CELEBRITY

Diane Guerrero Receives Honorary Doctorate

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Actress, activist, and author, Diane Guerrero can add another title to her resume.

Orange is the New Black actress Diane Guerrero received an honorary doctorate of laws earlier this week from Regis College.

“This degree is a total game changer and a very special honor,” Guerrero said.

Although Guerrero is a standout actress, she was recognized by her alma mater for her dedication to immigration reform.

In the Country We Love: My Family Divided author was separated from her family at 14-years-old when her family was deported to Colombia. Since Guerrero was born in the United States, she has citizen status, but her family was denied the same. The struggles Guerrero has endured because of this lead her to advocate for immigration rights and earned her the name of White House Ambassador for Citizenship and Naturalization in 2015.

According to the Boston GlobeGuerrero used her commencement speech to encourage the graduates to follow her lead and speak up for the disenfranchised: “It does not do any good to remain silent, whether we are talking about ourselves, our immediate community, our community as Americans, or as the Class of 2018. We all want a better world, and that means fighting through the discomfort, fighting through the taboos, fighting through the vulnerability and shame, being OK with not having the answers.”

 

Congratulations Dr. Diane Guerrero on this momentous achievement.