>> thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. one more round of applause to the interns. [applause] if you look around you tonight, you will see poster boards celebrating, acknowledging the first asian-americans to do certain things. we have the first asian-american actress in hollywood, the first asian-american nba player, the first members of congress. these interns are the future of our community. these interns are the reason why we are here today. but we are also here to celebrate and recognize one of

the greatest members of our community. this year is the first year we are giving the lifetime achievement award. it is going to secretary norman manetta, who is receiving this award for many reasons. he is a trail blazer, a man who paved the way for many of us who followed. he was the first asian american mayor of a major city. i'm sorry, mayor lee, but you are coming in third now. he was elected to congress 10 times. he was the first to serve two

presidents in the cabinet. it was on 9/11 that he showed us what he was made up. when those planes hit the twin towers, it was secretary mineta who made the call to ground all the planes. he instituted a policy that tsa is following today to ensure that our skies are say. after 9/11, he prevented the profiling of arab-americans and muslim americans in our country. tonight, we honor him and give him this back for a very special reason. i want to thank the san francisco giants for donating a bat autographed by hall of famer orlando said payton. the reason why we are giving thisbat to the secretary is

because of what happened to him when he was a young boy. like hundreds of thousands of other japanese-americans, he was forced to relocate into the internment camps. as a young boy, the secretary was taken to the train station by military police officers. as a young boy, he was a huge baseball fan, and he had his prize possession with him -- his baseball bat. the military police saw the young boy with his baseball bat and said, "you are not taking that with you. that is a glut in." they took away a young boy is prized possession. later on as a member of congress, a generous person hurt the story and offered him an autograph- aaronbat -- hank

aaron bat. as a member of congress, you are not allowed to except his worth more than $200, so the government took away his bat again. we cannot replace what was taken away from the young boy, but we do give him something we hope will take its place just a small bit. ladies and gentlemen, i present to you the first ever recipient of the life achievement award for services rendered to the asian-american community and services rendered to our nation. i give to you, secretary mineta. [applause]

>> i cannot think of a more appropriate gift tonight than to recede this -- receive this bat. i want to thank everyone for co hosting this event tonight. all of us who have had the privilege of serving in public service have gotten to that point because we were standing on the shoulders of those who preceded us, and i want everybody here, young people, to remember that whatever they do in the future, bring everything you are and bring everything you want to the jobs you are going to be doing. there are tremendous opportunities that are out there.

asian pacific american heritage week is a time for all of us to be able to show the majority community what we are capable of doing, and it is also a time when people in the asian- pacific american community are learning about each other. many people say that the united states should be a melting pot, and i do not believe in the melting pot theory. when you have a melting pot, you put all of the ingredients into the bowl, stir it up, and everybody loses their identity. in the asian pacific american community, there are over 150 languages, religions, cultures,

everything you can think of, and we do not want to lose that identity of our own history, regardless of where our forefathers have come from. i want everybody to be proud of the language of their forebears, the religion, the history, the culture, the art. again, i do not want us to lose our identity in the community in this great nation. again, thank you very, very much for great leadership, to the board for this wonderful gift bestowed upon me, and let's go ahead and continue to hit the ball out of the ballpark.

thank you very much. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, we are going to bring up our founded to say a few last words, but before he speaks, we would like all the previous speakers to come up for a photo with the board, so if the board members could please come on up. it is the hard work of these board members that make any event like this possible. without their hard work, none of this would happen, so we are going to do a quick picture and then say thank you to everyone. we are also going to ask the board of supervisors to please come up.

we would also like to ask for the judicial officers in the audience to come up as well. also, if you are a sponsor, please come on up.

all right, we are going to have our founder speak a few words and thank everyone. ladies and gentlemen, we are going to start our cultural program afterwards. food will be served in the four quarters as the program is going on. >> thank you very much for a great presentation.

let's give two hands to everyone. thank you. a special hand to organizers and i want to thank everyone for coming here and celebrating heritage month, and a special thanks to the statewide leaders. some are here, some are not, but -- let's see, where is my -- ok, well, again, enjoy the rest of the celebration and have a good time. take care. thank you. >> ladies gentlemen, i would also like to give a round of applause to our mc tonight.

it >> to route a career in public service that stretches three decades, ed lee has demonstrated his idealism and his pragmatism. he showed his confidence early, fresh out of law school. he helped deal with san francisco at first organized rent strike to protect the rights of some of the city for almost a vulnerable residents peeping -- . -- most of vulnerable residents.

he used his position for the last 20 years, effectively, winning unanimous support for a budget designed to close a $380 million deficit, negotiating pension reform that the voters approved last november, including such major employers as twitter. he is a strong education advocates and for programs that strengthen our communities and our schools. to keep the partnership and the sf promise, which joins the city and university in the unified school district to deliver more graduates of our local high schools to san francisco state. ed lee's story is an all-

american 1. like many of today's graduates, he is a first generation american 1. he became san francisco's first asian-american mayor in january 2011. [applause] he had been appointed at that time by the board of supervisors unanimously to serve out the remainder of mayor gavin newsome's term. ed lee exemplifies our commitment to improving our shared society. he is our mayor, are kind of mayor, and he likes to say "i was a progressive before progressives were a political faction in town." i am proud to present to you,

the honorable edwin m. lee. [applause] >> greetings. greetings to the members of the board of trustees, faculty and staff of san francisco state university, family and friends. good afternoon, class of 2012. [cheering] i am certain the in a san francisco state of mind today. nearly 800 graduates from 109 countries, right here, at the university of our great city of san francisco.

and thank you again for that very kind introduction. u.s. and a wonderful partner for our city, -- you have been a wonderful partner for our city, actively shaping our education policy for the 21st century new economy. you are a true capt. of change. week as leaders need to live by the values of social justice. these reforms in higher education have impacted generations of students across the world. congratulations on your well- deserved retirement and a big welcome for dr. leslie wong, the incoming president, who will

have to fill big shoes. i want to say to the alumnus today, as you go around the west of the world with your values reject -- around the rest of the world with your values as a graduate of this university, make sure people know san francisco is and always will be a sanctuary for the rest of the nation. [applause] and to your student commencement speaker, if i may say -- [speaking foreign language] congratulations. he didn't know i could speak russian, did you? i hope to see you start a new tech company right here in the indonesian capital of the world,

san francisco. -- in the innovation capital of the world, san francisco. [applause] i am thankful every single day for the opportunity to serve san francisco. is a privilege to wake up each morning and go to city hall and work for the people of this city to do everything i can to help you succeed in your lives. class of 2012, that is what today is about. succeeding and growing your lives, for yourselves, your families, and as mayor, i will state selfishly, your city, were ever you go from here. i just turned 60 a few days ago, and i was thinking, maybe we did a few things in celebration.

we blaze new trails for social justice and pushed the rest of america to embrace people rights for all people -- women, african-americans, asian- americans, latinos, gays, lesbians, people with disabilities. [cheering] we are a leader in protecting our environment, and we were the first city to adopt universal health care. [applause] and this university and this student body have been and always will be the vanguard of excellence. when i was not much older than you, i came to the bay area to join others to make the world a better place. we locked arms and stood in the doorways of the international hotel to protest the wrongful

eviction of elderly filipino and chinese immigrants who had no money and no place to go. we sued the san francisco fire department to give women and people of color an equal chance to be a firefighter for public safety. and we made a difference. today, i am proud that our state hired a woman to lead our fire department. i could never have imagined that in my lifetime the country would elect an african-american president, or that even the people of san francisco would have collected an asian-american mayor. [applause] but we screwed a few things up along the way. the economy, the environment, social justice. we are still working at. now you are graduating, class

of 2012. the challenges of the world are your challenges. so, you're next assignment, your homework for the rest of your life -- i can do that because i'm mayor -- is to run the ball a little further down the field and make this world a better place. i know some of your thinking "but, mayor, i have got to get a job. i have got to repay my student loans. i have to pay rent, paid for my mortgage. i have to care for my family." yes, you do. we are letting you out on to the world stage in an economy where to many people are looking for jobs. it is survival of the fittest, like something of "hunger games." but my message to you is you're

in san francisco, you are not on your own. it is more like "the avengers." no, i do not have any special superpowers. what i mean is that, while it may not always be evident, and he will have challenges as you leave this university and throughout your life, but always remember you are surrounded by a not so secret society of people who want to help you. they are people in business and government, law, the economy, sports, health care, education and the arts, in every field who have achieved a measure of success and wisdom in there lives. the greatest gift they can ever give is to pass on a little bit of that wisdom and a little bit of what they have learned to you and help you achieve to an even greater degree.

don't get me wrong. it is up to you and you alone to decide what you are going to do with this opportunity and not waste it. don't be afraid to ask for help, whether it is your boss, your family, or your mayor. don't lose yourself and your values. don't forget the world will change even amid the successes you achieve. look to your communities and ask yourself -- "how can i give back?" because if there is one thing that i see in this economy that is emerging, all these great start-ups in technology and tech and biotech -- it is that

success does not come from going it alone. success comes from collaboration, interaction, bringing diverse backgrounds and skills together for a common goal. go to these new companies. any of the incubators. due to mission the. they don't have offices. they have big open tables. they have white boards everywhere. the entire company knows the value of collaboration. the idea that success comes from sharing ideas and goals, because that is how we get innovation. that is how you, class of 2012, can be the best. it is not just innovation, but

an innovative approach to health care, curing diseases, cleaning our air and water, cheering social diseases and social justice. we are the gateway to the pacific rim, to asia, and to the west we have latin america and brazil. we are an international destination and b are known throughout the world. -- and we are known throughout the world. you are part of a brand that represents new ideas, new frontiers. i will close with an apology. as someone you may not -- as some of you may know, the chinese zodiac has 2012 as the

year of the dragon. the dragon is the only mythical animal in the chinese zodiac and the most powerful of all the rest. the year of the dragon is fittingly a time for risk- taking, bold decisions, and innovation. class of 2012, the world needs your risk-taking. seize this year of the dragon for yourselves, for your family, for the rest of your. your graduating at a time of immense opportunity and promise. there is no better city on earth in which to begin your new life with a new degree in hand. we are so proud of you. always remember, we are proud of you and we are here to help you realize your potential. thank you, congratulations, class of 2012. [applause]

>> kids with special needs have access to a venture on may 5. over 25 businesses and nonprofit organizations build the music concourse with free refreshments, games, and bluegrass. access to a venture is part of sf rec and park's year-round activities in partnership with activities in partnership with families.