The following is the keynote address given by Jay Chen at the Asian Pacific Graduation for the University of Southern California, held on May 14th 2009 at the Fischer Art Gallery, South Lawn.

Good evening Trojans. It's a pleasure to be here, and I want to thank the Asian Pacific Alumni Association, Asian Pacific American Student Assembly, and Asian Pacific American Student Services for inviting me to share in this celebration with you all.

I don't think it's a mere coincidence that graduation season coincides with the celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage month. Our legislators must have known this was the favorite time of year for tens of thousands of Asian parents who are just thrilled that they will no longer be receiving a tuition bill. Let's give a hand to those parents in the audience who have made this day possible.

There is also a more historic reason for celebrating APA Heritage month in May, and I wish to discuss that briefly today. May 7, 1843 marked the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants, and May 10, 1869 marked the completion of the transcontinental railroad, built in large part by Chinese laborers. I don't think any of the early Asian immigrants for whom this month is dedicated, could imagine the scene before us today, in which APAs have reached such size and clout that they command their own graduation ceremony.

The fact is, the earliest immigrants from Asia were subject to some of the worst forms of legalized racism our nation had ever seen. In 1880 a California law was passed forbidding marriage between Whites and Asians. In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, which marked the first and only time in US history that any ethnicity or nationality was banned from the United States.

The Japanese community fared no better; in 1907 the Gentleman's Agreement halted all Japanese emigration to the United States and in 1942 more than 100,000 men, women and children of Japanese descent were removed from their homes and shipped to internment camps across inland America; more than 60% of them were United States citizens, their only crime was sharing the same appearance as those we were at war with at the time.

For this same war, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos were recruited to fight and die alongside US soldiers with the promise of full veteran benefits. However, after the war ended in 1946, President Truman signed the Rescission Act which took those benefits away.

I raise these anecdotes in this forum because it is impossible to appreciate the accomplishments we celebrate today, without acknowledging the trials and tribulations of those that came before us, upon whose shoulders we now stand. The remarkable thing is, despite the extraordinary obstacles that have been placed before our community, we have always risen above and beyond the occasion.

Ironically, the most highly decorated military combat unit in American history remains the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of World War II, known as Go for Broke. It was comprised primarily of Japanese Americans who had every reason to not fight and die for a government that treated them like the enemy and that had incarcerated their family. Instead of harboring bitterness however, the regiment accumulated 21 Medals of Honor and nearly 10,000 Purple Hearts, quelling any notion that patriotism was related to color.

Most recently, the APA community was instrumental in electing what could be considered the first APA presidency. We now have a President born in Hawaii, who grew up in Indonesia, has a half-Asian sister and a Chinese-American brother-in-law, who has now appointed more APAs to the White House cabinet than all previous presidential administrations combined. One of President Obama's first acts was to repay benefits to the surviving Filipino veterans who had so long been denied their right.

As Trojans, you should take pride in the enormous role that your alma mater has played in shaping the course of APA history. The first Chinese American to practice law in California was educated at USC. You Chung Hong obtained his law degree in 1925, and worked vigorously to repeal the aforementioned Chinese Exclusion Act. He became the first Chinese American to argue before the Supreme Court, and was instrumental in building the Los Angeles Chinatown we enjoy today.

USC being the dominant sports school that it is, it's probably not surprising that the first Asian American to win a gold medal for the United States was trained and educated on this campus. In fact, Korean American Sammy Lee became the first diver to ever win 2 gold medals at the Olympics, in 1948 and 1952. Of course, not wanting to be seen as a slacker, he first completed his MD at USC in 1947, much to his parent's relief.

You are joining a special family of high achieving alumni. If history is any indication, you have all been educated well by this fine university, and will make a name for yourselves as prior Trojans have. There probably isn't a whole lot more I could add to your education, but since I am the keynote, I have to at least offer a few words of advice for your graduation.

The first piece of advice is: embrace your heritage.

As Americans of Asian descent, you will play a critical role in the evolution of a new world order. As countries such as China and India strive for their potential, our nation will depend upon natural ambassadors such as yourselves to help navigate an environment in which American supremacy cannot, and should not, just be taken for granted.

Take the time to travel and to understand the cultures that make you who you are, and know that there is nothing more American than doing so, and that only in America would a story such as yours be possible. Thank your parents, in their native tongue if you can, for raising you in a multilingual household, and if they did not, make a promise to yourself that your own children will be given such an advantage.

My second piece of advice is: always live with your eulogy in mind.

At the age of 25 I had the unfortunate distinction of having attended more classmate funerals than weddings. I have no misconceptions of my own mortality and how capricious fate can be, and that is partly what motivates me to do what I do. My challenge to you all is to think, if you were to die today and be eulogized tomorrow, what would be said and would you be satisfied with it?

Don't always put off the good works and deeds for a later date, after you have been established or made your fortune, because that date may never come. Get the most meaning out of your life, now.

This class has the unique distinction of graduating into the worst economic recession of our lifetimes. But in every crisis there are opportunities. The silver lining before you is the drastically reduced opportunity cost of doing something you actually enjoy that adds true value to the world. You no longer have to choose between a soulless but lucrative job in finance or something more inspiring and creative, because those finance jobs no longer exist.

In a way, you have more opportunities than any class before you since expectations of what a suitable job are have finally and rightfully been deconstructed and dismantled. Take this golden opportunity to produce something of value for our society, a value fit to be eulogized.

My last piece of advice is this: no matter what career you ultimately choose, from sports to science, to everything in between, never assume that politics will not affect you.

It was less than a year ago that the LPGA tried to create an English-only rule targeting Asian players for suspension from a tour that they were clearly dominating. If not for the efforts of APA legislators in California who stopped the policy, the world that your defending champion women's golf team would graduate into would be a very different place.

And if you think a life hidden in a lab can keep you insulated from politics, just remember the story of Dr. Wen Ho Lee, who a mere decade ago was falsely accused of spying for China and had his career ruined for no reason other than his race. Take pride in knowing that the lawyer who sued the government and New York Times on Dr. Lee's behalf and won an unprecedented settlement and apology, was Brian Sun, himself a Trojan.

And if you have no plans on getting a job and want to be a student for life, and I'm sure your parents must love you for that, remember that 67 years ago, 130 students from this very school, some on the verge of graduating, were shipped off to internment camps across inland America because of their Japanese heritage.

As easily as your lives can be affected by politics, it's just as easy for you to affect the political system. Engagement in civic society does not have to mean running for public office as I did or working on a political campaign. It can start with simply breaking the cycle of political apathy and consistently exercising your right to vote, a privilege that those for whom this month is dedicated, did not have.

In closing, I wish to congratulate the class of 2009 on completing this chapter of your young lives, and beginning the next. Enjoy your accomplishments, but do not forget the multiple paths and dead-ends that had to be walked by others so that you could have an opportunity to walk today. I look forward to seeing what trails you will blaze for future generations. Thank you, and congratulations once again.