Meet Yasmin Liwa Younis, the Iraqi-American COM’18 graduate and Student Speaker at Boston University’s 145th Commencement. Yasmin’s speech about reclaiming her Iraqi-Muslim identity made an impact globally and resonated with first-generation Americans, regardless of their background.

While Yasmin was visiting family in Kuwait, she felt inspired to write a speech. She wanted to share her pride in being an Iraqi-American, as well as her pride in her Iraqi name. Among hundreds of applicants, her speech made the top five finalists, and after presenting it in front of a committee, Yasmin was selected as the Student Commencement Speaker. ‘It was an amazing experience’ she described, ‘I reminded myself that this is an honour and I may never have the opportunity to share my story and the beauty of being Iraqi to an audience this big. So I took a breath, and gave it all I got, and it was exhilarating.’ Her speech was chosen by The74th as one of this year’s 7 most memorable – and inspiring – graduation speeches, amongst Oprah Winfrey, President Jimmy Carter and others.

Yasmin’s father came to the United States in 1988 for his residency at Saint Louis University. Her mother and grandmother immigrated to the U.S after leaving Kuwait and fleeing the Gulf War. Yasmin’s grandfather was the prominent Iraqi Hydrologist, Mahdi Hantush and recipient of the Meinzer Award.

Like a lot of first-generation Americans, Yasmin struggled in accepting her cultural identity, while connecting to the American one: