# @bostonu on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C7HFdKqNoZW
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/17658706-bostonu-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/legacy-do/55ee9a3440139a5ac01b3159238c7375203049c21b9b56e7b9bfba47b587aa49.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-05-18T13:00:09.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Boston University (@bostonu) — https://gondola.cc/bostonu

## Caption

“A lot of who I am really became clear to me once I came to BU,” Michael Arellano says. “BU is a place that will really challenge who you are, and those challenges are the foundation of the growth that I’ve been able to experience.”

Michael Arellano (bu_cas’24, bu_grs’24) is BU’s student speaker at this year’s All-University Commencement and will receive their dual bachelor’s and master’s degree in political science. Arellano plans to tell a story focused on activism that was both driven by, and a driver of, personal changes. 

During their time at BU, Arellano and a few others, including alumni and students from the Queer Activist Collective, founded the LGBTQ+ Student Task Force which recommended the LGBTQ+ students center (bupride). They and their activist friends also founded IMPACT (Intersection of Marginalized Peoples and Communities Task Force), constituted through the Student Senate, to advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The first person in their family to get a graduate degree, Arellano says education is highly valued. Arellano has a variety of ideas for what the future holds, including working for the Latinx community and maybe a law degree and even a PhD in philosophy.

“I tell the leaders of the [LGBTQ+ Student] Task Force that my time and advocacy [at BU] is coming to an end, and I was in the room with the people that made it happen. And now it’s time for you to be in that room. What I can do now is I can help you prepare for it, I will be there to support you through it. And every step of the way, you know how to call me.”

“Just because I leave BU, doesn’t mean my relationship with BU ends,” Arellano says.

On Sunday, Arellano will address the Class of 2024 graduates and guests gathered on Nickerson Field for BU’s 151st Commencement. #BU2024

🔗 Link in bio to read the full story.

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