By The White House

Crownpoint, New Mexico
May 17, 2013

Good morning, everyone!

Ya'aa'tey shi Din'e

It’s wonderful to be here in New Mexico to celebrate such an important day with all of you!

Thank you, Roselyn, for that very kind introduction. Dr. Guy, thank you for hosting me here today.

Last night, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet President Shelly and his wife, Martha, and see the students from Dine Bi Olta Elementary School and Miyamura High School perform the basket and ribbon dances. The dances were beautiful.

Thank you, President Shelly and Council Delegate Simpson for having me today.

All of you graduating today stand on the shoulders of those who came before you – your parents, your grandparents, and all of your ancestors. It is their vision, and their determination that created this community and built this college.

So as we celebrate your accomplishments here today, we also remember and acknowledge their sacrifices to make this all possible.

Navajo Technical College is a special place. For the second year in a row I know you were recognized by the Aspen Institute as being one of the top 120 community colleges in the United States – in part because of your graduation rate near 80 percent. That’s amazing!

I know you are also celebrating your first student to graduate with a Baccalaureate Degree this year – congratulations to Dody Begay– who is graduating with his degree in Information Technology!

Some of you know my story. I’ve been a teacher for more than 30 years, and I continue to teach full-time at a community college in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C.

This time of year is always a little bittersweet for me. I’m happy to have finished up another semester and look forward to a little summer break. But I know I’ll be missing my students.

And those feelings – which I’m sure many of your teachers share – are only amplified for those who are graduating.

We are so proud of you. We hope we have given you every bit of advice to help you succeed. And we are excited to see what you’ll do next.

College is a place that changes lives, for the better. And tribal colleges are especially unique places … particularly for students who might otherwise not have the opportunity to attain a higher education.

Tribal colleges, like community colleges, meet students exactly where they are.

As a community college teacher, I see every day that my students have all made a choice to be there, to be better, to continue their education.

They have made a choice to be in the classroom, even though they might be working one or two other jobs, juggling child care, and raising families.

My students have made the choice because they believe in themselves.

And we believe in them, too. We stand behind them.

Today, I would like to share a few stories of your fellow graduates and how they embody three important lessons about community and as you move forward in your lives, about your sense of place

Source: White House Press Office