Giana De La Cruz ’24 has been selected as the student speaker for this year’s Commencement ceremony.
A resident of Boston, Massachusetts, De La Cruz is a psychology major, economics minor and scholar in the Public Health Pathway. Born in New York to a family from the Dominican Republic, she moved to the Dominican Republic as an infant before returning to the United States when she was 5 years old.
At Conn, De La Cruz has served as head of public relations for the POCA Fashion Show, a mentor in the Genesis program and the social media program assistant for the Office of Student Engagement. Twice a week, she interns at New London High School’s career and college office to help students develop post-high school plans.
As a junior, De La Cruz studied abroad in England at Queen Mary University of London for a semester with the IES program. She learned about public health in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States through comparative research and analysis of public health systems around the world. She completed a research project for her pathway about immigration integration in the U.K. and U.S., which she presented at the All-College Symposium in November.
In London, De La Cruz interned at Migrateful, a company that works with immigrants and asylum seekers who have a passion for cooking. They learn English, recipe creation and public speaking, so they can become cooking class instructors for Migrateful. Throughout the process, Migrateful also helps them with personal endeavors and provides community during the challenging process of moving to a new country, De La Cruz explained.
After graduation, De La Cruz will work at Massachusetts General Hospital as an administrative manager for its Aspire summer Adventure Camp, which specializes in helping children and young teens on the autism spectrum succeed in social situations. She plans to pursue a Master of Social Work and is applying to graduate school. “In the far future, I hope to help close the gaps between mental health care, people of color, affordability and the intersection between all of those things,” she said.
De La Cruz said being selected as the student Commencement speaker is an honor. “As I reflect on the last four years here at Conn, I feel grateful to have been here with my fellow graduates and all of the amazing people on this campus,” she said. “I am glad to be able to address everyone, give them all praise one last time and hopefully leave everyone with one last beautiful memory of our experience. My speech is a reflection of our years together and the years and experiences to come. It is dedicated to all of our younger selves and the memories they hold and will keep safe for us.
“I am proud to be the first in my family to graduate from college, especially one like Connecticut College. I am proud to be setting the standard high for my family for future generations. All of our futures and lives have changed with this new journey and experience we went through together. My parents came here for a better life and education and this is the product of that leap of faith, which I will always be grateful for.”