Duckworth Delivers Commencement Address to Harper College’s Class of 2022
[PALATINE, IL] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today delivered the commencement address to the Class of 2022 at William Rainer Harper Community College. For the College’s first in-person graduation ceremony since 2019, Duckworth reflected on the determination and hard work of today’s graduates and stressed the importance of service in all forms for graduates as they move through the next phase in their lives. Photos from today’s ceremony are available here.
Key quotes:
“Our country needs you. We need driven young Americans who want not just to do better for themselves but to be better for their communities. We need big-hearted, broad-minded folks like you who believe that success doesn’t just mean doing well, but doing good. Because American strength isn’t defined by the number of zeros in our defense budget. The true strength of America lies in our values and what we represent to the rest of the world.”
“Look, there will always be people who want to build walls between us. But the miracle of America is that when it looks like those worst instincts are set to prevail, we come together and demand better. We stand together—and we stand—for one another. So that’s the kind of greatness I’m asking of each of you today.”
“Please, don’t be afraid to be afraid. Don’t let that fear keep you from being willing to fall short. Because moving forward doesn’t mean never falling down. We aren’t successful in spite of our challenges. We’re successful because of our will to overcome them.”
Duckworth’s full remarks as prepared below:
Hello everyone! Good afternoon! I’m honored to be here today—and so happy to be here in person—to celebrate the accomplishments of the Harper College Class of 2022.
Let me start off by simply saying congratulations—it’s been a truly unprecedented couple of years and each of you here today should be proud.
Every graduation marks a hard-fought, hard-won step forward.
But looking out at you all today, I don’t just see the usual struggles that every student experiences before graduation day.
I don’t just see the essays written or the problem sets solved.
I don’t just see the number of lectures attended or the hours spent studying—or maybe falling asleep—in the library.
I see a kind of grit… a kind of grace… not given, but earned by doing it all in just about the most unpredictable times imaginable.
Earned by not just surviving, but persevering… succeeding… through two-plus years of a pandemic whose damage we still have yet to fully reckon with.
A pandemic that stole the lives of many of our loved ones… that isolated us from the communities that make us feel whole and seen.
Looking at you all today, I see strength. I see passion. And perhaps most importantly, I see compassion.
I’m honored to celebrate students like Joseph Fleury.
He, like me, fostered his love for both aircraft and America by joining the military.
But unlike me, he didn’t fly the helicopters—he was one of the heroes who made sure us pilots had birds that we could count on during the most dangerous missions.
Joe spent five years as a support equipment mechanic in the Marine Corps’ Aviation unit. Then, after hanging up his uniform, he spent the next half-decade searching for his next purpose… his next mission.
Eventually, his father suggested Joe look into apprenticeships.
Originally from Wood Dale, Joe did some research and found that a certain community college in nearby Palatine, not only had a stellar reputation he could get behind, but offered the kinds of apprenticeships he could get excited about.
So Joe applied and was accepted into Harper, then was offered an apprenticeship with Hearthside Food Solutions.
There, he uses both the tools he gained in the Marines and the lessons he’s learned more recently in Harper’s labs in his new role as a maintenance technician, supporting Hearthside’s mechanical and electrical systems… all the while getting his tuition paid for… and a salary to boot.
Today, he’s graduating both debt-free and employed.
And he’s leaving campus having found a new sense of purpose… having found the new path forward he had been searching for.
His goal is to move into management, with a focus on mentoring the next generation of Joes… the next crop of Veterans and apprentices looking for their next mission.
I’m also thrilled to celebrate graduates like Xiaoqi Xi.
Xi was born in Mongolia, eventually moved to China, then immigrated to the U.S. a little over a decade ago, where she and her then-husband welcomed a baby boy into their family in 2013.
But a few years later, after her home situation grew untenable, she found herself not only wanting, but needing to become financially independent for herself and her son.
So in 2020, she applied to Harper College.
Xi had never gone to school in this country. She hadn’t had a paying job in years. She had just been forced to uproot her life for the sake of her child’s well-being as well as her own.
But she was determined to continue her education and find a career that could both help provide security for her little boy and that could help others.
So, as she began her prerequisite courses, she discovered a love of medicine.
Yes, in the middle of a global pandemic, this newly single mother set out to pursue a career in healthcare… taking class after class, all the while juggling the demands of being a mom with those of being a student.
She even worked with Harper to get a Wi-Fi hotspot so she could look after her son and listen in on lectures at the same time.
Sometimes, the lectures would echo through the park where she’d taken her son to play—once, a professor’s lesson was even playing so loudly that a child nearby started shouting about his pancreas.
But Xi did it. And today, she’s graduating with a degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography, eager to spend her life helping save the lives of others.
Now, as we look back to celebrate what you accomplished during your time at Harper… and as we take in today… let me just say a few words about what lies ahead.
Our country needs you.
We need driven young Americans who want not just to do better for themselves but to be better for their communities.
We need big-hearted, broad-minded folks like you who believe that success doesn’t just mean doing well, but doing good.
Because American strength isn’t defined by the number of zeros in our defense budget.
The true strength of America lies in our values and what we represent to the rest of the world.
Because while this nation has its flaws, nowhere else in the world would my story have been possible. And I know the same is true for so many of you.
We are a country that allows children to dream… to strive… to become a U.S. Senator even if they didn’t speak English until they were eight years old and spent their childhood a few dollars away from homelessness.
Look, there will always be people who want to build walls between us.
But the miracle of America is that when it looks like those worst instincts are set to prevail, we come together and demand better. We stand together—and we stand—for one another.
So that’s the kind of greatness I’m asking of each of you today.
We need you to represent the best of Harper—taking the lessons you learned here and extending them far beyond the classrooms… working to make the world a little more fair… a little more just… by the time your kids or your grandkids take their first steps onto their own college campuses.?
Many of you mark one of the first in your family to go to college.
That includes 19-year-old Jonathan Lasso, who’s graduating today with an Associate in Engineering Science degree and a 4.0 GPA.
Jonathan is the son of two immigrants who’ve spent their lives working long, grueling hours to make ends meet, and to ensure their children wouldn’t need to work so hard to do the same.
He spent his childhood following his dad around as he repaired cars for a living.
From there, Jonathan’s passion for mechanics was born—and now, he plans to continue his engineering studies at the University of Illinois…
With the goal of one day being an automotive engineer…
And with the dream of lifting the burden of his education from his parents’ still-too-tall pile of bills.
So to each of you whose own story looks a little bit like Jonathan’s, please know that you’ve already made us so proud.
And while your diploma may be physically handed to you this afternoon, just know that it was never simply “given” to you.
This journey, your education, your diploma, your tomorrow—you earned all that.
Let me just close with this: Please, don’t be afraid to be afraid.
Just don’t let that fear keep you from being willing to fall short.
Because moving forward doesn’t mean never falling down.
Because we aren’t successful in spite of our challenges. We’re successful because of our will to overcome them.
Cheers to your successes.
Cheers to your grace in moments of victory and your perseverance in moments of doubt.
I’m so proud of your resilience and your brilliance… your passion and your compassion.
I’m so proud to call you Illinoisans—and now, to call you graduates of the Harper College Class of 2022!
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