Babson College Class of 2026 Graduation Celebrates First Generation Leadership and Entrepreneurial Journey

Programming example

Dear Babson College, I hope these last four years served as a good ROI on your investment. Funny how that deferral worked out for both of us. Today felt surreal in a way I don't have words for yet.I kept looking around thinking... how did that scared 18-year-old from Florida end up here?Six years ago, I was finishing high school and an associate's degree at the same time, applying to 80 colleges (yes, you heard me right), figuring out life as a first-generation student with nothing but determination and the support of Choppa Nation (ifkyk).I knew Babson was the one. I just knew. And then I got deferred.I cried. A lot. Because when you feel something that clearly in your bones, being told to wait feels like being told no.But then I got in. And something in me finally exhaled.What I didn't fully understand then, and feel so deeply now, is that women weren't allowed through Babson's doors until about 57 years ago. I was walking into a space that wasn't always built for someone like me. And I walked in anyway.Freshman year, I was terrified. Not just of college, but of what it meant to leave.There's a guilt when you're first-gen. The guilt of betting on yourself when the people you love most are still back home.I showed up anyway. Co-founded a fashion startup with Vaness “Reece” Gardner, stepped into Babson College Student Government Association not knowing what I was doing. I was just a girl trying to figure out who she was.Sophomore year, something shifted. I started chasing the things that made me feel alive: public speaking, creating spaces where people felt seen, finding my voice in rooms I used to shrink in.I stopped surviving college and started living it.Junior year, I became SGA President and helped bring the Health Vending Machine and Boston Shuttle to life, two legacy projects that will outlive my time on this campus.Senior year, I moved to Cape Town for seven months, only the third Babson student in history to make that leap, to grow and build If The Shoe Fits (ITSF). I built my first prototype by hand, was named to Boston Business Journal's 25 Under 25, and came back winning pitch comp after pitch comp. And today, I walked across that stage in heels I designed and built myself (still in shock.)Thank you to every mentor, faculty member, and admin who made these four years so special: Angel Long, McKenzie Ward, Gustavo (Gus) Tovar, Samantha Frost, Ryan Travia, Ed.D., FACHA, Stephen Spinelli, Ariel Carlos Armony, Gerri Randlett, George Recck, Sandy Bravo, Lee Gustafson, Michael Noel, Caitlin Capozzi, Mary Powell, Brad Johnson, Amari Dias, MBA, Cindy Klein Marmer, Kara O'Connor Miller, and so many more.To my chronic divas Emily Ana Levy & Lilly Stairs, thank you for keeping me loved and grounded.I guess you could say, "madam president" is officially singing off. 💚 hashtag#babsoncollege hashtag#babsonalumni hashtag#Classff2026

Communities

• Generational

Formats

• Unique Format
• Internal Event

Goals

• Connect