2018 - Year End Reflection

This past year has been one of great firsts and experiences that I could have never imagined for myself. From studying and working in a Senate office in D.C., interning at Ford Motor Company in Southeast Michigan, and wrapping up my last semester at the University of San Francisco as Valedictorian of my graduating class.

I got to make new friends, connect with people, travel to new locations inside and outside my hometown and accomplished many personal milestones. All of this, I know, has been the result of my hard work, perseverance and, consequentially, a little bit of luck.

I've often encountered many people that claim or believe that accomplishments and success is the result of good luck. That some people magically get very lucky and become successful. My family and I constantly discuss this very same topic and we always end up at the same conclusion: that hard work gets you almost there, and that luck is rather the very last result of your hard work. Below you'll find a draft of the speech I auditioned with for Commencement Speaker at my school's graduation ceremony this winter:

Good afternoon Father Fitzgerald, Board of Trustees, Dean Elizabeth Davis, distinguished faculty, guests, family, friends and to the Class of 2018, I offer my greetings. My name is Jose Esquer-Romero and I have the distinct honor of delivering today’s commencement address.

Today is a day of mixed emotions for many, some of us are finishing undergraduate degrees and venturing into the workforce, others are members of the workforce coming back to change the world from here; yet, all of us are completing a phase in our academic journey at USF. And what a journey it has been. For me, a child of Mexican immigrants, raised on both sides of the border, I would have never imagined that I would get to live in San Francisco for my college career, let alone venture to the United Arab Emirates, work in a Senate office, and intern in Southeast Michigan. The University of San Francisco has allowed me to explore all the options that the world has opened to me, opportunities that I’m sure many of you in the audience have experienced as well.

I’ve had a healthy mix of successes and struggles throughout my college career and see all of them as growth experiences, learning at every right and wrong turn. However, one thing I’ve noticed about accomplishments and successes is that a small portion of people will sometimes brush it off as good luck, a blessing or a mere coincidence. My parents will, from time to time, share about my sister’s accomplishments, alongside my own. And again, family members, peers, and friends will comment, “Wow! What a blessing!” or “I wish my kids were more studious” and the ever so-annoying “You got so lucky!”. But, what some people fail to see is that luck is secondary.

One is not successful out of pure luck, hard work needs to come first. Outsiders didn’t get to see my mother sitting with my sister and I day in and day out helping us with our homework, my father working hard to provide for his wife and children so they could focus on academic ventures, or my sister and I attending tutoring sessions and studying hard. And this only speaks for a share of the work we put in. Certainly, many of you have had similar experiences, where people try to discount your work and efforts as simply good luck. Regardless, inside you know, that hard work is what got you to where you are.

What many people fail to recognize is that luck does not present itself out of the blue. Job offers, good grades, pay raises and unique experiences are not something to wish for, but something to work for. It’s like a saying many Mexicans know and use frequently, “Al que no habla, Dios no lo oye”. It roughly translates to, “He who does not speak, God does not hear.” I process this phrase in the following manner, if you want to succeed, to be heard, to be understood and to be recognized for what you’ve done - you need to put in hard work. Luck alone is not going to get you there, but a good work ethic will lead to good grades which will lead to great professional experiences which leads to meaningful career interactions which leads to job offers and so on and so forth.

So, even though I know there are many more people gathered here within St. Ignatius that are way more qualified than I am to be handing out advice, I do want to impart some of what I’ve learned during my time here. Keep working hard, just as you have to reach this commencement ceremony. Keep doing so in your job, at home, equally amongst friends, family and strangers. You never know when an opportunity may present itself; and I know because I have been there. It can be a dinner with a seemingly ordinary person, sitting next to someone at a conference or in passing conversation with someone you see everyday. Learn to pull inspiration from your surroundings, understand what people like and dislike and appeal to them with your newfound information and, most importantly, be kind. Your qualifications and skills may get you halfway there but working at building relationships is the other half. And from there, luck will find its way to you.

So, even though I was not chosen to be Commencement Speaker, I feel that I still needed to share my thoughts on hard work, as amateur-ish and early in my career I may be.

Feel free to view my commencement ceremony and one of my dear friends deliver the Student Commencement speech here.