Somewhere between working as a cleaning lady, raising two daughters and becoming a grandmother, Gloria Cecilia Velasco earned two degrees at York College – and gave the valedictorian address to boot.
Velasco, along with more than 800 graduates, felt the warmth of their families, friends, college professors, administrators, and elected officials – including keynote speaker Governor David Paterson, Senator Charles Schumer, Congressmember Anthony Weiner, Borough President Helen Marshall and Councilmember Leroy Comrie – all gathered, despite the rain and clouds, to celebrate the 39th York College commencement ceremony on Friday, May 29.
“Don’t forget where you came from, don’t forget the family that stood up for you and don’t forget the classmates who hooked you up when you weren’t prepared,” said Governor Paterson, to cheers and applause.
The gloomy economy didn’t keep the elected official from striking a sunny tone with graduates about to enter a bad job market.
“It may be hard but try to find a job you really love,” said Schumer, who added that a $2,500 tuition tax deduction available starting in the 2010 tax year could help ease the financial burden for families whose income fell below $200,000. Both the graduates and their parents cheered at the comment for the senator.
During the ceremony, honorary degrees were given to MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx and the rooftop garden program, and Irving Burgie, the composer of the song “Day-O,” popularized by Harry Belafonte. For his acceptance speech, Burgie led the crowd in singing the timeless classic.
But, it was York College’s star this year, Gloria Cecilia Velasco, the first occupational therapy major to be named valedictorian, who stole the show.
Velasco, a mother of two daughters and also a grandmother, not only graduated from a dual degree program – Velasco received both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science this year – but she achieved a 3.97 grade point average to confer her the honor of graduating summa cum laude.
Born in Colombia, at age 12 Velasco moved with her family to Australia where she remained for 20 years. After she married and had her children, she decided to let the sea wind take her and her family around the world, and in 1994 they arrived in New York City. Fifteen years later, she stood before 832 of her peers underneath a white tent in the Jamaica campus.
In her speech to her classmates, Velasco, who shared a list of odd jobs she had held as a student that included a stint as a cleaning lady, spoke about the difficult path towards graduation, and the moments she felt she “bit off much more than she could chew.” However, Velasco said that she persevered because “I am a York student and we York students don’t give up so easily.”
Finding that her time at York taught her not just about her chosen career as an occupational therapist, but also about the lives of the countless other determined and driven York students, Velasco said that despite her accomplishments, “I am very typical and not exceptional at all.”
“We all have exceptional stories to tell from far away lands,” she said about the diverse and mostly immigrant student population. “That’s what York College does. It makes the miraculous routine.” – Additional reporting by Tracey Melendez
