In his Commencement address, Geoffrey Canada, CEO of the nonprofit Harlem Children's Zone, urged graduates to promise to continue his work in bettering the lives of the underprivileged.
Growing up around poverty in the Bronx showed Canada what it meant to be "desperately poor," financially and in spirit, he said. When he graduated, it was clear to him that America needed to improve for the sake of its children.
Role models such as Rosa Parks, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. taught Canada to sacrifice in the pursuit of equality, he said. Canada promised himself that he would continue their work, and it was this commitment that drove the foundation of the Harlem Children's Zone.
The promise has not yet been fulfilled, Canada said.
"We haven't kept my promise to eliminate those places where our children don't have a chance," he said. "America's children are more in peril than ever."
Canada said he promised himself to help to make his generation the greatest yet. A world of over 16 million impoverished children and a country run by politicians indebted to special interest groups, however, demonstrate that this goal has not been achieved.
Still, Canada said he is optimistic about the next generation fulfilling his mission. He referred to the "mountaintop" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., in which he said that the work of bettering America is started by some and finished by others.
"I'm not worried about my promise to America's children because let me tell you what else my role models told me," Canada said. "The best of America is yet to come."
It is up to others, Canada added, to finish the work.
"Someone else will have to pick up the mantle and say, 'No matter what else I do as a career, I will make sure I leave my country a better place than was left to me,'" he said. "I need you to promise me that you will do your part."
Ten years from now, Canada said he will look forward to the knowledge that his children were saved by those who came after him.
"Those young people were so smart and talented, the best we have, and they promised," Canada said. "They could do anything they wanted with their lives, they graduated from Dartmouth, and they promised. My promise to my kids will be kept. I know it."
The graduating class had five valedictorians this year. Maura Farley '13, Josh Kornberg '13, Joel Malkin '13, Anna Morenz '13 and Marina Romani '13 each earned 4.0 grade point averages at the College. Anuj Gupta '13 and Vero Lecocq '13 were named salutatorians.
In their addresses, the five valedictorians reflected on the lessons they will carry with them beyond college. The individuals who supported them, the importance of living consciously and the pursuit of passions will continue to drive them beyond their time at Dartmouth.
"It's not time but rather what we do with time that makes us grow, Kornberg said. "Consciousness is both an expression of our maturity and a means of attaining it."
Interim President Carol Folt received a surprise honorary doctor of humane letters from the College. Board of Trustees chair Steve Mandel '78 said that she has moved the College forward as provost and interim president.
"You encouraged an entire community to think about the future, but you also understood how important it was that we pay tribute to our past," he said.
Folt called her one year at the helm of the College the "privilege of my life."
"It's been made even greater an honor by all who worked so hard this year to celebrate our past, improve our present, strategize our future and warmly welcome Phil Hanlon as Dartmouth's 18th President," she said.
Folt, who will be chancellor of the University of North Carolina, said she feels as though she is graduating alongside the Class of 2013.
A total of 1,894 degrees were awarded this year. In addition to the 1,059 undergraduates, 158 students graduated from the Geisel School of Medicine, 150 from the Thayer School of Engineering and 266 from Tuck School of Business. 261 students received graduate degrees in the arts and sciences.
