‘My dear Latinos, it is not going to be easy… but all we need is faith in ourselves.’ Salutatorian, child of immigrants, offers inspiration and encouragement

The salutatorian of the Class of 2023 had a special message for her fellow Latino graduates of Riverhead High School and the parents whose hard work and support got them to yesterday’s commencement ceremonies.

After thanking her family, friends and teachers in English, Salutatorian Jennifer Alonzo Moreno turned to her native tongue to express a special message of thanks and encouragement.

“Mothers, fathers, look at your children. You did the impossible to see them here today,” Jennifer said. “Some of you crossed rivers, others spent sleepless nights in the hospital with them, and others worked non-stop under the sun to give them the opportunities you never had,” she said. “Look at your children, and see yourselves in them. Look for the resilience in them, the love, the power — this is what you gave us,” she said.

“We will always carry parts of you with us. I carry the love of my family everywhere. I carry the humor of my friends. I carry the intelligence, and the wisdom, of the American teacher who taught me physics,” Jennifer said.

“We all carry a lot, but we leave more behind. We leave family and friends for the fight of a new chapter. We risk comfort for a life with more experiences,” she said.

“We enter a world that loves us more than it hates us, even though sometimes it doesn’t feel that way, Jennifer said.”

“Class of 2023, go into the world and grow, but do not forget what you loved when you were younger. Move forward, but carry your roots with you wherever you go,” Jennifer told her classmates.

“My dear Latinos, it is not going to be easy,” she said. “It has never been easy for us. Many of us had to learn English, to translate documents that we didn’t even understand. Our tongues sang in Spanish and spoke in English.”

Jennifer recounted some of her experience, learning English as a young child who by the age of 8 was translating complicated letters, medical instructions, and utility bills for her parents, trying, as best as she could, to figure out what each document said so she could help her family navigate life in Riverhead.

Through that process, she gained the ability to have her brain function in two languages. She learned to love her roots and appreciate them even more. She said she strived, during her entire academic journey, always to walk side by side with her classmates and to keep up with her peers, without ever losing the language of her parents.

“This achievement… is not just for me. It’s for all the Latino youth who grew up seeing white excellence as the only result in the education system,” she said.

“It’s for all the parents who left their countries and hoped to see their children get a diploma, something they never had themselves.

“It is for all the people that thought we would never make it, and it is also for all those people who never gave up believing that we would,” she said. “Some don’t have faith in us, but all we need is faith in ourselves.”

“This country was created by immigrants, by slaves, by indigenous people. It was created by the efforts of minorities — never forget that,” Jennifer said.

“The teachings and support of our families, and the education and experience we have are the tools to change the world.

“Maybe we will change the world and save lives, or maybe we will only save ourselves. However, we now have the power to become someone in life,” Jennifer said.

“We are the graduates of the class of 2023, and that is wonderful. Congratulations to all, and good luck in your future.”

This fall, Jennifer is heading to Boston University, where she plans to major in computer science.