President Harris’ Perspective

My grandmother was one of the most influential figures in my life. She came to the United States as a child when her father fled Russia out of fear of persecution. Her life was not an easy one, especially after my grandfather died in an industrial accident leaving her as a single mother to raise three children during the Great Depression. She was a woman of deep faith who believed that everyone should be treated with dignity no matter their background or station in life. One phrase I remember her using often was “You are no better than anyone else, but you are just as good.”

President Harris (middle) with his grandmother and father

During the summer following my senior year in high school, I worked as a janitor cleaning restrooms and cafeterias in local industrial plants in my hometown. The work was unpleasant and I noticed that when I was working people would not take the time to say hello and would often treat me like I didn’t exist. One day after work, I told my grandmother that I felt disrespected when people didn’t even look at me and I was indignant that I was being treated that way. I will never forget what my grandmother said to me when I told her how I felt. She said, “Let this be a lesson for you. Never forget what it feels like to be invisible.”

That lesson has stuck with me for my entire life and I have tried to do my best to always recognize the presence of others and treat them with dignity. That is also my hope for our university community. As a contemporary Catholic university we are blessed with a very diverse learning community at USD, with students from 85 countries and 50 states from myriad ethnic and cultural backgrounds, identities, and belief systems. But it isn’t enough to be diverse, we must also seek to create a community that my grandmother would understand, one where everyone feels a sense of belongingness and that no one feels forgotten or invisible. Through our interactions on campus, I hope that you can continue to make new connections on a daily basis. Say ‘hello’ to the neighbor you don’t typically talk to in class or at work, take your professor up on their office hours to brainstorm ideas or thank the staff in the SLP for their hard work. With each connection, we can build a stronger USD and ensure that everyone in our Torero community is seen.

President Harris with students during a hike through the canyon