Remarks of OPM Director Katherine Archuleta

Miami Dade College Commencement

May 2, 2015

As prepared for delivery

Good afternoon! Thank you, Dr. Harrison. Dr. Padron, faculty and staff, and most importantly: Graduates of Miami Dade College North Campus and West Campus, Class of 2015, Congratulations!

You've done it! You have worked so hard to get to this day. You have overcome many obstacles. You have persevered. You have excelled!

All around this auditorium are the beaming faces of your mothers and fathers, abuelitas y abuelitos, hermanos y hermanas, aunts and uncles, and cousins. They have lived every day of this journey with you. Let's give them one more round of applause.

Years ago I was sitting in an audience like this. Like you, I commuted to college. Like most of you, I worked while I went to school. And, I suspect like many of you, for me going to college was not automatic.

I remember that in my senior year of high school I was so excited to meet with my guidance counselor to talk about where I might go to college and how I could apply. But instead of encouraging me to go to college, this counselor told me that I would make a good secretary.

That advice had nothing to do with my grades, which were good. It had everything to do with my last name. But I was lucky. There was an administrator in that school district who believed in me, who helped me apply to college, and who helped me get the financial aid I needed.

Each of us, I'm sure, has a story about how our path to college began.

Sometimes the beginnings of a journey can be rough, but the road will become smooth when you know where you are going, when you travel with the right people, and when you are committed to reaching your goal.

So now, before you walk across this stage, receive your diploma, and begin your celebrations, I would like to share three thoughts that I hope will help you remember this day.

First, be passionate about what you do.

You've already begun to think about what you're going to do next, about how you can use the knowledge and skills you learned here at Miami Dade -  either at your next college or at a job. I urge you to stop for a minute. Stop and think about what you love to do. Think about what lights you up inside, what makes other things fade into the background when you think about it.

Let those passions help guide your way.

I have. And it has never let me down. After graduating from Metro State with a bachelor's degree in education, I began my career teaching four- and five-year-olds in an elementary school in Denver. Since then, I have had many jobs – teacher, school administrator, chief of staff to mayors and to Cabinet secretaries, and now the human resources leader for the largest employer in the country.

And in each and every one of these positions, I have followed my deep commitment to strengthening the role of women and of people of color in public service. That passion has been my true north. It's the place I steer to no matter what I do. I urge you to find your truth north.

I know you've already started. It took passion and commitment for you – and your families – to overcome challenges and to do the hard work needed to begin your educational journey.

I want to tell you about someone here you may already know. He was born in Bangladesh, and came to the United States as a toddler. Like me, he's the first in his family to go to college. He managed a gas station so he could help his family and afford to attend Miami Dade. Today, he is graduating with a 4.0 in computer engineering. And, he has been accepted at Florida International University.

It took passion, perseverance, and a lot of help from his loved ones and friends for him to be sitting here today. Tamim Delwar, would you please stand up? Congratulations Tamim.

Tamim and I share a deep passion for our work and our families. For both of us, perseverance has led us to succeed and to a tremendous sense of accomplishment for what we have done so far.

Which leads me to my second piece of advice, and that is – don't be afraid to take risks.

Every job you take will have some risks. You may question whether you made the right choice - will this job get me to where I want to be. I urge you to find something at each step along your career path that you can learn from - that will test your strengths - that will open up your eyes to something you never imagined. Take a chance!

Let me tell you a little story about that. I was born and raised in Denver. I spent my first career there – as a teacher and community activist. When my mentor, Federico Pena, was nominated to be President Clinton's Secretary of Transportation, he asked me to leave my safe, comfortable surroundings and join him in leading a major Cabinet department.

Two things came to my mind about that ask. This sounds like a tremendous opportunity. But…did I want to leave my home, my family, and the friends I'd had known for most of my life to take a risk on a job that I had never done before and knew little about? I took a deep breath and said Yes! And for four years I learned, I led, and, sometimes I stumbled.

Let me say though that it was that decision, to leave my place of comfort – and that decision alone – to lean forward with fear pumping through my heart – that led me to the position that I have today.

So my message to you is this: Move away from what's comfortable. Embrace risk. Take that step into the unknown. You never know where it will lead.

Lizbeth Chavez and her family know what it's like to take a risk. Lizbeth came to Florida with her family from Cuba when she was 15. As a teenager, Lizbeth had to leave the only home she had ever known. She has met every challenge Miami Dade presented her with. And she succeeded. Lizbeth is graduating with a 4.0 in biology from the honors college and has been accepted into the University of Florida, where she will study to be a medical researcher.

Where are you Lizbeth? Please stand up. Congratulations!

My third piece of advice for you is: Know that character matters.

When First Lady Michelle Obama described her and the President's upbringing, this is what she said: "We learned about honesty and integrity, that the truth matters, that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules. And success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square."

My parents instilled those values in me, and I'll bet your loved ones did so in you.

Throughout my lifetime there have been individuals who have tried to make me feel less than who I am. Teachers who thought my skin color lessened my value as a student. Counselors who thought I was not worthy of educational success. Employers who thought me incapable of high performance because I am a woman.

Now, I could dwell on those, or I could celebrate the school administrator who saw my potential, the Denver leaders who recognized my commitment to public service and social justice, or the President who sought my skills and experience for his leadership team.  

Both are vivid in my mind. But the latter overcomes the former because it is those individuals whose character I wish to emulate. They are the ones I want to stand with. So I say to you: Choose carefully who is at your side. Be sure that the road you choose is traveled by those who have the values you want to make your own, because Character counts!

So as you take the next steps in your life's journey, I again urge you to follow your passions. Make sure you bring a sense of purpose to whatever you do. And know that your character will be shaped not just by what you do, but by whom you stand with and how you treat others.

Dream big. Push yourself.  And never let someone else steal your dream. I didn't know when I was sitting in front of that high school guidance counselor that someday I would be part of the President's leadership team. But I did know that I had more in me than what she believed.

If you are strong of character, committed to your own success, and have the will to face and overcome your own fears – you, too, will set out on a path that will lead to all you've dreamed.

In fact, I predict that with the foundation that has been laid for you – at home with your families and here at Miami Dade – that sitting here today you can't even imagine the heights you will reach, the contributions you will make, and the glorious future you will have.

Congratulations again. Miami Dade College. Class of 2015!

Thank you.