The Road Ahead
"The road ahead was not always so clear, but one thing was clear to us all: we are better with an education than without it." – Xinyan Jiang '24
Editor's Note: Liberal arts major Xinyan Jiang '24 delivered the following remarks as a student orator at Commencement on Saturday, June 1.
'Welcome to the graduating class of 2024!
This is an exciting time for students, family members, faculty, and everyone else who is here to celebrate our great success and what we have worked hard for in getting our degrees.
We've strived and pushed forward despite challenges, difficulties, and hardships.
The road ahead was not always so clear, but one thing was clear to us all: we are better with an education than without it. The new ideas we were exposed to made us think differently about ourselves and the world. Our lives will move forward after graduation, but no matter what road we are on, we will continue on the path of self-discovery, learning, and growth.
Here at HCC, we come from diverse backgrounds. Many of us are first in our families to attend college, many of us come from low-income households, and others of us are returning to school after time away.
But regardless of our different starting points, we all share one common experience, and that is, we did not have a clue of what to expect when we first arrived here.
How many of you knew which buildings were which, or knew the shortcuts to getting around places?
I've been here for two years, and I still haven't figured out how to move from one building to the next without getting wet!
The most important thing is that we're all in the same place now at HCC, and we will use our education to do great things moving forward.
Some of us will use our education for self-fulfillment, some of us will take our two-year degree to a better job, and some of us will transfer to a four-year college and continue a formal education. But we're all still learning and growing, aren't we?
My journey to HCC, and now to Amherst College, was a unique one. I grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When I graduated from high school and people asked me what my next steps were, I said I wanted to go to Amherst College but was afraid of being far away from family and how I would manage to pay my bills.
A year later, I discovered that my uncle owned a restaurant across from Amherst College. And there I was, 17 years old, working at a restaurant right across from Amherst College, while I dreamed about someday being a part of that community.
But a dream stays a dream until it is acted upon. I cleaned tables and served customers for AN ENTIRE YEAR before I felt the urgency to apply to schools. When I was desperate for an education, I applied to UMass Amherst, but I was rejected due to a hastily prepared application.
This was a blow to my already fragile confidence. Day after day, working as a server/ cashier/ janitor, I felt my life stagnating. The monotony and lack of growth in these roles prevented me from seeing my potential as a person in the world capable of creating change.
Yet, I did not give up. I continued to pursue what I believed was bigger than myself. I thought about the sacrifices that came before me – my parents – who arrived in the United States with nothing more than a handful of bills in their pockets and a relentless drive to provide a comfortable life for us.
Inspired by their courage, I realized that a single rejection could not deter my path.
A few months later, I discovered HCC through a friend who had previously attended the college. I researched HCC on my own time and found that it was two and a half hours of commuting by bus! I needed to transfer between three different buses with long waiting times in between. But my longing for higher education and thirst for knowledge made me unstoppable.
For almost an entire year before I got my driver's license, I woke up before dawn to catch the first bus. From these experiences, I learned that sometimes what you've experienced might not be pleasant at the time, but when you look back many years later, you will have realized that every step you've taken was meaningful in shaping who you become today.
I would like to thank HCC for offering programs that have significantly benefited my education: the TRIO program, the SAMP program, Pathways, and the CAPS center. I would like to thank HCC for making these resources free and accessible on campus, and I know that you too have used these resources.
With their help and your hard work, we celebrate success here today. And because nobody does it alone, I would like to thank the professors who have inspired me and made a difference in my two years here.
Specifically, I'd like to thank Professor Dailey for believing in my dreams and my ability to achieve them. During my first semester at HCC, Dailey shared a powerful message with us: "People can never take your education away from you."
Those words shook me to my core, making me realize that the knowledge and skills I was acquiring here were assets that could not be diminished or stripped away by external circumstances.
Since then, I have decided to pursue this dream relentlessly.
Today, I am proud to stand here at the graduation ceremony with all of you and celebrate getting our associate degrees.
Thank you. "
PHOTOS: Xinyan Jiang '24 speaks at Commencement.
