University of Hong Kong Dean and Professor of Education Encourages Graduates to Advocate for a Peaceful, Equitable Life for All

University of Hong Kong Dean and Professor A. Lin Goodwin gave heartfelt advice to the 295 LaFetra College of Education spring 2021 graduates during their virtual commencement ceremony on May 29. “Share the great knowledge and skill that you have obtained with others,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin was vice dean at Teachers College, Columbia University, and the Evenden Foundation Professor of Education before assuming her role as dean and professor of education at the University of Hong Kong. Goodwin was also vice president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the inaugural Dr. Ruth Wong Professor of Teacher Education at the National Institute of Education in Singapore.

Goodwin urged the graduates to stand up against injustices and advocate for all those in need. She told them to look for the blind spots of implicit bias to expand viewpoints, embrace the complexity of individuals’ stories, and lead with kindness, hope, and solutions. Goodwin left the graduates with two wishes: “May the world always embrace you with gentleness and generosity and may you always know love in your heart.”

Student speaker Isabel Orejel, EdD ’21, spoke about her personal experiences as well as the challenges she and her colleagues faced during the pandemic. “We are survivors; we are warriors,” she said. “Whatever your purpose is, the universe will conspire to help you achieve it; you just need to decide.”

The ceremony concluded with heartfelt advice from University of La Verne President Devorah Lieberman as she invited each graduate to move their tassels from right to left, symbolically from head to heart, in celebration.