One Last Assignment

After four years at Harvard, I have some thoughts to share. One key lesson stuck out: the power of civic virtue in bridging divides. Reflecting on my experience pursuing a JD/MBA, I wrote a few thoughts on the importance of engaging communities, finding common ground, and respecting disagreement. Somehow, we must focus on healing societal divisions. My Harvard experience showed me that open dialogue, understanding different views, and seeking unity amid diversity is crucial. As I move forward, I'm taking that mindset with me.

I have never voted in a presidential election. Quite irresponsible for a U.S. citizen passionate about the nation’s future… But actually, I can’t vote. You see, I'm from Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory home to 3.4 million U.S. citizens who cannot vote for president and have no voting representation in Congress. Basic democratic rights vanish on Puerto Rican soil… American soil. This is wrong. I decided to attend Harvard to help change this.???

Ironically, 70 years ago, one of the masterminds of Puerto Rico’s existing colonial model, Governor Luis Mu?oz-Marín, delivered Harvard's commencement address. He was the last Puerto Rican to do so.

I believe citizens living in Puerto Rico and Massachusetts should have the same rights, so I grew up opposing this man’s work. Months ago, I ventured into the Harvard Archives to find his speech. I expected to find one rooted in ideas I could easily dismiss. Plot-twist: a masterpiece. Out of the eight pages, I concurred with everything except four sentences.

Reflecting on my Archives journey, I became increasingly worried: isn’t this how we’re conducting our exchange of ideas and our relationships at Harvard? In this country? In our world?

To me, this is the challenge and opportunity of our generation. The challenge: we’re polarized. This polarization is compounded by declining trust and rising loneliness. The opportunity: we’re exhausted. A recent poll shows 93% of Americans are tired of our divisions. You’re probably feeling it, no? In business school, this is a huge addressable market! In law school, a tort!?

I believe the path forward lies in embracing civic virtue, a concept from ancient Rome refreshed during the Enlightenment and American Revolution. Civic virtue emphasizes individuals' responsibility to engage in their communities for society's betterment, which in turn bolsters individual well-being. Adopting civic virtue is a personal decision that can start today. Here’s my triad of techniques:??

First: engaging with our neighbors. In the elevator, I once asked my elderly neighbor about her day. She responded, "You're a weird creature.” My siblings would agree… “Young people don't say hi," she continued. Her words: a wake-up call. Casual bonds – initiated with a simple hello – foster societal trust, reducing loneliness, improving health. Professor Maureen (Molly) E. Brady 's property class taught me unfamiliar neighbors are more litigious. Spending time on front porches rather than in backyards can change this.

Second: finding common ground. My law school seminar classroom dynamics with Guy-Uriel Charles and Luis Fuentes-Rohwer exemplified this masterfully: students debated – fiercely – for two hours, then grabbed dinner together. Something held us united amid difference: a commitment to address something that was broken. Differences of opinion must be met with the understanding that our shared goal is to make this campus – this world – better.

And third: cherishing disagreement. High trust and common ground enable respectful disagreement, thus breaking down intellectual silos and fostering debates among friends. As Professor Arthur C. Brooks teaches, neuroscience shows that fear is the opposite of love. When we fear opponents, we have less neurological capacity for love. Civic virtue prescribes us to approach each other’s ideas with an open heart, empathy, respect. These will make us stronger.

Civic virtue is like Plato’s “good” – a perfect, eternal ideal that we’ll never fully realize. But that we must pursue if we wish to fully realize our potential as humans.

The magic of higher ed: the man whose ideas I sought to dismiss at the Archives now arms me with a quote for this essay. “Those who profess to love their homeland but despise its people, suffer from a great confusion of spirit.”

How we use this degree… matters. Despite graduating, I’d argue our most important assignment starts now… as we step outside the gates of our respective universities. The assignment: embracing civic virtue – engaging, finding common ground, and disagreeing better – to heal society’s divisions. If we can't do it here as a community, can we ask the world to?

Remaining polarized is the easy choice. Addressing it, the hard one. But we like challenges – that’s why we came here.

* * *

With gratitude to all who had something to do with this reflection. Beatriz Gorostiaga Zubizarreta Eduardo J. Negrón Mitchell Weiss Natalie Jaresko Maureen (Molly) E. Brady Margot Gill Diego Negrón-Reichard Diego Salinas Rob Watson Jorge J. Ros, CPA Wanda Reichard Megwinoff Eduardo Bhatia David R. González Antía Vázquez Fernández Tarek Masoud Zoe Foulkes Bryce Fuemmeler

And with endless thank to my family, friends (old and new!) and those professors and administrators that also made this journey a unique one: Mitchell Weiss Kristin Williams Mugford Matthew Weinzierl Ryan Buell Jana Kierstead Jill Fadule Deborah Winshel Noah Feldman Lawrence Lessig John Dionne Archie L. Jones, Jr., CPA, NACD.DC Anita Elberse Nori Gerardo Lietz Maureen (Molly) E. Brady Niko Bowie Ellen Hart Mike Murphy Ranjay Gulati Zoe Matthew Jody Freeman Emily McComb Tony Mayo David Fubini Guhan Subramanian John Lynch Vikram Gandhi Larry Schwartztol Nien-hê Hsieh Lynn Paine Debora Spar Clayton Rose Victor Clay Angel Saez

Sebastian “Seba” Negron-Reichard is a JD/MBA grad from Harvard Law School & 美国哈佛商学院 . After graduation, he’ll take a short break to study for the bar and then start his one-year HBS Fellowship as an Advisor to the City of Boston. Originally from Puerto Rico, before Harvard Seba was part of the team tasked with restructuring Puerto Rico’s $125B in liabilities. He spent his JD/MBA summer internships at Sullivan & Cromwell, a consulting firm, and a fintech startup. He’s on the Board of the Harvard/MIT Coop, served as HBS student government co-president last year and spoke at the HBS graduation.