Da’Sean Spencer had the opportunity to speak at the 2023 Unified Commencement Ceremony about creating community through leadership during his time at Tulane, and he certainly left the audience with a sense of empowerment. We asked Da’Sean a couple of questions about his writing process, leadership, and AKPsi. And for those interested, we highly recommend taking three minutes out of your day to check out his remarkable commencement speech.
What was your speech-writing process like? How did you choose what to focus on?
The speech-writing process for me was quite difficult for me, but it taught me a great deal. Commencement speeches are uniquely challenging because you are often expected to do the impossible: condense the vastly different experiences of thousands of graduates into one narrative that leaves everyone feeling seen. In my first few drafts, I leaned into this approach and focused on our resilience in the face of the pandemic and Hurricane Ida, and the many other academic, nightlife, and dorm experiences that I expect most, if not all of us, experienced at Tulane.
After reading over these drafts, however, I felt it was missing an emotional touch that is hard to derive from platitudes and generalizations. So instead, I decided to tell my personal story and focus on one specific experience that I know the vast majority of, not just my class, but even the families, friends, and other guests who attend Commencement would be able to identify with: the feeling that you are not good enough, and the ways in which we are taught that leadership, opportunity, and success are only for certain people with certain traits. We all have parts of ourselves that shy away, so I wanted to leave the audience with a sense of understanding and empowerment by telling my story of how I wielded my own shyness and hypervisibility to grow into the leader I am proud to call myself today.
You spoke about leadership and how your definition of it has changed during college—how has AKPsi helped you to shape your new definition?
AKPsi has been indispensable in teaching me that leadership does not always look the way you expect it to. I am an extremely reserved person and sometimes felt like I did not belong in a community of such outspoken and confident people. It is easy to assume that only conventional Type-A individuals have the right ingredients to lead or be successful, but my experiences with Brothers taught me that leadership is something innate in everyone. It can be as simple as giving extra encouragement to someone who messed up while publicly speaking and sparking a chain reaction of support. It can be as grandiose as advocating to deconstruct corporate definitions of professionalism. We are all capable.
You gave amazing advice to the entire graduating class of 2023, what might you say to the incoming class of 2027 and prospective AKPsi members?
My advice to incoming classes is simply to be sincere. Grow sincerely, embrace the growing pains, and appreciate the many lessons you will learn in these next few years. Explore your passions and dreams in sincerity. Be bold, do not let notions of what is typical or conventional stop you from breaking those molds and charting a new path. If you make mistakes, make them in sincerity.
What’s up next for you?
Starting this summer, I will be working for the International Economic Development Council’s Equity Fellowship Program hosted by the St. Tammany Corporation. The program will provide me with hands-on experience in supporting entrepreneurs by working with the United Way of Southeast Louisiana on their Thriving African-American Small Business Initiative, a program designed to help boost the profit potential of Black-owned businesses in the greater New Orleans region. Beyond that, I hope to pursue a career in public service in public policy or diplomacy.
