Jasmin Velez, alumna from the Class of 2011, returned to Abington Friends School as the keynote speaker for this year’s commencement ceremony. Jasmin is a recognized organizer and activist with a robust career in the nonprofit sector focusing on community education, engagement, and advocacy.
Sydney Johnson ’24 introduced Jasmin at Commencement with a story about her journey. “Jasmin went to do her master’s work in Colorado, studying Anthropology to become a researcher,” says Sydney. “One day she was in a class and her peers were theorizing about necessities for under-served communities. A student stood up and assumed, ‘We know based on our research what underfunded communities need.’ Jasmin sat to herself and thought, ‘How would we know what low-income communities need? What if our research isn’t what they asked for or what they truly need?’ That class, that day, that moment changed her entire trajectory.”
“I want to become a better listener, share other people’s stories, and share my own story,” says Jasmin. “I don’t want to assume I know anyone’s story.”
In her current role as the Lead Community Organizer at Kensington Corridor Trust, Jasmin has taken on a multifaceted set of responsibilities. Her duties include expanding membership involvement in city, state, and federal campaigns, conducting outreach, base building, training, and education among residents and small business owners. Jasmin is dedicated to amplifying the voices of impacted communities and working with them to envision a brighter future as they see fit, in their own words.
“The fact that you’re all sitting here together, as a unified class, is a testament to that need for human connection and friendships,” says Jasmin to the Class of 2024. “I think it’s beautiful to remember that the people all around you now, whether old faces or new, are experiencing a moment together that is unique to this specific period in time.
“If I may leave you with a few parting words of advice, it is to be open to new opportunities, spaces and geographies… to people, whether they challenge you or not, because you never know who can impact your life or who’s life your impacting simply by sharing a moment or space with them.”