Abd Gafur: School of Law Graduate Convocation Speaker 2018

Please welcome Abdul Gafoor. Hello, everyone. Dean O'Rourke, Ms. Tottenberg, distinguished faculties, staff, proud parents, families, good morning, and to the graduating class of 2018, congratulations. The struggle is real, but at this point we can say that we made it through. Anyway, as you can hear from my accent, I'm not from America. I come from a country where the sun shines the whole year with people who always smile and grateful no matter what. I'm from Indonesia. Thank you. You know, I grew up in Indonesia. I had a few that America is a land of wonder with a lot of superheroes. Probably because I watched TV so much when I was little and I like Spiderman, Wolverine, Magneto, X-Men, and their friends, and I mean, they're all Americans. How cool is that for a child? You know, probably because of those Hollywood movies, I put the first one of my dream that one day I'll visit America and I'm so happy that I'm here today and I'm not just visiting. I'm studying here for two years. So, thank you. In 2016, I arrived for the first time in Boston and people are so welcoming from a cab driver to the hotel receptionist. And you know what? As a foreigner, as a stranger in a new country, a single smile or a simple friendly gesture means a lot. And in Boston, I feel welcome and I'm thankful for that. I would like to use this opportunity to extend my gratitude and to say thank you to my fellow LLM graduates. Thank you for sharing your stories, your thoughts, your cultures, your beliefs, everything. Thank you for just being as proud as you are. You know, your stories enlightened me with whatever misconception that I had about this world. I always thought that I could understand things from reading, but in fact, the books that I read, they're just papers. The news, the video that I watched on the internet, they're just pixels. They're just likes, but you are real people with real experience from around the world and I feel so blessed to know you all. To my friends in IPL or LLM, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I had some discussions about Book Royalty with IPL students, which I think is very interesting. To my friends in American Law LLM, thank you for being very nice and answering our questions about American legal system every time we have questions. To my friends in Tax LLM, thank you for being our tax counselor for free. I want to say that I admire you in Tax LLM because I had a tax course last semester and it was so hard. It almost made me cry the day before the exam, seriously. I mean, you've gone through all the tax courses, so you should be proud of that. To the JDs, honestly, sometimes I feel intimidated when I sit in the same class with you, sometimes. Because you are so smart and you're so eloquent. You convey your ideas, your arguments with clear, effective and persuasive language. And because of you, I realized that I still have a lot of work to do to be as good as you are. So congratulations. I believe that some of you or most of you will take the bar exam very soon. I wish you good luck for that. And to my brothers and sisters in Banking and Financial Law who are sitting back there. Hi. I want you guys to know that you are very special to me. Thank you very much for everything that we've been through together. I know that some of you already have experience in Banking and Financial Law, but some others not. And I feel so proud and happy to know that we can work together side by side, helping each other overcome difficulties. I hope that I'm a good friend for you and I hope that this is a friendship that will last forever. Thank you for letting me to become part of your journey and thank you for being a part of mine. I would also like to say thank you to Dean Maureen O'Rourke. Thank you for always taking care of us, you know, for 14 years. Thank you to Assistant Dean Joan Riccardi. Thank you to Professor James Scott, the Director of Banking and Financial Law, for the passion, the positive vibes and the joy that you always bring to the classroom. It means so much. And thank you to all professors in BLO that I cannot mention one by one here. It's an honor to be your student. Anyway, back to my story about superhero. On my first week in Boston, I went to downtown, you know, for a sightseeing. And since I'm in America, I somehow imagined that Spider-Man will appear from nowhere and shot his web to the Prudential Center and swings around the downtown. You know, it sounds absurd, but it's kind of fun to imagine. It never happens, though. But you know what? As I'm standing here and seeing this wonderful view, I realized that we are surrounded by different kind of superhero. People who are sitting there and there, the fathers, the mothers, families, friends, significant others, they're all superheroes for us. Without them, we won't be sitting here today. So if I can say something as a friend, if I may, please let them know that we appreciate and love them, that we cannot thank them enough for everything that they have done for us. We could probably give them a round of applause right now. Thank you to my mom and to my families in Indonesia. They're not here today, but it's OK because I'll be home soon. And thank you to my dad. I don't know where you are right now because I don't know where people go when they die. I just hope that I make you proud and I hope that you are watching my journey from somewhere where you belong and you know that I'm doing just fine in this life. Thank you for everything that you've done for me. Thank you. My friends, one day this moment will become an old memory. We will grow old. Some of us will become lawyers, prosecutors, judges. Some of us will take a road less traveled by and some of us will become leaders in our respective countries. This might sound naive, but I just hope that our generation can create a better and a more peaceful world. I saw you work together in Biola, regardless of your nationalities. And I knew that international cooperation and global understanding is not a fantasy. Today, as we leave this place, we will go out there and overcome whatever challenge that we face. Today is the first of many wins, but always remember that it's not going to be so easy because all great things, they're never easy. Lastly, I would like to thank the city of Boston and the great state of Massachusetts for all my experience during my time here. Next week, I will back home to Indonesia. And from now on, every time I see Orion's Belt in a western sky in a February night, I will always remember that Boston at the very moment will be covered with snow. Boston at the very moment will be covered with snow, yet it's still warm because of the people. So Boston, thank you so much. My life is not perfect, but thank you for being a part of my timeline. Once again, congratulations to the class of 2018. I wish you great success for your future. I'll see you when I see you. Thank you for this moment. God bless you all. Terima kasih.