Watch the senior speech by Jaime Alejandro Contreras '18

Hello everybody. I wanted to open up with a joke, but as you could guess, I am in no competition to do so.

Class of 2018, now that we have reached this long anticipated event, I know that you all are as excited as I am. After four years of juggling our academics, social life, and sleep whenever we could fit it in, we finally get to have our moment to reflect on the outstanding achievement we are about to recognize. Four years ago, we left our homes in search of experiences and memories that would last a lifetime. We travelled to this small college town in the middle of endless cornfields to expand our horizons and challenge ourselves as individuals. What was once a strange new community has become a second home where we grew into who we are today. In celebration of our accomplishment, I hope to leave you with some parting words for you to carry as you step off of this campus to change the world. While we all come from different backgrounds and stories, the diversity we have at Knox, our individual versions of the American Dream, and the people who came before and after you are just a few factors that have gotten each one of us to where we stand today—surrounded by our friends and family at the end of our undergraduate careers.

From the moment we arrived at Knox College, we were expected to meet as many new people of different backgrounds as we could. During our orientation, President Amott spoke to us of the importance of learning from one another. She told us that we were joining a community diverse in ethnicity, nationality, ideology, and experience. In that speech, she made one of the most profound remarks I have ever heard. "You learn the most from the people least like you." At Knox we are fortunate to learn alongside people from all walks of life. Before my time at Knox, I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to learn the perspectives of people from the Phillipines, Ghana, Pakistan, Taiwan, India, and many other countries. We are fortunate to have such a wide range of perspectives and ideas here at Knox. Through discussions in the classroom and the residence halls, we expanded our views on the world around us. We have had our beliefs challenged, our ignorances enlightened, and our egos checked at the door. Through our interactions with one another, we have developed a mutual respect for each other that is not commonplace in the world today. Fear and hatred are symptoms of ignorance, meaning if you do not understand something, you are more likely to be afraid of it. Do all that you can to continue this mutual understanding as you leave this place, and challenge those around you to follow suit. Embrace what makes us different, it simply means we have an endless amount of lessons and perspectives for one another.

As a second generation Mexican-American and a first generation college graduate, I feel as though I am living my own dream, while helping my parents and grandparents in fulfilling their American Dream. In the 1950s, both of my grandfathers came to the United States as a part of the Bracero program, which was a joint effort between the U.S and Mexican government to feed the United States due to a shortage of farm workers. They came to the United States in search of a better life for their posterity. Excruciatingly hard labor was the ticket into a country where anything was possible, and my grandparents paid that price so I could walk across this stage today. However, I know I am not the only one here today who has had the people before them sacrifice a great deal just so you could get this opportunity. In our own way, we have done the same here today. Countless hours of school work, fulfilling obligations, and persevering to the end has brought you to this chapter in your life. I understand that there may be some of you out there that feel like the American Dream may be dead, or inapplicable to you in some way or another. But we have all benefited from the education we have received here, and have gained the tools needed to open doors to a better life in one way or another. Maybe the American Dream exists, but not in the way we were taught. Perhaps the American Dream simply acts as a beacon of hope for everyone to continue to maximize their potential through their efforts and the help of the people around them. Understanding the purpose of hard work, overcoming obstacles, and adding to the fiber of society by pushing for change for future generations.

Each and every one of us stands on the shoulders of those who came before us, and they stand on the shoulders of those who came before them. The foundation that our families established provided us the opportunity to reach this great achievement. Look around at the people who are here to support you. Through their love and support, you have completed this monumental milestone. And for those of you that might not have had that support throughout your time here, I challenge you to think again. You are surrounded by faculty and staff who were determined to help you make it here today. The friendships you made here were enough to push you past your obstacles and make it to this stage today. The friends we made here who have gone before us served as motivation and guidance for us in our college years.

After you leave Knox with your diplomas in hand, I have no doubt that you all will go into the world and make it a better place. I only ask that when you get to where you want to be, that you turn around and help those following behind you. Our actions and choices will affect those that come after us. For some of us, that will include families, and for some of us that will include the individuals we inspire. Throughout our time here at Knox we have challenged ourselves to push for progress and positive changes in the world around us. Some of you have participated in political demonstrations, and your passions have pushed our leaders to change the way they handle their business. Knox students are frequently engaged within the Galesburg community; organizations such as Blessings in a Backpack, APO, Habitat for Humanity and many more help those around us and bring us closer together. You are building a better future for those who will follow. There is one poem that I heard my freshman year that inspired me to pursue a brighter future for those that follow. I hope you all can take away the message that has helped inspire me every time that I had convinced myself that I couldn't make it here today. It's called The Bridge Builder. 

The Bridge Builder
An old man going a lone highway
Came in the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm vast, both deep and wide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The swollen stream was as naught to him;
But he stopped when safe on the farther side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near,
"You are wasting your strength in labor here;
Your journey will end with the closing day,
You never again will pass this way.
You've crossed the chasm deep and wide
Why build you this bridge at eventide?"
The laborer lifted his old gray head,
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he
said, "There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm which has been naught to me
To that young man may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim.
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him."
- Miss Will Allen Dromgoole

I encourage you all to be proud of the accomplishments you have made during your time here at Knox College. I challenge you all to be bridge builders, so you can continue to pave the roads that those before you established for the people who will follow after you. Now that you have reached the end of our undergraduate career, whatever path you decide to take, I hope you will forever remember the footprints you will leave as you depart Knox. Reminisce on the memories you made here, and never forget the importance of diversity, the dreams we are pursuing to honor those who came before us, getting to graduation day, and moving forward to continue making an impact on the world.