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9/11tv Commencement Speeches Gov. Maura Healey Delivers Commencement Address at... CSPAN June 1, 2025 4:06am-4:29am EDT
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boundaries and keep moving full of optimism and do it without have you not for quite sure which one do i make the world a little better place, i'm in office right down the street and come see me and i'll give you a hundred different ways to help people out. my name is ned the one that prove this message and i think you all and the quality and diversity. [applause] [applause] topics. >> well good morning.
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and good morning and thank you so much president ali falco the staff and alums and honorary summary on to be here with you this morning, the guests, the parents and family and friends and we are are you out there. summa five not affect. >> and even you way way in the back, you all deserve honor for all that you have been through rest easy knowing that the job is now done except for helping these move out of force. most of all, the class of 2025, congratulations, congratulations. thank you for allowing me to share the stay with you. it is going to be here and it is an honor.
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i think that is a radcliffe woman so i want you to know that i'm really really proud to be mount holyoke and today. [applause] [applause] >> i guess that makes me a green as well. [applause] [applause] >> seriously, i am proud to be a governor of the state things home to the world first institution of truly higher education for women. in the world first right here. in the oldest of the seven siblings the oldest of five kids, i appreciate that pretty amount only, eric graduates have changed the world to activism and education, public policy, science, medicine, civil rights. and you are one of just two
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colleges were the first in the nation back in 2014 to officially welcome a gender diverse student body. [applause] [applause] >> in this year, and this year president holly mount holyoke when first to stand up without the cetacean to the central importance of diversity and higher education. [applause] [applause] >> make massachusetts proud. and graduates, this is a legacy that you are a part of a legacy of leadership, a legacy of courage, and imitate by this legacy. i had the honor of being able to meet the members from the class of 55 here earlier today in class of 50 here earlier today an incredible incredible legacy evolve make your own unique contributions to that legacy in all the ways that so beautifully
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described. from around the world, and across america, you brought your cultures together to form one community. amanda: science technology arts humanity, growing in wisdom as l as knowledge. and i appreciate you also serve your communities here on campus, is cities and towns of the connecticut river valley and o'clock across about. and you have learned the truth about the world. and importantly of truth about yourself. and you also learn something about read sylvia's, and know how you started the moment that we ran the pandemic and what it took to get here and what it took to get through with all of the disruptions and disorientation because.
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but you figured it out. that is something you can drop fun for the rest of your life. as a good thing because you facing other test cell interface another test because you graduate and time political upheaval in the time of deep uncertainty about the future. i want to talk about politics today. this is your day. nobody else's. i will say something. [laughter] [laughter] >> i will say something about the moment in history. 188 years. you all are steeped in history. i want to think about this moment in history because this is your moment, yours to confront in yours to change and
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is not an easy moment by any means. the values the people we hold dear are being attacked vilified. ... versus a system of hierarchy and domination. constitutional rights which are universal versus the privileges of power and economy of innovation and opportunity versus greed and inequality. a social vision that is rooted in freedom versus fear and and
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division of higher education as is the foundation of our leadership in the world, not a domestic enemy to be torn down. [applause] i know which vision i stand for, i know you do too. this is a moment that clarifies our values. it's also a moment that challenges us to think about how we protect, defend and advance those values. this may not be the moment he would have chosen for yourself. it may feel as if you are graduating in the worst timeline but the crisis of this moment, the challenge of this moment
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also offers a huge opportunity. it's an opportunity to make choices that truly matter not only to yourself that you will find out to the world. it's the gift of a purposeful life however you choose to build it. i don't mean to suggest that you should own and bear the weight of the world on your shoulders as you leave campus today but what i do want you to know is that in a time like this simply how you live makes a statement. who you are that makes a difference. you can be caring and compassionate to those who right now are afraid, are hungry or sad, sick or struggling in your
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communities wherever you go from here and i want you all to come back to massachusetts. but in your communities you can take the time to get to know people, to look others in the eye, to see the world through a lens that is not your own. you have the opportunity and community to be engaged to just show up and in doing so it makes a profound difference. appreciate that class. [applause] because you'll have worked incredibly hard and who have achieved so much, degree, recognition awards accomplishments that life is about the little things, the little things the daily engagements. i'm 54 years old.
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taken me a long time to learn some things that i'm learning every day but i will tell you that no matter where you are in life no matter how far along you feel you are and whatever trajectory you thought of for somebody else thought for you which is going to change countless times by the way, it's those daily acts of engagement every day that matter. in this world today where so many are feeling dislocated, a part, experiencing some alienation the more you can do to reach out and to engage in the smallest of ways with a smile, with a gesture, with a hello, trust me it will do amazing things. in your careers whether you were going on to teach, to heal to advocate to event to explore you
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can help people and move us all forward. whatever you do and wherever you go the qualities that got you to this day the strength you fortune this community will allow you to not only survive this timeline but to change it. history is giving you this moment and now you will change history. this is what you are prepared for at mt. holyoke not to be passive but deceased agency that you have, to recognize that you have agency and to use it. the truth is over the last 188 years we have face some challenging times. those who came before us didn't give up. that's why we are all able to be here today.
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they didn't give up. [applause] one of my favorite sings that i don't know who said it first is live isn't a marathon in life isn't a, it's a relay race, it's a relay race. you pass the baton and now we owe it to all who came before and all who come after us to run our best race. i think back to the days in the state in this country and i will never forget the longtime partners and families who are just struggling bravely to be heard, to be seen.
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it was informative to me as my career as a lawyer at the massachusetts attorney general's office and in that role and coming to know the braveness of those trailblazers i was able to lead a lawsuit against the federal government to end the so-called defense of marriage act. [applause] this is a law passed in 1990s to counter the movement for marriage equality and it denied couples even if they were married all the rights and protections under the federal law. it was a big deal but i will never forget the longtime couples and the families i met who have been denied the right to parent a child to visit their partner in the hospital to receive retirement benefits and so much more. i will never forget the feeling of collective joy in the power
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we shared when we paved the way for marriage equality to become the law of this country. [cheers and applause] i think about that today because to me that's the vision of the democracy we work for. the dignity and humanity of each person is respected. this is the kind of change that we can achieve. it's not new or radical but it's rooted in our nation's founding ideals which were forged right here in massachusetts. 250 years ago this spring some ordinary folks in our state stepped forward to defend their right to self-government and due process. they started the revolution they gave us our country and in every
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generation since massachusetts has sought to make those ideals a reality. we are home to the -- first public schools, public library, public parks. we hosted the first national women's rights convention in 1850. [cheers and applause] we were the first state to abolish and the all-black massachusetts 54 regiment marched south to help win the civil war. [cheers and applause] this memorial day weekend we remember and honor the sacrifices that they and members of our military have made throughout our history. more recently we were the first state to guarantee health care to all of our residents in the first state to declare that love is love. [cheers and applause] and yes we were the first state
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to elect a list in governor. [cheers and applause] [applause] we have not always been perfect if but we haven't iceman perfect. everything is a work in progress. we all are but we have the humility to listen in and to know that there's always more to learn. in times of choosing massachusetts has always understood the assignment that will not change. massachusetts will not be sideline and we will not back down and in his longest time governor we will stand up for our students neighbors workers communities. we will stand up for the rights guaranteed by the constitution. we will stand up for america
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where freedom is not just for the few but for all. in massachusetts we will stay true, we will stay true to who we are because who we are is why we succeed. we lead in education and innovation because we believe in our schools and our students. we are number one in health care, equality and coverage because we believe health care is a human right. [cheers and applause] we believe women and all people should make their own health care decisions, not their government. [cheers and applause] we believe our children deserve a healthy planet free from pollution. [applause] and we know that having people of, women, immigrants, the lgbtq community at the table is a strength and not a flaw.
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[cheers and applause] we will never back down from that. this college this community mt. holyoke has been a beacon of hope, a beacon of light, generation after generation. you have always been willing to go first. he stayed true to yourselves and your values rather than seeking the safety of a crowd. at this moment when courage is called for we look once again to you graduates to lead the way. so do not be daunted, be who you are because who you are and how you show up is where your agency begins. it's the first impact you make at the foundation of the legacy
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you will leave and further. i know that you have party begun to build it. you have made your family, your community, your professors so, so proud today. and i'm confident that everything that you have gathered and learned and learned together, you all are going to go out and do fabulous things. each in your own way on your own timeline but true to what this great college has always been about. thank you graduates and congratulations and may the spirit of this beautiful campus in this community always be in your hearts. [cheers and applause] [applause] honorary law
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