Eberechukwu Ojinnaka

Good morning faculty, staff, students, family, friends, but most importantly, the distinguished fall Class of 2023. It is with immense pride, honor and gratitude that I stand before you today, on the threshold of a new journey, with a parting message to share. Today, we will relish our triumphs won in resilience, memorialize fond stories that will hopefully never stop being told and kiss the cheeks of our mothers and fathers in celebration and embrace.

But as we look ahead toward our future with yearning and hope, I also want to honor those in the room who might not share the anticipated sentiment of accomplishment that has gathered us here today. To those of you who may have this uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach, a feeling that’s often hidden in the shadows of success, and a feeling that for me, is at an all-time high, today, I want us to challenge those invisible adversaries.

I implore you to ask yourself, how do you box with shadows?

How do you box with shadows as the child of immigrant parents in a community where the pursuit of purpose, meaning, and fulfillment is scarce, where the pursuit of the arts isn’t just a career choice? It’s a legacy of courage, dedication and the audacity to dream beyond borders and barriers.

How do you box with shadows as a student at the end of your five-and-a-half-year academic journey, where friends came and left, each departure a piece stripped away from the foundation that kept you grounded?

How do you box with shadows as an individual on a campus rich with culture, yet with spaces that still feel isolating? Where diversity dialogues cannot undo legislative changes that deny reproductive care and remove administrative offices on a campus that champions diversity, equity and inclusion.

How do you box with shadows as a survivor of a global pandemic that took the lives of our beloved, disrupted the culture of communication and social interaction, and forced us into uncharted territories where getting your education required a significant investment of effort and dedication that surpassed the ordinary academic requirements?

How do you box with shadows where our freedom of expression is censored, and the very essence of our educational experience stands compromised when the voices and narratives advocating for social justice are silenced?

How do you box with shadows in a climate of political unrest where students are witnessing unprecedented violence against the lives of people overseas?

How do you box with shadows?

For a long time, I didn’t have an answer to that question. I found it impossible to fathom the mere prospect of success in my lowest moments. During the summer of my freshman year, while I was in an Uber ride to my double shift as a waitress at Cracker Barrel, I received news that my godbrother whom I had grown up with passed away. After a summer of confusion, sorrow and rage, when classes started again, I spent the first week of my sophomore year in New Jersey at a funeral. At his wake keeping, I was honored to speak before a sizable crowd much like I am doing today, to celebrate his life. Less than a year later, one of my only remaining friends from high school took her own life. I was unable to attend her funeral because her family wanted a private service. I faced two losses within one year of each other. Wounded by grief, I slipped into the shadows. I started skipping class, I allowed my grades to suffer, I isolated myself from friends and family, and I stopped doing the things that I loved.

But I’ll have you know that in the darkness of those shadows, amidst the battles fought in silence, you might find that strength was bred from your vulnerability. In the darkness of those shadows, where grief was an uninvited guest and anxiety was a constant companion, you might find your community with open arms, radiating a warmth that leads you to the light. In the darkness of those shadows, there exists an extraordinary revelation that propelled me — us, to this very moment — the recognition that adversity, though often excruciating, bears the seeds of transformation. And we have been transformed. Because it’s within those very shadows that we unearthed the determination to succeed despite all odds.

This speech is my testimony. But it’s also a tribute. This speech is for my parents, my sister, my brothers and the second family that I’ve gained as a student here. You know who you are. But also to you, my fellow graduates, I give these words to you as an offering. Although in our futures we may be worlds apart, we are forever tethered to one another by the experiences we have had on these campus grounds. We are connected by the hardship and perseverance that was necessary for us to orchestrate feats nothing short of amazing during our time here. We are bonded together by so many precious moments, whether it was living on our own for the first time, learning to cook or discovering our passions. My cup is overflowing with gratitude that I was blessed to experience a steppingstone in hundreds of stories of greatness.

It’s despite sickness, setbacks, lost loved ones, failed classes, missed assignments, existential crises and doubts that we are all in this room today, adorned by our caps and gowns, moments away from the rest of our lives. It’s through the support of our families, both given and chosen, the support of faculty and staff, the support of your fellow graduates sitting by your sides, and the fervid drive that each of us possesses, that we have ensured we will be nothing short of movers, shakers and change-makers. I can say with confidence that I cannot imagine being anyone other than who I am today. And I have you all to thank.

So, to the fall Class of 2023, I’d say that we came out on the other end with something to show for it. We are the actualization of our immigrant parents’ dreams. Graduates, we are the manifestation of answered prayers. We are in a unique position to bring light into this world through our artistry, storytelling and innovation. May the shadows we encounter become mere silhouettes against the radiance we bring.

Thank you.

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Eberechukwu Ojinnaka is a first-generation Nigerian American born and raised in Dunellen, New Jersey. She is graduating with a bachelor’s in arts, humanities, and technology, focusing on applied experience design. She is a scholarship honoree, earning over $21,000 from UT Dallas based on academic merits. On campus, she was a residential peer advisor and part of the UT Dallas African Student Union, where she was the head of public relations, and a dancer. She earned two internships at the internet and technology company Match Group and served underprivileged communities at local food pantries during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She envisions her future in the tech industry, working to create impactful, inclusive and accessible digital products.