Proud, happy, emotional

For Tania Rodriguez, seeing her daughter in her cap and gown, with Commencement stoles and a beaming smile, the word she couldn’t stop saying was “proud.”

“I’m so happy and so excited; she’s my little girl … but now I can see she’s not little anymore,” said Rodriguez, who was watching daughter Jasmine Rodriguez ’24 (pictured right) make a speech during the Aulbani J. Beauregard Center for Equity, Justice, and Freedom Celebration of Achievement and Excellence.

Jasmine’s sister, Caroline Reyes, was also in the audience, and said her younger sister is an inspiration.

“She motivated me to complete my degree, so I’m pursuing an associate’s degree at the moment. I’m just so proud of her,” said Reyes.

Pride, happiness and other positive emotions were all running high at the celebration, now in its second year. The event was created to celebrate “perseverance and achievement in the face of historic and ongoing exclusion and marginalization,” according to its organizers from the Beauregard Center, which itself was founded as a student center that partners with students from historically excluded and underserved backgrounds, with the goal to empower students to grow socially and academically.

The event was supported in part by donations from longtime UNH benefactors Morgan Rutman ’84 and Tara Rutman, as well as two other alumni donors who wish to remain anonymous.

Among those students honored at the celebration were student leaders from the Diversity Support Coalition (DSC). The umbrella student organization has seven member organizations: Black Student Union, United Asian Coalition, Middle Eastern Cultural Association, MOSAICO, Hillel, Alliance and Native American Cultural Association. Housed within the Beauregard Center, the DSC promotes and supports multiculturalism, inclusion, diversity and equity at UNH through educational and cultural programming and advocacy efforts.

Fazla Karim ’24 said the best part of the celebration was reflecting on the friendships he’d made at UNH. “A lot of these people were my first friends at UNH. We bonded through our backgrounds; we started together and we finished together, and that is so rewarding.”

Another proud attendee? Renee Elizabeth Brogan ’24, who was visibly emotional both onstage and as she saw friends and peers in the audience. “I started crying because I’m really proud of all the people I’ve met and really grateful I got introduced to the Beauregard Center. I was really lonely before that, and the first two years were hard, but now my life is completely different because of it.”

Jasmine Rodriguez was emotional too. The celebration, she said, “is such a surreal moment for me and for everyone here.

“Reflecting on my experience here, being first-gen, being a student of color, I’m just so happy to be here and I’m grateful to be given the opportunity to share my story.”

Her advice to the next generation of students? “Never forget that you are not alone on this journey,” said Rodriguez, who shared in her speech how she failed her first-semester classes but remained determined to be successful. “A big part of my failure and then coming back like I did was the fact that there were people there to support and help me. There’s always someone to turn to, to talk to, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. Turn to your community and your people when you need to.”