WILDCAT CROSSING

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thank you grioland good afternoon everyone we outside now
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good afternoon everyone come on now this is a celebration
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those who are graduating those who can stop paying for those are graduating
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okay cool in the gang all right okay there we go all right we want to welcome on behalf of the
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wildcat crossing committee we would like to welcome you to the sixth annual wildcat crossing ceremony
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i'd like to welcome the president of villanova university dr father peter donohue
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you know if i keep messing these things up kathy burns vice president of student
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life absolutely
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father kevin deprinzio vice president of mission and ministry
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dr dean dr adele lindemeyer dean college of liberal arts and sciences
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dr andrea welker associate dean college of engineering
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dr donna haven's dean college of
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nursing dr joyce russell dean school of business dean the school
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of business dr christine palace
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the dean of college of professional studies
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and professor hezekiah lewis associate assistant professor communications and villanova grad
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and we would also like to thank all of our faculty and staff who've chosen to be here today
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welcome to the parents guardians friends family of our graduates
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to honor we honor you and we welcome you here at villanova university give yourselves a hand
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my name is kevin covington i'm the assistant director of retention and outreach at the center
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for access success and achievement better known as casa and it is my true honor to be here
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today
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eight years has been four plus kovic four years you've got to add in for wikovic it's it's been
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this has been really really great today we honor our graduating seniors
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the class of 2022 who have chosen to be at the ceremony which celebrates
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diversity in the villanova community and recognizes the determination and resilience
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they've demonstrated to be graduating this weekend once again congratulations to the class
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of 2022.
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now i'd ask that reverend naomi washington lee park please come forward to offer our opening prayer
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good afternoon everyone i want to thank the committee for this extraordinary opportunity to say a word
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of prayer at the beginning of this important celebration
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there's a story in christian tradition that goes like this
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one day jesus was traveling on his way to jerusalem
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and he was walking along a a border road a road between two
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cities and the road was between samaria which was considered
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undesirable territory and galilee
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and as he was walking he encountered 10 people 10 people who were living under
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quarantine living in isolation
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this isolation was imposed by the society society didn't want to catch
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what these ten had they saw these ten as ugly as
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too much as not enough as weird as deficient
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those ten undesirable said to jesus will you show us a little mercy
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and jesus said well go on and present yourselves to the priests just
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show them who you are and the text says as they went
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they were made whole and when i think about you
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you are about to be sent out it's like we're telling you go
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show yourselves off go show the world who you are
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no matter if the world sees you as undesirable or too much
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or not enough that as you walk
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as you get closer to the place you are called to be
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you will be made whole in the going and so i want to say a prayer for you
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that you would be made whole as you go not instantaneously
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but as you walk each day you wake up you will be a little bit more whole than
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the day before you will be healed you go
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this is a prayer for your new beginning let us pray
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god we begin by saying thank you thank you for keeping these
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our best our brightest
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our most precious gifts thank you
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for accompanying them to this day it hasn't been easy
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there have been tears and late nights there's been loneliness and
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internalized shame there's been anxiety and deadlines and
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missed opportunities but there's also been joy
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there's been friendship there's been light
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and so we ask you to accompany them as they continue to go as we send them out
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keep them whole so that when they get to where they're
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going and they show themselves off they can say
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i've been touched by the one who makes everything whole
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awaken their spirits today god to adventure
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help them as they take risks help them find home in the new rhythms
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they will dance help them find the work and the life that their souls must
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as they go god give them their hearts desire
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help them find joy and peace and pleasure stay with them god
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so that they know that they've been touched by the one who makes all things
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in the name of goodness and mercy and justice in jesus name i pray amen
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thank you reverend lee bart now i ask for villanova university president
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father peter donahue to come forward to give his opening address our
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father please welcome
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good afternoon and welcome to everyone thank you for joining us today for
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villanova's wildcat crossing ceremony these past years we have faced many
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challenges just considered what you've encountered as you started this journey
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we've been challenged by national and international events pandemic
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global lockdown surveillance testing mass vaccinations
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canceled events and life postponed the premature death of millions
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the power of a vote cries for racial justice struggle and tension
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to dismantle systems gun violence against family friends neighbors and strangers
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our capitol building attack and justice obtained that was thought out
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war in ukraine millions of people displaced from their home most recently
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a leaked document from the supreme a political system that seems more
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reactive than proact people are still looking for lasting solutions
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that have yet to be found there is much work to be accomplished
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this ceremony is dedicated to recognizing diversity in all its forms amongst our villanova student body
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and to honor our graduates for their contributions to our community this weekend celebrations are referred
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to as a commencement because they mark a new beginning a time when you take what you have
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learned and experienced and commence with a new life and our graduates certainly have a great
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deal to look forward but as we look forward to our future we also remember our past
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at villanova we boast a 180 year history that began
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in the most modest of ways in 1842 eight augustinians and ten
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students established a place where first generation americans like some of you in this room
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would receive and educate an education rooted in the augustinian principles of
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unitas veritas and they saw a bright future
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for all who walk through these doors as do for as we do for each of you
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from a small group of 18 we have swelled to a vast and diverse community
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a community that is not always perfect but a community that strives to be the
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best version of ourselves to achieve this community members must
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have an understanding and respect of difference we must acknowledge and embrace the
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diverse experiences backgrounds cultures orientations of each member of this
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community for 180 years villanova has been a place that has empowered people and we will continue to advance this
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mission we must promote the importance of a diverse community of race gender culture
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geography orientation and economic backgrounds we need to engage community members in
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meaningful and difficult dialogues we need to listen to each other with our thoughtful hearts and open minds
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and we must challenge one another to think about the issues that are difficult messy and have no easy answers
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we have an opportunity to make a difference to ignite change by opening doors and inviting
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conversation i believe we have made significant strides in creating the environment that
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we want but we need to do more much more it is so important that fostering a
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diverse equitable and inclusive community is a formal part of our strategic plan rooted
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we are committed to creating a villanova community that better reflects the world's diversity in all forms socioeconomic
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racial ethnic geographic and much more we also want to ensure that all the
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members of our community develop grow thrive and feel a deep sense of connection
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our different genders races cultures faith orientation strengthen our community
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and i am extremely grateful to the students faculty and staff who have recognized this and created
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ways to further improve diversity and inclusivity throughout our campus
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we have and will continue to build ways to support it together we will continue to forge a
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path in which villanova can be a model for others we are one mind and one heart intent
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upon god and confirm that everyone in our community contributes
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value thank you for being a part of this journey and for making our villanova
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community stronger saint augustine taught us that only in community can we achieve our true
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potential community begins to build relationships with one another
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by engaging in dialogue by revealing our pain and fears by celebrating our accomplishments by
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embracing our differences by challenging our preconceptions about one another
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it's not easy to build a community a very possibly sorry
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together we must try it requires time energy
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and commitment most importantly it takes a willingly willingness to look
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honestly at ourselves and see the times when our actions fall short of our loftiest goals and our best
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i know you're likely i know some of you likely had difficult and isolating moments during your time villanova
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if this has been your experience please allow me to say i'm sorry
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behalf of myself everyone might have pushed you away or excluded
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you in some way or another please accept that apology i promise that we can
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i firmly believe that villanova will be a place that embraces and elevates all members of our
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to our graduates of the class of 2022 you have all left an indelible mark on
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this university some of you more than others i hope you will look fondly on your time
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at villanova and on all the people you have met and the experiences you have had along the
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way thank you for being a part of our community you will always live in the
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heart of villanova and 800 lancaster avenue will always be one of your homes
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congratulations to all of you
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thank you father peter thank you now i'd like to invite mr chuck davis
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academic advisor and athletics to come forward to introduce this year's alumni speaker
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good afternoon everyone my name is chuck davis pleasure to be here to celebrate the class of 2022
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on behalf of the office of academic support for student athletes we just like to wish you all congratulations
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and i would like to wish you the best of luck on your journeys as you move toward the next chapter in your lives
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our alumni speaker today is a writer director producer professor and beloved villanova
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he first came to villanova as undergraduate studying communication during this time he co-founded and
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served as artistic director for the villanova television station along with directing numerous documentaries and
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short narratives all while maintaining a scholarship on the football team
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he was offered a presidential fellowship to pursue a master's degree in theater
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before his journey of learning and growth took him to ucla where he earned a
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masters of fine arts from the school of theater film and television
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as a filmmaker with a vision to provoke social change through film he aims to expose personal
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stories and controversial topics that will spark healthy and vibrant conversations
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among his many contributions to the villanova community since returning to villanova is teaching and producing
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through social through the social justice documentary program this course allows this course allows
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students to create their own production companies a documentary film exploring topics such as post-traumatic
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slave syndrome and its effects on the education systems non-profit organizations fighting to
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develop sustainable communities and gender inequality and economic
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instability and communities both domestic and abroad the content and quality of these films
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are only surpassed by the way our speaker has inspired and challenges his students to go out and do the same with
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their lives we are so honored to welcome to the stage today professor hezekiah lewis iii
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thank you [Applause]
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who's that guy that's crazy i appreciate y'all i was like i was kind
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of scared i think i was i had to talk to the dean i said did i get demoted y'all kept calling me an assistant professor i'm like i'm an associate now baby
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i'm an associate now baby but uh now i want to thank you all i mean for
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me it's it's uh it's been an emotional year um it's been an emotional journey
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um and when people ask me like you know are you let me take this
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i mean so you're good those that i don't know i i cut off my beard i used to be look like grizzly
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adams but my wife is very happy about that look father thank you father um you know for me it's been an emotional
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journey so when people ask me to speak and and you know do i have remarks prepared i'm gonna warn y'all right now
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um i'm sorry i don't um i kind of speak what's on my mind uh so you got to put
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on the music to turn me off or hit those drums over there actually played he actually paid at my wedding which is amazing um
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you know for me it's it's it's something that i really need to speak from the heart needing to speak from the soul because
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i have a lot to say i have a lot on my mind i have a lot of my spirit but this is not about me this is about you
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beautiful folks that are sitting right in front of me because this is why i do what i do um and when i thought about some remarks
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that i wanted to talk about my daughter actually was part of the first i'm going to say wildcat crossing
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and when i was getting dressed there i believe i'm not taking off my shirt i'm just showing y'all a shirt that i had to wear today
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i really really wanted to think about something that really inspires me and
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that is my daughter um and for me this is a shirt dad
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this is my little girl and this is my father and for me this is one of the pivotal
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moments that i want to talk about today is that sense of
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and i'm gonna you know probably get a little emotional because i i have really haven't had an opportunity
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and my father didn't get the opportunity to see my daughter walk across that stage his granddaughter
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and my father was somebody that i never wanted to be
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and i don't say that in a negative way it's just he recognized and reconciled that he had
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an experience that he never had in his life and that was he wanted to write a book about raising his children because he never
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raised any of his kids and for me that that really struck a core in my my soul and that's something
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that i'd never wanted to say to my child i always wanted to be in my children's life because of my father
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i miss those moments of seeing him smile because he's proud of
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what i've done i missed those moments of him teaching me how to tie i had to go to youtube to learn that i miss those
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moments of having someone tell you how proud they are but that became my mother
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my mother was my father my mother was my mentor my mother was my michael jordan lebron james or whatever
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athlete that you aspired to be my mother was my foundation
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and she was the reason why i do what i do the reason why i'm here today
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but my father had a big part of that foundation as well and that was that spirit that fight
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to stand up against any injustices that come in your way so taking this opportunity to really
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think about those moments these moments these snapshots in your life
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and being aware that these are fleeting moments at times and you have to take every advantage of all these
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opportunities because life is not promised to you tomorrow
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my father is not here today he didn't get to see my grandchild he
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didn't get to see my two little boys and that's the thing that hurts me the most my boys would never know who their
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grandfather is they never got that opportunity one of my biggest dreams is to take my
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father to the continent to africa to ghana to see the slave castles
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to be part of that experience because i learned so much about social justice from him
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but those opportunities are gone but that spirit of him lives in me
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forever and that's the flow that i give to my kids and everyone that i get involved with because that passion to do
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more than just be content with my life right now is not for me
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my students hate me when they're in my classes but they're gonna love me
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after tomorrow i promise you when you guys graduate why because i'm teaching you guys what
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you and i'm telling you what you need to hear not what you want to hear i think we do enough patent people on
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the back saying nice try i think we're too nice but i feel like when you're taking
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courses with me i tell you you're going to learn more about life then you are going to learn about filmmaking
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you're going to learn how to be accountable and passionate about whatever you get involved with
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and i say that because the opportunities that you have at this university believe me i know it wasn't
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easy i know we have exhausted you all on panels and how you invest
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in your emotional investment in racism and dealing with all these issues and you feel like nothing's being done
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when i say cherish every moment when i say cherish every opportunity when i say
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cherish every single bit of that pain and suffering that you had because i'ma
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promise you now it's not gonna go unheard it's not gonna go without any action
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it's not going to go without any sense of understanding of why we had to have those panels
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why did we have to have these discussions about injustices when i was 10 years old
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i was playing nintendo in my room they called it we all know what they call it now nintendo in my room and a black a white van pulled up
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and i heard a knock at the door when i got up somebody kicked in our door
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and it was all these police officers with a gun pointed to my head at 10 years old and said get the f down
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that image still is in my head today and it really made me understand this is
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a situation that i don't want my family to be a part of my house was raided my father was a
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big-time drug dealer my uncle was taking ak-47s and cocaine out of our attic and i sat
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there and watched like i was watching the film i was watching a movie
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and when i looked at this i said this is my life this is my my this is truly my real life this is an area san bernardino
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california where it was raining the rank the number one place not to raise your child at one point
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and any moment if i'm wearing a certain color i could have been shot
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if i walked to a park and i went too far into that park i could have been killed
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i couldn't even go to the mall without police officers stopping me and asked me to sit down or
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checking my hands make sure that we weren't fighting it was survival
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football help me when i say villanova saved my life i promise you it saved my life
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i was the first person in my family to step foot on a college campus being first generation is a lot of
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pressure but it's pressure that is needed in order for us to break
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the cycle call that generation of curses we need to break that cycle everyone
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sitting here is breaking that cycle because i'm sure we all have stories
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we all have pain we all have suffering we all have something to share
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we're all not the same my black story is different from every other black person in here
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we're all not the same it's not a monolith but villanova gave me the opportunity to
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not only exceed but also gave me the opportunity to express and it wasn't easy
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when i ran for sga president here somebody called my phone and said aren't allowed to be president of villanova university
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i could have got up and walked away right then that pain still hurts me today
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that was my junior year as a professor
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i've been harassed i've been questioned
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that pain lingers today because i know i belong here but those that know me know that i would
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never ever allow anyone to tell me and define who i am i define that
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i belong you belong we belong no as long as i'm breathing as long as
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i'm here knock on wood i'm gonna make sure that all that pain you guys went through
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is not going to be muted or silenced i promise you that
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i love you all even the ones i don't know i love you all because you all deserve to be loved
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you all deserve to be appreciated you all deserve to be recognized
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one thing i love about this this process is i get to meet new people like you and
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my old friends who are sitting over here i met my wife here
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when i came to this university they told me yeah you're going to meet your wife i said coach you crazy i'm not going to be
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over what are you serious i met my wife here i proposed to my wife on the 50-yard
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line at villanova because i met her as she was running track and i was at football practice like look at that girl right
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there but then she pursued me she claims i pursued her but that's another story for
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another day but when i say villanova is my family and i
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say villanova is my heart i just want to take the moment to thank people like father peter
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dr terry nance mcgowan kate is not here but there's a crazy story about him i took his class one time and and one of
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our assignments we had to write three papers okay one paper i wrote was about the invention of the
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plow another one was about spike lee and my last paper was about the age of the enlightenment
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in our final we had to incorporate all those papers into one
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i was a freshman it blew my mind but i had to figure out a creative way to do that but that's the stimulation that i
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needed to really kick-start me into understanding the importance of this education
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and having folks like dr keda like
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dr nance like father peter even came in when dr lucky was one of my
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professors i took every black professor i can find even if they was in engineering or
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nursing i didn't care because i needed to have that sense of connection but that's what this
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university does for you what i want y'all to understand is
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it might not seem like something's happening it might not seem like work is being done but when i hear people say
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villanova ain't doing nothing for me i'm gonna let y'all know that hurts my heart because i'm in a trenches with
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y'all every single day and i am villanova i am part of this community
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and i'm asking you all to pledge as you leave us don't leave us because i need you
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i need you all to give back i need y'all to come back i need y'all to invest your time efforts money whatever
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to really engage so that students that are sitting in those chairs don't feel like their voices are being unheard
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i heard a student in the law school said she feel like she was invisible
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sorry whoever you are you're not because i'm here and i promise you that
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none of you will ever be invisible again so i'm gonna leave you with us a few
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words that i always leave my students and this is a little story i call it a little story that's not my job
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this is a little story about four people name everybody somebody anybody and
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nobody there was an important job that needed to be done
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and everybody was sure that somebody would do it anybody could have done it but nobody did it
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somebody got angry because angry about that because it was everybody's job
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everybody thought that anybody could do it but nobody realized that everybody wouldn't do it
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it ended up that everybody blamed somebody when nobody did what anybody could have done
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that's what i live my life by that's my mantra if it's meant to be it's up to me
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100 is possible 100 of the time and i live my life like my life and the life of other that
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really depends on it so take full accountability and
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responsibility on anything that you all do and know that you don't have to go
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through this process alone because if you didn't hear it when i said it before
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i love you i appreciate you please
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please never forget where you came from but be open to where you're going god bless you all
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thank you professor lewis give me another round of applause please
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many of you don't know but professor lewis is actually working on bad boys four and he's casting me and father peter in that role so
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you don't see father peter next semester you know we're out in location shooting it's called bad boys for villanova nights it's
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coming we'd like to i'd like to ask uh reverend
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liebhard and the villanova gospel choir to now
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please give us a musical selection please welcome
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[Music]
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you guys take class don't be shy
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[Music]
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[Music]
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oh [Music]
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oh
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[Music]
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crazy [Music]
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me [Music]
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[Music]
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[Music] [Applause]
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me [Music]
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[Applause]
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me
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[Music]
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hallelujah [Music]
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[Music]
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lord your word
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[Music]
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[Music] [Applause]
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glory
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[Applause]
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ah almost over
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[Music] [Applause]
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well all right let the church say amen amen and one more amen
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beautiful it was beautiful this time i would like to introduce our student speaker for the
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year i'd like to welcome this to the podium
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our student speaker and
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you all know the students journey is filled with ups and downs and challenges and triumphs
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but like all of you the students persevered to make their villanova story one of success and hope
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so please join me in welcoming this year's student speaker kashay garland
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[Applause]
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a little nervous i'm not gonna lie man my name is cashe garland i'm a senior
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obviously double major in english and criminology just to get my credentials out there because i got to do it i mean
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i mean i worked four years for it i got to hype myself up a little bit um real quick i want to say shout out to my
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mom out in the audience my mom my mom got me through everything she's
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the reason why i'm standing here today especially with the passing of my father over this summer he was the one that
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helped me through it all so i just want to do a round of applause for my mother please
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when i came to villanova i thought i could handle it growing up in bensalem bucks county
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pennsylvania i really i really never saw color or sexuality everyone was the same
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and treated the same as far as i knew the classes were mixed with some people of color and some white students there
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were people who were in the lgbtq community and none of these differences were a big deal
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i thought that villanova would be the same but everyone kept warning me not to go here because it's a catholic university
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and it's all white i was told i must hate myself for accepting this college i wanted to stay
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optimistic though i wanted to give it a try and after my aap program through
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casa i stopped believing everyone's opinion then my first month happened
48:31
microaggressions were everywhere from comments from other students to stairs to being the only person from an
48:37
underrepresented background in a classroom i remember seeing myself with tears running down my cheek i was on the phone
48:43
with my mom begging her to pick me up because i did not want to be on campus i could hear my voice saying mom i can't
48:50
do this mom the kids treat me differently during my first year of villanova i
48:56
struggled with finding my place i felt as a black lesbian student from middle to low income single mother
49:02
household and first generation i would never fit the villanova mold that other students did
49:08
i constantly felt other i didn't come from a fancy home or drive a fancy car i
49:13
couldn't go out every weekend and spend money i was relying on my summer job even a question of what you did what did
49:19
you do over the summer on the first day of classes immediately set me apart from my classmates because i didn't have a
49:24
summer backpack in the mountains or interning at a law firm i worked at burger king at the time and
49:30
not one person i met worked a regular job at all like literally none
49:36
i hated my first semester and i wanted to transfer so bad in my spring semester i wrote my frustrations in the
49:41
villanovan titled the land of the dream home of the nightmare with the intentions of not only showing
49:47
the villanova villanova community struggles i and other represented students face but also the intentions of
49:53
me leaving i told all my professors that they would not see me in the fall and if they did it would be my last semester
50:01
i was determined to leave and i have made my decision and so i had a conversation with my ancient professor dr betty pat
50:07
she told me this line if you leave nothing will change and
50:12
with that statement it might not seem that big of a deal but it stuck with me and it became my motto
50:18
i felt that no one was making the change i wanted to see and i felt other students needed i told myself and no one
50:24
else would do it than i will i will be the change for myself looking back that was a tough decision
50:30
to put on myself and a lot to take on at a young age with no guidance on how to do it but during
50:35
my sophomore year i said to myself be that change you always wanted to see and my life at villanova completely
50:41
changed i no longer had the attitude to just get my degree and leave i wanted to make an impact
50:46
my entire sophomore year focused on pushing for diversity equity inclusion everywhere i could i joined the student government
50:52
association and became director of diversity equity inclusion and transformed a department into what it is
50:57
currently but now a vice president of dni role in an unrepresented student caucus both to which i created
51:04
i became chair of vu pride and try to push for lgbtq resource center on campus
51:10
my junior year i became big on racial justice in the wake of george floyd's murder i promise you you cannot go along
51:16
without hearing my name being mentioned somewhere and that's not to be arrogant i worked on the black student demands
51:22
met with the board of trustees and honestly the list continues but i'm not going going to go into my work at
51:27
villanova for this is not about the praise but let's just say it was a lot more than anyone could think
51:33
a lot of it i did not get the credit i deserve especially in organizations i was a part of instead the credit was
51:38
given to the white students in the organization and they received the spotlight student government i'm looking at you
51:45
not to call it out i'm being honest i'm looking at you i won't forget
51:51
probably my sophomore year when an article was released and it said villanova student government women it
51:58
was all white women we had a black woman director she wasn't featured on that i won't forget that she deserved to be on
52:05
that cover as did i and a lot of other students of color but i digress but the reason i'm even giving a brief
52:11
mentioning of my work at villanova is because i had to put my life as a student second while making my life as a
52:16
black lesbian woman first a thing that other students had the privilege of never doing i took on this role for
52:22
change not because i wanted to because i felt i had to or else i would have been miserable here
52:27
most underrepresented students at villanova have to engage themselves in something that uplifts their identity but also it puts the work on those
52:34
students we do not have a normal villanova experience and i wish that i did i wish
52:39
that we all did i wish i could have relaxed and really just enjoyed my life as a college student without worrying about my race
52:45
constantly or my sexuality i wish i could have gone to frat parties and not have been scared i would have been kicked out because i was black oh wait
52:51
that happened or pretend that i could go to a frat house called plantation and shorten it
52:56
to taste because it has nothing to do with my ancestors or go to social events and not be afraid every time a song with the n-word came
53:02
on and i had to look around to see who said it oh i do that all the time in all seriousness though these are many
53:08
privileges that the students here don't even realize exist in my four years academically i thrived
53:14
socially i suffered and in part was not because of the students but the work i did my schedule was full of meetings and
53:20
discussions i had the weight of underrepresented students on my back for four years
53:25
imagine how exhausting that is but i did it without ever complaining because who else was going to do it
53:31
however the hardships i faced maybe the strong woman i am today and when i'm asked how did i have the confidence to
53:36
do all this my answer to that is this is my life i live this every single day and i never
53:43
was taught to be this way i had no choice but to do now as a graduating senior i look at the
53:49
back at the freshman who came from ben salem scared about this community she was being thrown into i wave her tears
53:54
away and i tell her that everything will be okay and these tears will become a symbol of strength i am proud of myself for staying and i'm
54:01
proud to be a villanova student because i made villanova what i needed to be so
54:06
for the students who look like me here today and can resonate with me be proud of yourself for how far you have come
54:12
and i mean the students who look like me although we may have had our harshest at villanova i know there were good times
54:18
that would stay with us we came together as a community and got each other through it we did it we made it and we
54:24
overcame things we did not think we could for my black students we had a crazy four years dealing with racial
54:30
justice issues and the fears of the election as some other students of color dealt with too i'm so proud of the work we did together
54:37
it was amazing to have worked with some of you because the work we did summer 2020 changed the trajectory of villanova
54:42
forever to everyone we're leaving villanova stronger than we came in and no one can
54:47
stop us from achieving anything we put our mind to we as underrepresented students truly
54:52
embodied the villanova motto of veritas unitas thank you
55:19
thank you cassie graduates you're about to receive the wildcat
55:25
crossing stole from the dean of rep or representative of your college which you will wear at
55:31
the commencement ceremony the stole is a symbol of a story of the story that brought you here
55:38
today and the diverse stories which have moved and shaped villanova
55:44
at this time i'd like to ask dr adele lindemayer to please come to the podium college of liberal arts and science dean
55:51
of the college of liberal arts and science
56:05
good afternoon everyone i i kind of want to thank
56:12
uh kevin covington noreen walker cameron
56:18
the other organizers of this beautiful ceremony for including me however please in the
56:24
future don't put me after professor lewis and cashe garland
56:31
and expect me to make remarks that will have any resonance whatsoever
56:38
so i'm looking at my carefully prepared remarks and wondering if there's anything salvageable here for
56:45
me to say to you you all other than my heartfelt congratulations
56:53
you are leaving the university a better place you are not invisible
57:00
professor lewis is an associate professor
57:06
and we will miss you very much we are really grateful that you came
57:11
here that you gave us your heart your soul your minds
57:17
your grit and you truly have contributed much to especially to us these past four years
57:24
which will constitute i know in that future history of villanova its own special chapter
57:30
so thank you all very much and let's get on with the show
57:39
graduates please remember to bring your cards with you bring the cards with you with your name on it
57:52
students in the college of liberal arts and sciences please stand
58:06
caitlyn nicole quijano
58:14
kevin alexander
58:20
krusty nicole juliana garcia
58:34
jared ryan gabriel
58:41
ivanitza leals galco
58:48
jai
58:55
victoria lynn hamilton
59:02
isabella victoria wu
59:11
asia keana gray edwards
59:18
morgan renee hill
59:25
anthony huerta aponko
59:34
destiny s humphrey
59:42
natalie chioma wanaku
59:51
jaden soraya aristeld
59:57
margaret elaine mangle
1:00:04
sophia raquel bottini colangelo
1:00:13
casey smith
1:00:19
brooke amber zigmond
1:00:25
danielle rose mortensen
1:00:32
peter joseph webb
1:00:38
david gao
1:00:51
natalia gabriela and tunas
1:00:58
kristen leanne may
1:01:04
emily rose sanchez
1:01:09
zara zimmer
1:01:16
julia nemma
1:01:22
janil samantha deans
1:01:28
alexander ho bin wang
1:01:34
daniel christian estrada
1:01:40
kaylee s giles
1:01:46
alexandria elizabeth johnson
1:01:53
jonathan
1:01:58
chris stella colleen mubunan kiko
1:02:06
camara danita staples
1:02:12
kevin bryan mopocita silezar [Music]
1:02:18
david gabada
1:02:24
ashley bernard cabrera
1:02:32
atira galana mead [Music]
1:02:39
edutube barry
1:02:45
mia michelle arrington
1:02:54
jacob andrew solomon
1:03:02
astrid medina
1:03:10
nathan reyes
1:03:17
ajani martin abbas [Applause]
1:03:24
valerie eliana rodriguez
1:03:31
janelle o'malayo judianne ellis
1:03:38
teresa
1:03:44
ivan lee [Music]
1:03:51
anjani kumar patel
1:03:58
m daniels
1:04:04
katie tran
1:04:10
shania farika piert
1:04:17
cashey garland [Applause]
1:04:31
once again for the class 2022 college of liberal arts and sciences
1:04:44
thank you dr linda meyer and dr lucky with the assist our associate dean of undergraduate programs please give her a
1:04:50
hand
1:04:58
now i'd ask that dr donna havens please come to the podium dr donna havens our dean of college of nursing
1:05:05
please welcome her to the stage
1:05:18
good afternoon esteemed fellow villanovans i feel privileged to be with you today
1:05:25
and to bring greetings and good wishes from the patrick college of nursing
1:05:31
to our nursing graduates i am proud to be your deed and to witness your joy as you transform
1:05:39
into the nurses that you always wanted to be and nurses that the world desperately
1:05:46
needs you have flourished in a rigorous curriculum and you have written your
1:05:51
history with an even larger historic context you have prevailed through a pandemic to
1:05:59
accomplish your goal the healthcare workforce is lucky to have you join them and i can't wait to
1:06:06
see your impact guard those in your care take care of yourselves also
1:06:12
and always speak up to share your insights with leaders better yet
1:06:18
you be the leaders driving care as only you can
1:06:24
and for those graduating from our other esteemed colleges at villanova
1:06:29
some of you will be our future colleagues in healthcare and in other important fields whether you're in
1:06:36
business communication the science is engineering or a host of others you too
1:06:41
may be part of the healthcare landscape working together and honoring multiple
1:06:47
perspectives is a big part of what this is about today and you have an important
1:06:52
important voice to use please use it and speak up
1:06:57
you will promote betterment in life thank you for choosing villanova and for
1:07:03
sharing these four years with all of us your presence has made villanova
1:07:08
an even better place to be you've been a gift and now it's time for
1:07:13
you to share that gift with the world we in the fitzpatrick college of nursing
1:07:18
celebrate you soon to be our newest alumni all of you we wish you
1:07:24
fulfillment and great success in your future will the students of the college of
1:07:30
nursing please stand and come forward
1:07:56
michelle samantha idrovo
1:08:03
daryl angela del mendoza
1:08:10
now julia s constant
1:08:18
micaiah danaya black
1:08:26
lucia magdalena grill
1:08:33
quinn gabrielle rose wilson
1:08:41
tony lynn s turner
1:08:48
ogochuku shelby oppala
1:09:02
antoinette cruz
1:09:09
dakota aquila reed
1:09:16
melissa lucia rodriguez [Applause]
1:09:24
kayla emily cavuli [Music]
1:09:31
nicole marie kane
1:09:42
thank you dr havens and thank you to our graduates and congratulations to
1:09:48
those in the college of nursing
1:09:57
i'd like to call dr joyce russell dean of villanova school of business please come to the podium
1:10:16
well i think we've all had to scrap our scripts um with the beautiful talks that were given
1:10:22
and i also would like to thank the organizers because every year this gets better and better and i'm so glad that
1:10:29
so many of you and your families are here it's fantastic
1:10:36
so i'm really honored to celebrate with you here today congratulations on this accomplishment
1:10:41
as i was thinking about my remarks for today i was drawn to a quote from saint augustine that could be the influence of
1:10:48
father kevin over there who is always helping out the villainous school business where he says keep on walking
1:10:54
keep on progressing do not delay on the road do not go back
1:11:00
do not deviate and we certainly heard that from our student speaker and from all of
1:11:06
you i mean you have all shown incredible strength resilience
1:11:13
and courage to walk down this road and we all have said and we all know
1:11:20
that the road has not been easy not just the pandemic if that wasn't enough
1:11:25
but you've had many other trials to deal with and you shared many of them with us
1:11:31
and you have worked with us as we've tried to make it a smoother road for future students and i know in
1:11:38
the school of business for future business students so you have just shown incredible and
1:11:44
impressive dedication and commitment that you have followed what saint
1:11:49
augustine said you have kept walking you have kept progressing
1:11:55
and in the villanova school business we talk about we are trying to build business leaders for a better world
1:12:01
and all of my vsp colleagues that are here and there are many that are here to support you
1:12:07
truly believe that you are really the ones that have helped
1:12:13
to help us really create a better world you have had such a positive impact with every
1:12:19
day that you have been here at csb and at villanova we are counting on you to continue that
1:12:26
in your journey forward i know that i certainly am and i know that myself and many of my colleagues
1:12:32
have tremendous faith in you you are those business leaders that have
1:12:38
really made a difference for us so class of 2022
1:12:43
congratulations on all of your accomplishments and we look forward to hearing about
1:12:49
your future successes and maybe coming back and being a professor someday please stay in contact with myself with
1:12:56
our team we will really miss you you have really made a difference
1:13:01
so thank you so students from the villanova school of
1:13:08
business if you could please stand and come forward
1:13:16
please remember to bring your cards
1:13:31
oladipo julia g girardini
1:13:42
best day bielen
1:13:49
[Music]
1:13:55
alicia marie langen
1:14:02
sophia jane villam
1:14:08
andrea angelic robles
1:14:14
esteva islam
1:14:20
tanaya gray
1:14:26
emily camille noni duperville
1:14:33
mia celeste bryant
1:14:42
franklin peeker v esquire [Music]
1:14:49
kevin jerome white
1:14:55
deanna amari beckwith
1:15:02
anthony wade newsome jr [Applause]
1:15:09
thiago miguel martens
1:15:15
austin j glass
1:15:23
gabriella sarmiento
1:15:30
gonzalo l felgarroso
1:15:37
colette marie turmat
1:15:43
maria zaneda espinoza
1:15:51
caitlyn tsai
1:15:57
arushi bhatia
1:16:04
jeff allen wong
1:16:10
dia sharma
1:16:15
caroline huang [Music]
1:16:21
stephen angelo guacachelka
1:16:27
andres sebastian padilla
1:16:33
matthew ryan parolo
1:16:49
thank you dr russell congratulations to the graduates of the villanova school of business
1:17:01
now i'd like to ask dr andrew welker associate dean for academic affairs in
1:17:06
the college of engineering please tell me
1:17:24
on behalf of dean marcolongo and the entire college of engineering i want to let you know how incredibly proud of you
1:17:30
we all are the past few years have brought incredible challenges on top of an
1:17:35
already challenging curriculum but you got through it it's a tremendous honor and a privilege
1:17:42
to share in that with you and i am just so grateful that i get to be here and be part of that journey for you
1:17:49
the other thing i want you to remember is that sometimes you change things just by being there so
1:17:54
go on and do great things but sometimes just not leaving the room makes a huge
1:18:00
difference and staying at the table can make a huge difference so thank you for allowing us to share in
1:18:06
your journey and congratulations
1:18:14
students of the college of engineering please stand and come forward to receive your stall and remember to bring your card with you
1:18:42
angelica tiffany c garcia
1:18:49
marion anne marzello
1:18:58
kim nguyen
1:19:04
joseph anthony madera
1:19:16
aaron riley hanlon
1:19:28
marco antonio vasquez
1:19:34
isaac oren paredes de leon [Music]
1:19:41
charles u
1:19:47
peter tran
1:19:52
herbaline a august
1:20:00
collins kwame owes [Applause]
1:20:08
abigail marie thompson
1:20:14
danielle torres
1:20:20
caesar augusto nunez rodriguez
1:20:27
joseph mendez
1:20:33
maya j brown
1:20:44
thank you dr welker and congratulations to the graduates of the college of engineering
1:20:55
and i'd like to ask dr christine k house dean of the college of professional
1:21:00
studies please come to this
1:21:12
thank you so much um first off on behalf of my fellow faculty and staff in the college of professional studies i just
1:21:19
want to say congratulations to each and every one of the graduates here today it's an honor to be with you and thank
1:21:24
you for the gift of each of you to our community to my college of professional studies
1:21:30
students you are last but certainly not least you are a small group but you are a mighty group
1:21:36
and each of you have a very unique beautiful story you are an inspiration for every single
1:21:43
one of us here today your passionate pursuit of lifelong learning
1:21:49
of dreams that were 5 10 15 20 years in the making
1:21:55
but you are here today we celebrate you we are inspired by you and we know that
1:22:01
this is just the beginning congratulations [Applause]
1:22:08
will our students from the college of professional studies please stand and come forward to receive your stole
1:22:40
madison de wispaler
1:22:48
robert mandato
1:23:07
rebecca vandal
1:23:12
giovanna and mitchell
1:23:24
robert walter brickhouse
1:23:38
thank you dr pals and to the graduates of the college of professional studies
1:24:02
let us take a moment to recognize the 2022
1:24:07
wildcat crossing graduate
1:24:49
we've got a little left to go so we got a little left to go right now we're going to have the reading of the pledge
1:24:54
so i'd ask dr terry nance vice president of diversity equity and inclusion and professor of communications and
1:25:00
graduating seniors
1:25:06
it's like introducing beyonce here i do i do indeed and we have two
1:25:13
graduating seniors who will be reading that pledge as well destiny humphrey
1:25:23
let me try to say this without crying and maria espinosa
1:25:32
as destiny and maria are making their way to the stand i know noreen's going crazy because this is not scripted
1:25:37
students may ask you to stand and look at somebody over here whether they're a parent whether they're a faculty person
1:25:44
where they're a staff person and give them a round of applause and say thank you
1:25:49
we would not have made this journey if it were not for you
1:25:57
thank you so much you may be you may be seated and the last thing i'll say that's not scripted
1:26:03
is you may hear people say to choose the path that's less traveled but i'm going to tell you that
1:26:09
wherever you go will be the path that others will follow because you are that
1:26:15
special congratulations
1:26:24
noreen i'm getting back to the script now we are gathered here this afternoon
1:26:31
to pledge ourselves to the future we ask you therefore as members of the villanova family to commit yourselves to
1:26:38
one another and to the world with the response i will
1:26:44
will you as villanovans seek integrity and truth in whatever work or service
1:26:49
you render in the days and years to come
1:26:55
community is the essence of villanova it is not passive my hope is that you discover that the
1:27:01
community is not something that you just find but rather something we create with the relationships that we reform every day
1:27:08
will you pledge yourselves to do the work of creating community by recognizing the humanity in all
1:27:14
individuals and committing yourself to a life marked by a willingness to work for fairness and justice
1:27:23
will you accept your responsibility of being informed engaged and involved in
1:27:29
important civic issues and working for the good of the communities in which you live
1:27:37
through your academic work at villanova you have experienced the challenge and
1:27:42
growth that comes from studying hard and learning new skills you also learned that there is always
1:27:49
more to learn will you pledge yourself to the hard work of lifelong learning will you
1:27:56
search for knowledge and truth through continued study and will you leave your zone of comfort to experience all that
1:28:03
the world has to offer villanova university is committed to the
1:28:10
faith development and spiritual growth of all its members will you pledge yourself to be open to the ongoing
1:28:17
development of your spiritual lives and will you participate in the search for meaning and fulfillment in your own life
1:28:24
and in the lives of those around you at villanova you have the opportunity to
1:28:32
participate in service oriented projects in programming that helps you learn firsthand the need to become personally
1:28:39
involved in the work of equity and authentic inclusion you are also witness to the pain of
1:28:45
poverty and the indignities of discrimination as you leave this campus will you pledge
1:28:51
yourself to participate in the search for equity and authentic inclusion where you will treat all persons with dignity
1:28:57
and respect saint thomas villanova is the patron
1:29:02
saint of the university he was one who served the poor and worked to establish a just society
1:29:09
villanova university seeks to follow in this tradition by asking you to use your
1:29:15
gifts in the service of others both on campus and in the larger community will you pledge yourselves to continue
1:29:22
this work as you leave villanova and in the years to come [Music]
1:29:28
you have agreed once again to be a central part of the legacy which we have come to know as villanova
1:29:34
may all of us be moved by your gifts and enriched by the identity which you have added and will add to the history of
1:29:40
this great university graduation is not only the ending it is
1:29:46
the beginning as we leave the safety and comfort of the villanova community let us promise
1:29:52
together please join us by repeating the promises after us
1:29:59
we promise to stay connected to one another
1:30:06
we promise to foster a sense of friendship beyond our years at villanova
1:30:16
it's a long one y'all all right we promise to participate actively in alumni activities for the
1:30:23
underrepresented and first generation villanovans
1:30:33
and first generation villanovans great effort
1:30:40
we promise to diversify our community through knowledge and through lived experiences
1:30:55
all right last one we promise to be inclusive and respectful to all people regardless of
1:31:00
origin
1:31:11
thank you
1:31:23
that wasn't that hard was it no response little response come on you just got through finals
1:31:33
all right just got a couple more things and then we'll do the housekeeping stuff
1:31:38
pictures and everything else class of 2022. so
1:31:46
i'm going to stick the script here so i don't go way way way off crying and what
1:31:54
today we celebrate all of you have successfully completed your respective degree requirement
1:31:59
today is a celebration of the diversity that this campus has to offer and that we all value
1:32:05
commitment a commencement ceremony marks the end of a process or program in which one has
1:32:11
started and seen to its conclusion or its end commencement marks the end of one
1:32:17
chapter and the beginning of another for each of you throughout the last week or more you may
1:32:22
have thought this is the last this is your last time here the end of long nights
1:32:28
and questionable food choices yeah pizza and red bull at 4 a.m
1:32:36
you'd only do that in your 20s tell me let me tell you but what i hope for each of you
1:32:43
is that this day marks another type of ending an end to self-doubt and questioning
1:32:48
whether you belong in spaces where there are a few of you if any people who look like you
1:32:55
an end to your being held back by fear but instead taking a chance on yourself
1:33:00
for following your dreams and into thinking that asking for help will make you feel less or unable i
1:33:08
sincerely hope that your time at villanova has taught you that you are enough that you belong in this and many other
1:33:15
spaces that you have value substance and that you're a person of high character ready to make an impact
1:33:22
on this world congratulations class of 2022
1:33:36
is something could i ask that the wildcat crossing committee please come
1:33:42
up and the student committee
1:33:53
so parents while we're waiting you can you know kind of get that iphone ready you know i know it takes a while for iphones to get ready android life you
1:33:59
know we could just go like that okay this is a happy celebration let's
1:34:06
not do this i can go to registrars and make sure you get two more classes you have to be added on
1:34:11
just this is a labor of love and it cannot just happen so the people before you
1:34:17
have worked tirelessly to make this day a success for you and they do it all for you can we please
1:34:22
give them a round of applause
1:34:44
and selfishly don't know stay right there selfishly i'd like to publicly thank the director of the center for access
1:34:51
success and achievement linda [Applause]
1:34:58
coleman the work that casa does in assisting students often is the difference between students choosing to
1:35:04
stay or leave the university casa is a special place for many students and i wanted to publicly thank
1:35:10
her for her leadership as well as the entire casa team
1:35:22
all right little housekeeping notes here we go
1:35:27
we're going to have a closing prayer and selection from what wait my director's always directing
1:35:34
oh did she rule well somewhere you know what wait a minute wait a minute we
1:35:41
miss davis give it up miss davis give it up miss davis
1:35:46
who's spearheaded like this
1:35:52
miss nicole davis associate director of casa
1:36:00
some of you may know it as miss davis and some of you may know is miss davis
1:36:07
no we thank you we thank you so very much what
1:36:18
all right so we're going to have a closing prayer then a selection from the gospel choir
1:36:24
and then our graduates are going to process out towards alumni hall and then return here
1:36:30
to the core arch you're going to take pictures with father peter the deans of your respective colleges
1:36:36
mom dad pookie shot shot and all them we just asked as they process out
1:36:43
family if you could just kind of stay in your area i'm not gonna say stay seated because this is your day too so i'm just say
1:36:50
stay in your area until they process out and it'll be ample opportunities to take pictures and then everyone is welcome to
1:36:55
the reception which is on the other side of this building on the riley ellipse right on that field there it's already
1:37:01
set up it's magnificent it is beautiful all right we're all in we're all in the
1:37:06
court everybody everyone so thank you val closing prayer
1:37:12
nice word griot land give it up a grill and please
1:37:18
they're going to process us out i know commencement i said is a
1:37:24
beginning with this young lady who's going to give us a call
1:37:38
oh
1:37:48
i've got two boys and i said god gave me daughters through my work
1:37:57
maria espinosa please closing prayer
1:38:25
as we enter the closing pair i just ask that you you bow your heads
1:38:32
gracious and loving god we give you thanks for having the graduates staff
1:38:38
faculty and families gathered here today may we always strive towards service
1:38:46
excellence and humility and all we do and continue to share our light with
1:38:51
others as we embark on this new chapter of our lives may we give thanks for all the blessings
1:38:59
that have filled our lives throughout these four years as well as the obstacles and challenges
1:39:05
that have made us ever more stronger may we find joy in our future endeavors
1:39:11
and wisdom in all our decisions may we use our talents and gifts to
1:39:16
serve others and take all that we have learned in our time at villanova to
1:39:21
empower each other and the new community that awaits us
1:39:26
as we prepare for our future careers may we work towards unitas veritas and
1:39:33
caritas unity truth and love always
1:39:39
thank you god for allowing villanova to be our beacon of light
1:39:45
and may we have the courage and inspiration to go forth and set the world on fire
1:39:52
from this day onward we pray in the name of jesus amen
1:41:02
this is
1:41:16
we belong together
1:41:23
[Music] why do you play with my heart or why do
1:41:29
you play with [Music]
1:41:36
forever [Music]
1:41:57
girl each time i try
1:42:02
pain in my head
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[Music]
1:42:14
[Music]
1:42:22
it's unnatural you belong to me
1:42:32
[Music]
1:42:55
you just don't realize you've never been there before it's only
1:43:04
your first time maybe i'll forgive you
1:43:13
maybe
1:43:29
[Music] this time i want you to love me much
1:43:35
more this time instead just come to my bed
1:43:48
[Music]
1:43:59
you belong to me i belong to you
1:44:07
[Applause] [Music]
1:44:17
you belong to me [Music]
1:44:38
don't let me go
1:44:44
[Music]
1:44:55
you belong to me i belong to you
1:45:06
[Music]
1:45:14
you belong to me [Music]
1:45:26
thank you everybody [Music]
1:45:35
[Music]
1:45:47
[Music]
1:45:53
[Music] you