 |
CSUF
A few of the newly minted graduates of Cal State Fullerton. |
THIS TIME of year is full of graduations from high school and college. Thousands of graduate - bright eyed and bushy tailed -- eager to conquer the world.
Hundreds of AAPI college graduates held separate events in addition to those ceremonies for the rest of their class. Here's a small sampling of this year's grads and words of wisdom from commencement speakers from across the nation:
* * *
Actress Mindy Kaling's address to new graduates at her alma mater, Dartmouth College, where she gave timely advice for men and women, is perhaps the best known AAPI speaker. But there were other words of wisdom, as well:
“This one is just for guys: When you go on dates, act as if every woman you’re talking to is a reporter for an online publication that you are scared of,” she said as the crowd laughed. “One shouldn’t need the threat of public exposure and scorn to treat women well; but if that’s what it’s gonna take, fine. Date like everyone’s watching, because we are.”Kaling added that women need to fight back against this urge because “that’s just what certain people want us to do.”
“Hey girls, we need to do a better job of supporting each other,” Kaling said. “I know that I am guilty of it, too. We live in a world where it seems like there’s only room for one of us at the table. So when another woman shows up, we think, ‘Oh my god, she’s going to take the one woman spot! That was supposed to be mine!’”
“Wouldn’t it be better if we worked together to dismantle a system that makes us feel like there’s limited room for us?” she continued. “Because when women work together, we can accomplish anything. Even stealing the world’s most expensive diamond necklace from the Met Gala, like in ‘Ocean’s 8,’ a movie starring me, which opens in theaters June 8th. And to that end, women, don’t be ashamed to toot your own horn like I just did.”In conclusion, she said:
"Don't be scared if you don't do things in the right order. I didn't think I'd have a child before I got married, but it turned out that way and I wouldn't change a thing." She added, "If you have a checklist, good for you. Structured ambition can sometimes be motivating, but also be free. Let it go."
* * *
 |
SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE
Fitness expert Casey Ho speaks at Whittier College. |
#1. Love your parents. But know they’re not always right.
"As a child of strict Asian immigrant parents, I also grew up being falsely advertised that there were only 3 career options for me. For my Asian brothers and sisters out there, you know what I’m talking about, right?!
"And if you don’t, let me break it down for you.
"Us Asian kids only had the choice of becoming a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. That’s it. Any other option was a disgrace to the family.
"My dad decided he wanted a doctor in the family, so that was my fate. The problem was, I didn’t want to have anything to do with being a doctor. I had been sketching gowns ever since I was 6 – sewing clothes for my Barbies and then designing my friends’ prom dresses. But when I told my dad that I wanted to be a fashion designer, he glared at me and said:
“'No. You will do no such thing.'”
“Why?” I asked.
“If you become a fashion designer, you will be poor. You will be unsuccessful. So…you know what that means, right?”
“What?”
“It means you will have NO FRIENDS!”
Looking back, I think it was the “no friends” part that really got to me. So I dutifully accepted my fate, tucked my dream away, and went off to major in Biology and minor in Business.
But it wouldn’t be long before I realized how painful it was to be living out someone else’s dream while sacrificing my own.#2. Take responsibility for your own destiny.
For the next couple years, I was really unhappy at school. I clearly saw that I was putting in all my time and energy into a career I did not want to have anything to do with! I felt trapped in between familial obligations and my own happiness.
I called my parents hundreds of times, trying to explain to them how much I wanted to switch majors and pursue design. But each phone call ended in a screaming match – a war of them threatening I’d fail and me yelling that I wouldn’t. The calls always ended with me crying uncontrollably into my pillow every night. My spirit was breaking. I was so miserable.For the other four pointers, go to her website.
* * *
 |
FACEBOOK
Some of the AAPI raduates of University of San Francisco. |
* * *
Tsai-chu Yeh, the first Taiwanese student to step on the podium of Univeristy of California, Berkeley College of Engineering, gave a commencement speech that hit a new record of views for UC Berkeley's graduation ceremony videos.
 |
YANG MING UNIVERSITY
Tsai-Chu Yeh made history as the first Taiwanese student to give a commencement address at UC Berkeley. |
The world outside of Berkeley may be filled with people ready to tell you to be realistic. But the truth is, no one really knows what is possible until they actually try. As the great German philosopher Nietzsche noted, “He whose life has a why can bear almost any how.” It is all about our willingness to put one foot in front of the other, to brighten the lives of those around us. Scientist or artist, doctor or engineer, whatever your background may be, the same holds true for each of us: Life takes on the meaning that you give it. ...
This year we celebrate Cal’s 150th birthday, and are reminded of all the life-changing discoveries and miracles that have happened here. Here at Cal, we do not merely strive to meet the gold standard. Together, we create the new golden (bear) standard, which is not only to be a bright light for others to strive toward; but to make others around us shine brighter as well. Here at Cal, history has been made, and we’ve been given the power to shape the future, but there’s no way we could’ve gotten this far, or will achieve what’s to come, without all of you, who have been there for us since day one, and are still with us here today.
* * *
 |
| On May 25, 2018, the Asian American Studies Program and the Asian & Asian American Center (A3C) honored student community leaders and the 25th graduating class of Asian American Studies minors. |
* * *
Comedic actor Rainn Wilson capped off his commencement address to the graduates of exclusive, predominantly white, New Trier High School in Chicago with a quote from 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, from which Wilson draws his inspiration to serve humanity:
"Be ye loving fathers to the orphan, and a refuge to the helpless, and a treasury for the poor, and a cure for the ailing. Be ye the helpers of every victim of oppression, the patrons of the disadvantaged. Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of the human race. Do some good to every person whose path you cross, and be of some benefit to him ... for love is light, no matter in what abode it dwelleth; and hate is darkness, no matter where it may make its nest."
* * *
 |
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
The 2018 Asian American graduates of the University of Utah. |
No comments:
Post a Comment