Dr. Lisa Wong delivers Wheelock College Commencement address

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Dr. Lisa Wong delivers Wheelock College Commencement address

Wong receives honorary degree alongside the Rev. Liz Walker and Ellen Parker

Dr. Lisa Wong delivered the graduate Commencement address at Wheelock College in Boston on May 20, 2016. Wong – a musician, pediatrician, author, and lifelong arts advocate – also received an honorary degree at the ceremony.

Wong told graduates about her journey growing up in Honolulu. Her father, the first Chinese-American federal judge in the U.S., and her mother, an elementary school teacher, instilled in her an appreciation for education and music.

"Clear rules, structure, but with a sense of fun and a time for play – that’s the recipe for lifelong learning," said Wong. As a child, she was part of an orchestra that traveled throughout the Hawaiian Islands. "My violin, I found, was a change maker," she said. "My violin, the orchestra, and I traveled to other islands to play for schools where kids had never heard symphonic music." During high school, the orchestra visited hospitals, where Wong said she learned how music can bring joy to children who were sick or in pain.

The founder of the Longwood Symphony Orchestra's "Healing Art of Music Program” and a family pediatrician, she noted, "In my practice, I care for children when they're born until they graduate from college. That is a privilege."

Wong urged the graduates, who will enter fields including social work and education, to embrace the arts. "A traumatized child may open up through a shared song. A non-verbal child may find her voice through drawing. The arts can't end with preschool curriculum. Incorporate the arts in every level,” she said.

Additional 2016 Wheelock honorary degree recipients included the Rev. Liz Walker, Pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church and Boston’s first African American Television News Anchor on WBZ; and Ellen Parker, Executive Director of Project Bread and one of the first and strongest voices to recognize hunger as a public health problem in low income communities.

Wheelock College President Jackie Jenkins-Scott participated in her final Commencement activities, as she concludes her 12-year presidency at Wheelock in June 2016.

Wheelock College – Inspire a World of Good
Since 1888, Wheelock College has known that improving the lives of children and families isn’t always easy – but it’s always worth it. We’re teachers, advocates, social workers, and agents of change—leaders who are committed to changing the world in the heart of Boston and around the world. We prepare students to lead change in any career they choose. We offer 15 undergraduate majors and 22 minors, 9 graduate programs and a multitude of non-degree programs options— all of which inspire a world of good. For more information, visit wheelock.edu.