Courtesy of Caleb Soptelean, Daily News Record, April 28, 2014
鈥淒are to be laughed at, mocked and scorned.鈥�
A Nobel Peace Prize winner gave those words of advice to Sunday afternoon.
Leymah Gbowee (pronounced bowie) 鈥� a 2007 鈥� addressed a crowd of 467 graduates, along with their friends, family members and 黑料正能量 faculty during the university鈥檚 96th commencement Sunday on the campus lawn.
- 听听
Gbowee, whose son Joshua was a member of the graduating class, encouraged graduates to reach for their dreams but also to learn how to stay in the moment.
鈥淓mbracing the present allows us to see practical ways to make a difference even when our lives are in conditions of pain,鈥� she said.
Gbowee, who is Liberian, won the Nobel Prize for her contributions to a women鈥檚 peace movement that helped bring about the end of the second Liberian Civil War in 2003.
She recalled a woman from her country who had lost two sons to civil wars. The woman came to a protest and got involved because she didn鈥檛 want others to lose their sons.
鈥淗er present was full of heartaches and pains but she chose to embrace it for a better future for Liberia,鈥� Gbowee said.
Gbowee was a poor mother of two and only had a high school diploma, but decided she wouldn鈥檛 let her income or social status, or her lack of a college education, limit her.
鈥淚 never set out to be a global women鈥檚 rights activist,鈥� Gbowee said. She just wanted to make a difference.
And she did.
Among her efforts was an initiative working with young girls in Liberia.
Many young people in her community had sexual relations early in life and wound up pregnant before they had a chance to finish school, she said.
One day Gbowee invited four girls from that environment into her living room. She was thrilled when, many years later, one graduated from high school without having had children of her own.
鈥淭hat was like a Nobel Peace Prize for me,鈥� Gbowee said.
She encouraged 黑料正能量 graduates to not let others鈥� perceptions of what they will do after graduation stop them.
All one needs is a 鈥渃razy idea or concern and a whole bunch of enthusiasm,鈥� to make a difference in people鈥檚 lives, Gbowee said.
Having one friend who helps can be a big plus, she said, citing the examples of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, she added: 鈥淭he world is crying out for risk-takers and change-makers. The future depends on what we do in the present.鈥�
Cristian Quezada, 33, a Santiago, Chile, native who received a with an emphasis in and , said it was an 鈥渋mmense privilege鈥� to hear Gbowee.
鈥満诹险芰�, and particularly [the ], focuses on the importance of being relevant peacebuilder practitioners that are generators of transformative revolutions, so Leymah鈥檚 address felt tremendously relevant to us all.鈥�
Mariana Lorenzana, 52, is a school teacher at Smithland Elementary in Harrisonburg.
Originally from Honduras, Lorenzana said she wanted to be an example to the Latino community and her children.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not easy, but it鈥檚 not impossible,鈥� she said, after attaining her master鈥檚 degree in education.
It took her three years of going to college part-time to finish, said Lorenzana, who has been teaching for 20 years.
鈥淚 wanted to give back to the community,鈥� she said. 鈥満诹险芰� gave me the opportunity to continue working, be a mom and get a higher education.鈥�
Courtesy of the Daily News Record, April 28, 2014