Anthropology Commencement Celebration Speech by Ana Loza Pérez '24
Presented at the May 2024 Celebration of Anthropology Graduates
It is such an honor to get to speak at today’s celebration of graduating Anthropology students, a cohort that I am immensely proud to be a part of.
My name is Ana Loza Pérez and I am a double major in Anthropology and Economics, with a minor in Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies.
I grew up moving around between Mexico, Brazil, and the US, an experience that I am immensely grateful to my parents for. Whenever we would visit Mexico City to see family, I would also get to eat guayabas and tacos al pastor, listen to Luis Miguel, but most of all, to visit the massive Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan and my beloved Museo de Antropologia. And despite the fact that it is my favorite museum, I never would have imagined that this would be the field I would be so passionate about.
I still remember walking down the Lown stairs for my first Anthropology class: Nature, Culture, Power with Professor Schroeder. In that large, stuffy lecture hall, I knew that this is what I wanted to pursue. Since then, my semesters have been filled with hours and hours of readings by thinkers such as Margaret Mead, W. E. B. Dubois, Benedict Anderson, and so many others. I have come to understand and love that anything can be anthropological, from the lintels in Yaxchilan to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to aging in India and sand in Martinique.
Anthropology has given me the language and the frameworks to ask questions about the world around me. It has been such a joy to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange throughout my time at Brandeis. I have loved questioning everything and I have loved the challenge of forming conclusions when there are only complicated realities. This field has radically changed how I think and inspired me to always be imaginative, curious, and empathetic.
Being a part of this department has truly been my favorite part of being at Brandeis. The genuine care that every one of my Anthropology professors has shown me is the reason why I have dared to explore so many different topics and why I have grown so much as a writer, a thinker, and a person in these three years. There are not enough words to express how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to learn from Elizabeth Ferry, Charles Golden, Javier Urcid, Margarite Blignaut, Richard Schroeder, Natalie Susmann, Sarah Lamb, Charlotte Goudge, Patricia Alvarez Astacio, and Janet McIntosh. Your knowledge, passion, and support have inspired me immensely. Thank you for introducing me to this beautiful field and for encouraging me to pursue questions, research, and experiences that I never would have imagined I was capable of.
The insights and accomplishments of my Anthropology cohort have amazed and inspired me since the very first day of university, and I am grateful to have gotten to share a classroom with so many of you. I cannot wait to see how each one of us takes everything we have learned in Anthropology and applies it in unique and meaningful ways!