength of this town. Fair Harvard so dear,
we cherish with pride. Every offset and
triumph we've lived. Of science and art and
of courage we learned. Now we part to
create and to give. [APPLAUSE] Thank you very much for
writing our class ode. I am thankful to the
Harvard Glee Club because I actually
know that tune. [LAUGHTER] Hey! Hey! [LAUGHTER] Good afternoon, class
of 2014, faculty, administrators,
family and friends. My name is
Christopher Cleveland, and I am proud to serve as
your 2014 second marshal. [CHEERS] Despite the weather, today
has truly been amazing. I want to thank
each of our speakers today for sharing
their experiences. As I look upon the
yard, I can tell that Harvard has touched
each of us in a unique way. The inspiration of
convocation, the enormity of Harvard's 375th birthday,
the solidarity after the Boston Marathon bombing, and the
revelry of Senior Week have become the tears and
laughter of remembrance as we reflect on
what it has meant and means to be a part
of the class of 2014. I have come to see the
journey of a Harvard education as a transition from feeling
welcome in this place to that of belonging in this place. And there's a key
difference between the two. The realization
of this difference came to me as I sat with my
house master, Rakesh Khurana, and other students at
a recent breakfast. Rakesh looked at
each of us asked what sentiments
the word belonging raised within each of us. We settled on the
feeling of ownership. At Harvard, we are not guests. We are the owners of this
place, the education, the name, and the power. Our journey at
Harvard has challenged us to think not merely as
visitors to this place, but as cultivators
of a university that enables the students to
be successful, and encourages the success to touch the lives
of people around the world. The transition
has been exciting. Through our courses and
extracurriculars, friends and mentors, we
have been stretched to understand ourselves
as Harvard students. And the transition has
not always been easy. As our student speakers
today have shown us, we can all understand
those times during our education at
Harvard when we felt crippled, when we're sure we've peaked,
when we've experienced love, and when we're certain
we have failed. And yet, despite the
challenges of this transition, we can probably claim
today on Class Day, that each and every member
of 2014 belongs at Harvard, owns Harvard, and is Harvard. As we look toward the
festivities of commencement tomorrow, we are
encouraged to carry our sense of belonging
to the class of 2014 and to Harvard College
onward into the beginning and throughout our alumni lives. Harvard class of 2014, you
have accomplished something magnificent by graduating
from the college. I look forward to
seeing you all tomorrow as we are given our degrees,
and in the coming years as we use our degrees to do
amazing things for this world. Thank you, and congratulations. [APPLAUSE]
