Graduation Speech: Brenden Etwara

Our Role in Shaping the Future: A Call to Action for Our Generation

Good morning, everyone. I am honored to have the opportunity to speak to you all. I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude to all who have made our graduation possible. We are at the very end of childhood, and as we stand ready to embark on adulthood, I want to talk about how we have the most significant role in shaping the future.

As I was writing this speech, my mind reflected on one word: beauty. Not the filtered, flawless, photo-shopped, commercial version of it, but the kind of beauty that heals. That reveals the beauty that challenges.

We live in a world that is obscenely obsessed with image and status. Everyone wants to have the unattainable, to have all the allure and charm. And yet, when we look in the mirror, we still see inadequacies staring back. That’s not by accident. Our society is shaped by systems designed to separate, exclude, and diminish. To make these inadequacies become the only thing that’s seen.

Growing up, I felt as though my Guyanese, Iranian, and Indian heritage felt like a target for racial attacks. I felt inadequate. Yet, I did not want to be limited based on my background, so I began working as a runway model to express myself and show that people with my heritage could occupy a space we had been excluded from. I soon walked the runways for New York Fashion Week. When I walked, I knew I represented more than just myself; I was there for everyone who looked like me and wanted to be seen.

I would like to share all that I learned from my experiences. I’ve learned that there is no single way to exist. I urge you all to realize that being different doesn't equate to inadequacy; it means you have a unique perspective on addressing life’s challenges. Beauty and compassion are not defined by one culture, look, or background. Being beautiful never meant looking your best; it meant owning who you are and taking charge of what you could be in the future.

Your future can be anything you make of it, because it’s precisely that; your future. Your unique identities, backgrounds, and heritage will accompany you. Anything is possible, fellow graduates, no matter where you come from or who you look like.