Erin Andersons IYFD Graduation Speech
Spring 09
On behalf of the Intercultural Youth and Family Development Program I would like to thank you all for coming and bearing witness to the fact that after months of balancing coursework, finals, internships, professional projects, dissertations, full-time jobs, and somewhat of a social life, we have all finally reached this culminating, and for many, expensive day.
Three weeks ago, I received a call from a brilliant girlfriend of mine who is currently hiking the Appalachian Trail (she is always the friend that regardless of her whereabouts she somehow still manages to keep all of us informed about political and academic conversations taking place throughout the world). She referred me to a recent Op-Ed article in the New York Times written by Mark C. Taylor, the chairman of the religion department at Columbia. The article is entitled “End the University as We Know It.” Taylor states, “GRADUATE education is the Detroit of higher learning. Most graduate programs in American universities produce a product for which there is no market (candidates for teaching positions that do not exist) and develop skills for which there is diminishing demand (research in subfields within subfields and publications in journals read by no one other than a few like-minded colleagues), all at a rapidly rising cost (sometimes well over $100,000 in student loans).” He goes on to offer a six point list of strategies that academia can consider in order to change the infrastructure of our higher educational system. I mention this article not to discredit any of the work that we all have done, but to acknowledge that we are the individuals that will bring about this change and reform in our local and global communities.
In the past two years – and for some of you it has been close to four - we have cried because of social strife and red tape. We have worked with children, youth, and communities who have been endlessly oppressed and whose chance of recovery in their lifetime is often limited. We have witnessed and/or studied emotional and psychological trauma of local and global populations. We have engaged in battles-political and social agendas- where we have been misinformed and misrepresented. We have worked through endless hours of the night to finish a degree knowing that we may find ourselves in an economic, social, or occupational situation that Taylor references. And yet, we have continued to place our hearts on the line for the children, youth, and families we have worked with to make their voices heard. We have researched world issues, written grants, and contacted global and community based organizations in order to become more informed, to find a means to accomplish collective community goals, and to organize programs that promote sustainable social development. We have rallied, stood in line, and sent in absentee ballots to elect national officials who represent a voice of peace and social justice. And, we have invested whatever money we do or do not have in the local economy - in hopes that economic restructuring will happen soon. Our convictions combined with our upset have given us a sense of balance.
One of the most important ideas that I have retained from my IYFD Graduate School experience is also what Taylor presents in his article. Academia is needed because it pushes us to question, “The system” and in order to stand witness to change we need to maintain our resiliency, our open-mindedness, and, to quote Taylor, “create problem-focused programs that are constantly evolving.”
I feel that I am able to speak for my fellow cohort members who are here today, Joshua and Kendra, and those who could not be here Julia, Lynn, Lindsey, Becca, and Laura when I thank all of you: faculty, advisors, families and friends for your tireless dedication to our mental and emotional stability, our individual success and the continued mission to provide a comprehensive program invested in self-awareness and positive social change. So, congratulations to everyone.
I am, definitely, a cynic, but I am also an idealist, and I truly believe that our communities are enriched by our dedicated lifelong pursuit for equality, social justice, healthy families, and comprehensive education. I will end with Taylor’s signature parting note to his students. He states, “Do not do what I do; rather, take whatever I have to offer and do with it what I could never imagine doing and then come back and tell me about it.” So I encourage all of you to use what you know, be innovative, and take action.
