Dennis Richmond Jr., M.S.Ed
My name is Dennis Richmond Jr. and I am a 24-year-old black man from Yonkers. On May 23, I graduated with a master of science in education from Sarah Lawrence College.
Attending Sarah Lawrence College was eye-opening for me. Despite being culture shocked, for the past two years I did nothing but make sure that I did my work and put in my all in my writing assignments. I would complete assignments early, participated in class discussions, and even traveled to different cities through the My Brother’s Keeper Program. The gag is, I was not the only college student – or student, for that matter – who had been working hard for their degree.
There are students across the world who have stayed up late, woke up early, stressed over classes, and weathered the weather to make it to class. For all that, I want to wish the Class of 2019 – the global Class of 2019 – a huge congratulations! We did it! I’m sure for some, it took a lot of mitigating, tears, laughs and hard work, but it’s all over now. Another chapter of life is closed, and another is open.
With that, congratulations, Class of 2019!