Karine Jean-Pierre gives Rice University’s 2023 commencement speech

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre delivered the commencement speech to Rice University’s undergraduate class of 2023 on May 6. That was just after the anniversary of the day when President Joe Biden announced her historic appointment to the role.

Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay, Black, immigrant American to serve in the position, pointed to the one-year-mark as a moment to reflect on the progress of the U.S. “I want to just sit there for a second,” she said to the crowd. “I am the face of the most powerful political person in the world. Just think about that.”

Throughout the 22-minute address, Jean-Pierre had one central message, which she repeated 12 times: “Hope is action.”

She used the stories of her ancestors and parents to demonstrate what she meant.

The daughter of Haitian immigrants, Jean-Pierre spoke about how the Haitian Revolution — when enslaved people overthrew their colonizers to secure freedom — instructed her own values of “resilience, determination, and hope.” She noted the sacrifices her parents made to provide better opportunities for her and her two younger siblings.

“My parents’ story is proof that change is possible,” she said. “But that story also attests to the fact that change doesn’t come to those who merely want it. It comes to those who work for it.”

There has been recent debate about the value of a traditional four-year degree, especially given the massive loads of student debt that has become standard to attend college in the U.S. Jean-Pierre maintained that it was her education that ultimately got her to a job in the White House.

Upon immigrating to the U.S., Jean-Pierre’s father became a taxi driver and woke up at 4 a.m. to get in the queue of pick-up cabs outside John F. Kennedy airport. Her mother worked multiple jobs as a home healthcare aide and a hair salon manager. At the same time, they juggled the raising of three children.

While her parents got minimal rest, she said, they bet that education was the key to social and economic mobility for their kids. “My parents worked hard jobs, and even harder hours, to make sure my siblings and I got the education we needed,” she said.

She attended the New York Institute of Technology for undergrad and later Columbia University for her masters. She went on to work in local politics and eventually for national campaigns, including both of Barack Obama’s presidential bids, before joining the Biden White House.

Over a decade after Jean-Pierre’s family moved to the U.S., her and her father passed the citizenship test and were able to vote.

It was a significant moment for Jean-Pierre and especially for her father. He had not been able to use his political voice for over two decades since he had left Haiti to escape the dictatorship of former president François Duvalier.

She acknowledged that there are other ways to enact change within a community but said that “voting is special,” specifically for those who have been deprived of democratic processes.

Everyday workers may struggle to find time to vote, especially if they don’t live in one of the states that guarantees paid time-off to cast a ballot. Still, Jean-Pierre points to voting as one of the key actions an individual can take to change their community.

“We aren’t ignorant of all the obstacles in our way. We are simply choosing to say, ‘I know the road ahead will be long so I better start the walking.’ Because hope is action. Hope is not blind optimism,” she said.

The Class of 2023 was in their first year in college when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. The next three years of their experience were tainted by the aftermath of an unprecedented global health crisis.

Jean-Pierre acknowledged how hard and disappointing that must have been. Quoting Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., she said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

The Class of 2023’s resilience through tough times has inspired her, she said, and she hoped it could also inspire them. “Use your experience to face the challenges ahead. Because you are more than capable. You are enough. Your past is proof of that,” she said.

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