Honorable Joanna McClinton, Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Rosemont College’s 2024 Commencement was held on Saturday, May 18. Speaker McClinton emphasized how the challenges students have faced have equipped them to overcome future obstacles. She discussed the college experience during COVID-19 and the valuable lessons learned from balancing part-time and full-time jobs while studying. Additionally, she highlighted the power of their voices and their potential as the future leaders and innovators of our communities.
Excerpts from Speaker McClinton's Commencement Address:
“Let me tell you, do not minimize all of your work experience. I waited tables back and forth going down Montgomery Avenue as a new driver. It was rough back and forth working at a restaurant on the Main Line as I was studying law. And let me tell you, no matter where you’ve worked up until this point, do not minimize your experience. Certainly, it was working at those restaurants when I was back and forth to law school that has given me the patience to interact with the public – first as a public defender and now as speaker of the house and wait until I go back Monday as a doctor. They’re not ready for that.”
“Your time, your skills, they cannot be minimized to this point. So all of our experiences help determine who we are and help us to go where we’re headed. And I would love to tell you that this is, of course, one of the highlights of your life and after today, everything will be easy breezy except that’s not true. There will still be this thing called life’s journey.”
“You will still have obstacles in your way, but you are armed with everything you need to succeed. Rosemont provided you not just academic lectures, not just 1159 deadlines, not just times when you had to get into the books and turn your work in, but you’ve had fellowship, you’ve had service, and it has built resilience. You can now package all of that up with your very own personal drive that got you here and all the academic growth and you’re ready to take on the world.”
“Regardless of what you set out to achieve, despite what obstacles you’ve had up to this point, you’re going to use your drive and your perspective to get down the path you have chosen. Every day will provide opportunities, every day will provide choices in which you can decide. And do not ever dismiss an opportunity. Just because you didn’t plan for it, it doesn’t mean you’re not prepared for those types of opportunities.”
“Every single obstacle we face doesn’t have to take us off the path. It can push us a little further. So, before I sit down, I encourage you to put all those challenges you’ve had in the forefront of your mind as you get ready to walk across this stage and know that those challenges, they’ve pushed you to your purpose. They’ve pushed you to your destiny. And the best news is that today you are just getting started. Congratulations graduates, God bless.”
Watch Coverage from Rosemont’s 2024 Commencement Ceremony:
