Dover, Del. – In case you missed it, Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) delivered the keynote address at Delaware Technical Community College’s National TRIO Day Celebration on Saturday, February 22 at their Terry Campus in Dover. The event, which celebrated 60 years of the Federal TRIO Programs, was attended by hundreds of high school students from across Delaware. Blunt Rochester lauded the programs’ six decades of helping students from under-resourced backgrounds, first-generation college students, and students with disabilities pursue their education from middle school to postbaccalaureate programs. She delivered an empowering message to the students, encouraging them to pursue their academic dreams. Below are excerpts of her remarks.
“I learned some lessons from ballet, and I want to give you just five. One, don’t let anybody define you. Don’t let anybody define you because of where you came from or because of what you look like.”
“That’s the thing that’s so special about TRIO. It gives you the tools to be who you want to be. I met a student right here. One was talking about international relations, which was my major. Another was talking about astronomy, the sky’s the limit.”
“I wouldn’t be standing here as your senator if I let somebody define [me]. When I ran for the United States House of Representatives in 2016, Delaware had never elected a woman to Congress or a person of color. Don’t let anybody define you. Number two, be ready and stay ready because when you’re ready, you don’t have to get ready when they call you. That’s another thing that TRIO is about. TRIO is about ensuring that you have the skills, that you have the knowledge, that you have the ability to do whatever it is that you dream of doing.”
“Keep your eyes on the prize. What is it that you want? Why are you on this earth? And so, when you see dancers do this thing where they spin, they do this pirouette, you want to know why they don’t fall or get dizzy? Because they pick a spot, and they just look at a spot. They don’t look at anything else. So, what I need you to do is remember, why are you on this planet? What is it that you are here to do? Focus. Don’t let anybody, any distractions, anything bring you down. Nothing. No one, nobody. You are special. You were put on this planet to do something nobody else can do. So, you just keep your eyes on the prize.”
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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.