I looked around this beautiful, lush, rich campus and thought, "What in the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here. It's only a matter of time until they realize that I am not one of them. I am not rich. I don't drive a BMW. I drive a beat-up, old, ugly 1977 Ford Mustang. I don't have a loving, supportive family to go home to on holidays. I have foster parents who don't want me, a stepdad in prison, and a dead mother. And, I am not smart. I scored a 580 on the SATs."

But guess what? Today, I'm proud to say, I graduated from Saint Mary's College of California in 1993 with a 3.41 GPA. I double-- majored in Economics and Business Administration and Spanish, and then went on to one of the nation's top law schools, the University of Notre Dame, where I graduated in 1996, passed the Michigan bar, and began practicing law.

Today, a consultant with Lee Hecht Harrison, one of the largest international career management consulting firms, I will begin teaching in Collegiate Seminar at Saint Mary's this fall. How did I do it? I am not sure that I can give you a formula that will ensure your own success. However, I can tell you what worked for me: focus, hard work, and faith.

Focus
When I came here, my goal was to get out of the ghetto; to rise above crime, poverty, and the shame that went with it. I believed education would give me dignity and self-respect. And I can tell you today, it has.

It wasn't easy to stay focused. And I don't imagine it will be easy for you. There will be parties, dances, drugs, alcohol, peer pressure, and yes, the opposite sex. There were a few in my class who were led astray by these "extra-curricular" activities. And I do not doubt that if they could be here with you today, they would advise, as I am advising, to stay focused.

Hard Work
I had to work hard in college. While taking a full class load, I was the full-time nanny to a six-month-old baby and also worked as a cocktail waitress at night. I think I also studied harder than other students, because unlike them, I didn't come from a good college -- prep school or from college-educated parents. The first 18 years of my life were spent running from physical and emotional abuse by those who were supposed to love me. I was just trying to survive. Looking back, I remember spending hours at the library struggling to read and grasp concepts that were foreign to me.

Working hard might mean having to work 30 hours a week at Burger King to pay your rent and buy food. Sometimes you have to do what you need to do today so you can have a choice about what you do tomorrow. So work hard to earn that choice.

Faith
When focus and hard work would bring me down, I would remind myself to have faith. For me, it was faith in my God. Faith that He had a plan greater than my understanding. Faith that He would give me strength and courage when I felt weak and scared. Have faith in your God, however you may perceive Him, Her, or It. Faith will help you work through the fears, doubts, and insecurities.

The High Potential Program is your passport to success. It will open doors for you all over the world. It will open doors in places where you didn't even know doors existed.

I believe in each of you. Believe also in yourself. Know that you have a right to be here. I don't care about SAT scores, or your

GPA, or where you came from. Whatever has happened to you, or whatever you have done, or not done, up to this moment is the past. It does not define you. Close those doors and don't look back.