MIAMI—More than 3,000 graduates at Miami Dade Community College (MDC) received a welcomed visit from President Barack Obama on April 29, at the James L. Knight International Center in downtown Miami. Continuing the college’s longstanding tradition of hosting world leaders, Obama was also awarded an honorary associates degree from the college.
“We are extremely pleased to have President Obama address our graduates as he has made college access and completion a central focus of his administration,” said Dr. Eduardo J. Padron, MDC’s president.
Loud cheers and applause poured from the crowd of graduates, faculty, friends, and family as President Obama began his speech.
“Opportunity changes everything! America will only be as strong in this new century as the opportunities that we provide you, the opportunities that we provide for all our young people ... Latino, black, white, Asian, Native American, everybody!” Obama said, with a statement resonating with the school’s multiethnic nature.
With an enrollment of more than 174,000 students from 182 countries, Miami Dade Community College is renowned for its global student body. It is the nation’s largest institution of higher education, with 2 million people who have attended the college since it’s establishment in 1960. Another 14,000 students will graduate this spring.
“America will only be as strong as our pursuit of scientific research and our leadership in technology and innovation and I believe that community colleges like this one are critical pathways to the middle class that equip students with the skills and education necessary to compete and win in this 21st century economy,” Obama said. “That’s why I’ve made community colleges a centerpiece of my education agenda along with helping more students afford college. Your accomplishment today is vital to America reclaiming the highest proportion of college graduates in America by 2020, so I am proud of you! I am proud of you!”
As the students prepared to graduate and enter their careers, Obama gave them words of encouragement, stating, “You are going to be leaders for many years to come. You will have to make choices to keep our dream alive for the next generation, choices about whether we will stack the decks against workers of the middle class or make sure America remains a place where when you work hard, you can get ahead.”
Referencing the current budget debates, which could affect student financial aid, Obama said, “You are going to have to make a choice about whether we can’t afford to educate our young people and send them to college or whether we continue to be a country to make investments that are necessary to keep those young people competitive in this new century.
“It will be up to you to choose whether we‘ll remain vulnerable to the swings in oil prices or whether we’ll invest in clean energy that can break our dependence on oil and protect our planet,” he said. “It will be your choice as to whether we break our promise to the seniors and the poor and disabled and tell them to fend for themselves or whether we keep strengthening our social safety net and health care system, and it will be up to you whether we'll turn on one another or whether we stay true to our values of fairness and opportunities.”
Obama said that just like the school, with students from all over the world, the United States is a nation of immigrants, and it was these immigrants who “built this country into an economic powerhouse of a beacon of hope around the world! I know this last issue generates some passion.”
He added a belief the United States will take a second look at its immigration system, stating, “I know that several young people here have recently identified themselves as undocumented. ... I strongly believe we should fix our broken immigration system! Fix it so that it meets our 21st century economic needs!”
After a loud round of applause, Obama closed by encouraging the students to “pursue success, do not falter! When you make it, pull somebody else up, preserve our dreams, remember your life is richer when somebody else has a shot at opportunity as well.”
“We are extremely pleased to have President Obama address our graduates as he has made college access and completion a central focus of his administration,” said Dr. Eduardo J. Padron, MDC’s president.
Loud cheers and applause poured from the crowd of graduates, faculty, friends, and family as President Obama began his speech.
“Opportunity changes everything! America will only be as strong in this new century as the opportunities that we provide you, the opportunities that we provide for all our young people ... Latino, black, white, Asian, Native American, everybody!” Obama said, with a statement resonating with the school’s multiethnic nature.
With an enrollment of more than 174,000 students from 182 countries, Miami Dade Community College is renowned for its global student body. It is the nation’s largest institution of higher education, with 2 million people who have attended the college since it’s establishment in 1960. Another 14,000 students will graduate this spring.
“America will only be as strong as our pursuit of scientific research and our leadership in technology and innovation and I believe that community colleges like this one are critical pathways to the middle class that equip students with the skills and education necessary to compete and win in this 21st century economy,” Obama said. “That’s why I’ve made community colleges a centerpiece of my education agenda along with helping more students afford college. Your accomplishment today is vital to America reclaiming the highest proportion of college graduates in America by 2020, so I am proud of you! I am proud of you!”
As the students prepared to graduate and enter their careers, Obama gave them words of encouragement, stating, “You are going to be leaders for many years to come. You will have to make choices to keep our dream alive for the next generation, choices about whether we will stack the decks against workers of the middle class or make sure America remains a place where when you work hard, you can get ahead.”
Referencing the current budget debates, which could affect student financial aid, Obama said, “You are going to have to make a choice about whether we can’t afford to educate our young people and send them to college or whether we continue to be a country to make investments that are necessary to keep those young people competitive in this new century.
“It will be up to you to choose whether we‘ll remain vulnerable to the swings in oil prices or whether we’ll invest in clean energy that can break our dependence on oil and protect our planet,” he said. “It will be your choice as to whether we break our promise to the seniors and the poor and disabled and tell them to fend for themselves or whether we keep strengthening our social safety net and health care system, and it will be up to you whether we'll turn on one another or whether we stay true to our values of fairness and opportunities.”
Obama said that just like the school, with students from all over the world, the United States is a nation of immigrants, and it was these immigrants who “built this country into an economic powerhouse of a beacon of hope around the world! I know this last issue generates some passion.”
He added a belief the United States will take a second look at its immigration system, stating, “I know that several young people here have recently identified themselves as undocumented. ... I strongly believe we should fix our broken immigration system! Fix it so that it meets our 21st century economic needs!”
After a loud round of applause, Obama closed by encouraging the students to “pursue success, do not falter! When you make it, pull somebody else up, preserve our dreams, remember your life is richer when somebody else has a shot at opportunity as well.”
