In Commencement Address, Welch Urges Chicago State Grads to Continue to Pursue Purpose
CHICAGO – House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch saluted Chicago State University graduates Thursday in a keynote speech at the school’s commencement ceremony. Welch applauded the commitment of graduates—including many completed degrees while working or caring for family, and some who became the first in their family to graduate college.
“Chicago State has always opened doors for people who were too often overlooked. And that is powerful,” Welch said. “There are some institutions that were built for prestige. Chicago State was built for purpose. And there’s a difference: Because purpose changes lives. Purpose creates teachers. Purpose creates nurses. Purpose creates entrepreneurs. Purpose creates public servants. Purpose creates people willing to lift others as they climb. And I’ve learned something over the years: People who know their purpose are hard to stop.”
Welch encouraged graduates to remember their purpose and know their why, to refuse to wait for someone’s permission to pursue their dreams, to believe in possibility.
As a believer in the power of education, Welch has led House Democrats’ efforts to make higher education more accessible and more affordable, pursuing new funding for state colleges and universities, and expanding funding for college financial aid. Because of the fiscally and socially responsible budgets House Democrats have enacted, last year every eligible applicant for a MAP Grant received aid.
