Speech I'll give on the closing ceremony of my internship
Then and now
By: Ada M. Álvarez Conde
On August the 30th of this year, I arrived to the Ronald Reagan National Airport in DC. I remember being with my heavy luggage waiting for a bus that took me to what became my new home. I consider myself a planner, but that day, the uncertain and the unplanned, took over my life and I had no choice than to embrace it; because I’ve realized that we all fear something. Brave people are not fearless people. Brave people are the ones that know and feel fear but still decide to go on. I decided to face my fears, and I think leaders should be brave. I know all of you faced your fears also, and that is why we are here, in this room, today.
I still keep from the first event The Washington Center hosted a piece of paper with my definitions on civic engagement and leadership. I wrote that both looked for unselfish acts and unselfish wishes, because we are part of something greater and those leaders were responsible and disciplined on that task of serving others. I feel that is true, but I have a wider view on both.
After being 3 months and a half in another country, somewhat alone; serving the Hispanic Community I belong to by working as an intern in the Hispanic Press Office of Nancy Pelosi, and by being a volunteer English teacher in Alexandria Virginia for them; after attending Monday Programming, activities of different topics to become a more educated and better person; after making a portfolio with a summary of all of I learned and attended, including a project to better the welfare of Puerto Rico I have embraced a whole new view of life and a more defined sense of purpose.
After all I have realized that life is indeed a gift and those that find happiness are those that learn how to unwrap it. People should have the right of finding the tools to be happy, to find love, to be free. That is social justice, which needs integrity. We came here to realize that after all we need to know our I’s and me’s but we need to focus on the us. As they say, there is no I in team. We are here, The Washington Center, as a team. The whole world is a team and I believe that when you acknowledge that and work for that team your civic engaged.
My new definition of a leader is resumed in a sentence. As a women survival of three open heart operations, being near death, as a writer I say that the word leadership is a verb not a noun. It is an action, not exclusively a role. It is linked to civic engagement, when the goal is to work for a better tomorrow. A better you, better we, better us. Also leaders (not only journalist or writers like me) know the power of words, of communication and for change, inaction equals silence.
I’ve seen in my group lot’s of leaders, that acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses, being brave, disciplined, responsible, committed, engaged. I hope we don’t forget this as we grow up, these memories. I belief the greatest teacher is example, and I hope you have seen me, my whole group as a good one. We dedicate this effort to the world, to our families, of our country. We are more than happy that we came here not only for ourselves, but to represent Puerto Rico. Thank you for trusting us and our future paths, and I expect that this unity and respect of different cultures, backgrounds, religions, even majors, are an example and become the best example of a more peaceful world.
