By+Michelle+Obama

Well， goodness. Thank you. Let me tell you it is a pleasure and an honor to be with all of you today.

And again， lets take a moment to thank all of those beautiful people sitting behind you all today and standing behind2 you every day， the folks who brought you into this world—the folks who showed you， with their love， that you belong here.

And of course， most of all， to the Spelman class of 2011， congratulations！ We are so， so proud of you. You didnt just write a chapter in your own life story. You also became part of the Spelman story—a story that began 130 years ago about 10 miles down the road from where we are today.

And by now， all of you know the details： about how two white women from up North—Sophia Packard and Harriet Giles—came here to Atlanta to establish the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary.3 They started out in a dank church basement loaned to them by a kindly preacher named Father Quarles.4 And their first class had just 11 students， many of whom were former slaves. In a time of black codes and lynching，5 this school was training African American women to be leaders in education， in the health professions.

So lets go back again to those first 11 women in that church basement all those years ago. Their teachers started with nothing but a couple of Bibles. When it rained， it got so damp in that church that grass started growing on the floor. Often， the stove was so smoky， and the light was so poor， that students could barely see their teachers.

But still， week after week， more women showed up to enroll6. One student， a woman named Mary Ann Brooks， simply stated： “I spoke of going to school， and people laughed at me and said ‘You go to school！ You too old！ Youre so old youll die there. But I told them it was just as good a place to die in as I ever wanted， and I knew Miss Packard and Miss Giles would bury me， so I just came right along7.”

That spark， that spirit， that odds-defying tenacity has defined the alumnae of this school from its very first graduating class.8 And for six generations， that is what Spelman women have done. They have seen every defeat as a challenge.

Over the past four years， you all have been serving your community in every way possible： tutoring9 kids， bringing meals to seniors， building homes， and so much more. And in so doing， I can promise you that you wont just enrich their lives， youll immeasurably enrich your own lives as well.10

And I can tell you from my own experience just how rewarding it can be. When I got my law degree， so much to the surprise of my family and friends， I left that secure， high-paying job and eventually became the Executive Director of a non-profit， working to help young people get involved in public service. I was making a lot less money and my office was a lot smaller. But I woke up every morning with a sense of purpose and possibility. I felt myself becoming inspired.

Now， Im not saying that you have to devote your entire career to public service， though I hope that many of you will. But as you climb those career ladders， just remember to reach down and pull others up behind you.11 Thats what so many folks have done for you all. And now it is your turn to repay the favor.

I want you to remember one last legacy12 that Spelman has left you. It has left you each other.

I mean， look at all these beautiful， magnificent women beside you. It is breathtaking. Think of all the connections that you have， all those experiences that youve shared. You all are the keepers of each others histories. And the bonds that youve formed here will nourish you and sustain you for the rest of your lives.13 Now， that is sisterhood14.

And finally， think back over the years to all those who have made this day possible： Miss Giles， Miss Packard， Father Quarles， and so many others. Think about all those folks never had the chance to get an education themselves—never—but they were determined that other young people would.

Graduates， you are their dream come true. And no matter what obstacles you encounter， no matter what hardships you endure， all of you have that for life.15 No one can ever take that away from you.

And today， I want to end with some words from Tina McElroy Ansa16， Spelman class of 1971. In one of her novels， she wrote， simply： “Claim what is yours17…You belong anywhere on this earth you want to.”

So congratulations， graduates， on all that you have achieved. I am so proud of you， all of you. We are so proud of you. Do big things. Thank you， and God bless.

1. Spelman College： 史貝爾曼學(xué)院，始建于1881年，位于美國佐治亞州，是歷史上第一所黑人女性高等教育機(jī)構(gòu)，在每年的全國學(xué)院排名中名列前茅；commencement： 畢業(yè)典禮。

2. stand behind： 支持。

3. up North：〈口〉北方；Sophia Packard and Harriet Giles： 索菲婭·帕卡德與哈麗特·吉爾斯，美國黑人女性教育的先驅(qū)，史貝爾曼學(xué)院的創(chuàng)立者；Baptist Female Seminary： 浸禮會(huì)女子神學(xué)院。

4. dank： 陰冷潮濕的；preacher： 牧師，傳教士；Father Quarles： 夸爾斯神父。

5. black code：（南北戰(zhàn)爭后南部某些州所頒行的限制黑人權(quán)利的）黑人法令；lynching： 私刑。

6. enroll： 入學(xué)。

7. right along： 繼續(xù)地。

8. 從第一屆開始，史貝爾曼的畢業(yè)生們就被賦予了這些特征：充滿活力、志氣，并且勇于克服困難。spark： 活力，朝氣；odds-defying： 克服困難的；tenacity： 頑強(qiáng)，執(zhí)著；define：是……的特征；alumna： 復(fù)數(shù)形式為alumnae，女畢業(yè)生。

9. tutor： 輔導(dǎo)，當(dāng)家庭教師。

10. enrich： 使充實(shí)；immeasurably： 極大程度地。

11. career ladder： 職業(yè)階梯；reach down： 下顧，指去幫助比自己弱勢的人們。

12. legacy： 遺產(chǎn)。

13. nourish： 滋養(yǎng)；sustain： 鼓勵(lì)，支持。

14. sisterhood： 姐妹情誼。

15. 無論你將遇到什么挫折或要忍受什么苦難，你都承載著這個(gè)夢想。obstacle：障礙；encounter： 遭遇。

16. Tina McElroy Ansa： 蒂娜·麥克爾羅伊·安莎（1949— ），非裔美國小說家、電影制作人、教師。

17. 去爭取你應(yīng)得的東西。claim： 要求，索?。☉?yīng)得的權(quán)利或財(cái)物）。