By Philip Newman
After the shouts of exultation subsided, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet urged graduates of LaGuardia Community College to remember their roots and improve humanity.
“Like LaGuardia students, Dr. Bachelet has overcome astonishing odds to get an education, always pushing boundaries and refusing to give up on her goals,” said LaGuardia President Gale Mellow as she presented Bachelet with the school’s President’s Medal for advancement of the cause of higher education.
“Your LaGuardia education has given you a unique perspective and experience grounded in the struggle of your daily lives,” Bachelet told the graduates at the school’s 39th commencement at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall Friday. A total of 2,197 students graduated, although just under half were present in cap and gown.
“Always remember where you came from, be a global citizen and work to improve humanity,” Bachelet told graduates.
Despite imprisonment, torture, exile and the death of her father from torture at the hands of the dictatorship of Augustin Pinochet, Bachelet became a physician specializing in pediatrics and public health. She eventually returned to Chile to serve as minister of health, minister of defense and the nation’s first female president in 2006.
Under her administration, LaGuardia and the Universidad Central worked together to establish the Community College de Santiago.
Long an unofficial rite of LaGuardia commencements, exuberance from graduates and families alike appeared to have been diminished a bit, perhaps by the new location of the commencement. The families of the graduates were seated far back from the stage at Avery Fisher Hall — which has less seating than the former Felt Forum, now the Theater at Madison Square Garden, where many commencements for the Long Island City college have been held.
Peter Katopes, vice president for academic affairs, appealed to the graduates to limit their words as they reached a microphone on stage to receive their scholastic degrees. Nevertheless, many of them could not resist a “Thank you, Mom and Dad” or just a shriek of joy with a fist in the air.
Ever diverse in many respects, the class of 2011 is 62 percent female and 38 percent male. In terms of age, 42 percent are in the 18-24 age bracket, but the remainder range up to 44.
Lillian Zepeda, a member of the class of 2011, was born in El Salvador, became pregnant at age 13 and married at 14. As a mother and homemaker first and a part-time employee, she said she realized she needed more and came to LaGuardia in 2009.
“It gave me the confidence to do a good job even when I felt apprehensive about an assignment.” She plans to attend NYU Steinhardt to study media.
Ethnically, the class is 33 percent Hispanic, 23 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 14 percent black and 12 percent white.
Another graduate, Andrew Greene, has taken charge of his own life after serving eight years in prison. Involvement in a turf war landed him behind bars with a pregnant wife. In prison, he joined a sign language class and began considering college.
Less than a week after his release, Greene enrolled in LaGuardia’s Deaf Studies program. After receiving several awards in 2010 for mentoring at-risk students, he was awarded second prize in the “How LaGuardia Has Changed My Life” essay contest.
He is transferring to NYU Steinhardt to study applied psychology.
Among the speakers at the commencement, Alejandro Madi was the student representative of his class. Madi, a graduate of Long Island City High School, was born in Venezuela and came to New York with his mother and sister when he was 11.
“LaGuardia has created a personal and professional community around us that has helped us dare to do more,” he told his classmates.
A founder of the Political Arena Club at LaGuardia, he will transfer to Baruch College to prepare for what he hopes one day will be a career in foreign affairs diplomacy.
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at timesledgernews@cnglocal.com or phone at 718-260-4536.
