Dolly Parton for Commencement

John R. Lewis, prominent civil rights leader and congressman, was recently named this year’s Commencement speaker. Considering everything he’s accomplished throughout his life, especially during the civil rights movement and in Congress, his presence at Commencement is very timely amidst ongoing racial tensions in our country. Good choice, Harvard.

Now I know the process for choosing future commencement speakers is complex, and I’m sure potential speakers are intensely vetted for exceptional achievements and personal characteristics. I hope somebody involved in this process is reading this right now, because I have a question for you: Have you heard of Dolly Parton?

She’s often called the Queen of Country—and after racking up dozens of awards and two world records over her decades-long music and entertainment career, the title is well-deserved. Parton grew up poor in a family of a dozen children in rural Tennessee, and even as a child she knew she wanted to be a country singer. She moved to Nashville as a teenager to pursue that dream, and after several years of hard work, she finally broke into the music business. Many chart-topping songs and several acclaimed movies followed over the years, and Parton became the star she’d always wanted to be.

I’m a sucker for a good rags-to-riches story, and I grew up idolizing Parton—she was the fierce and feisty Appalachian woman I wanted to become, the kind of woman who overcame obstacles and achieved her dreams with hard work and willpower. If I wanted to be successful, I’d have to start from the ground up, too. But it isn’t just Parton’s success story that makes her a good candidate for Commencement; some of her most impressive qualities (and she has a lot of them) are best seen off the stage.

Parton has been a dedicated philanthropist for years, focusing much of her giving on educational success. She established The Dollywood Foundation in 1988 as an effort to decrease dropouts rates among students in Sevierville, Tennessee, her hometown. In the early 1990s, The Buddy Program, which promised $500 of Parton’s own money to each seventh and eighth grader who graduated high school in Sevier County, led to a 29 percent reduction in the dropout rate for those classes. The Foundation also funds five $15,000 scholarships for Sevier County college-bound seniors, one for a student at each of the county’s high schools.

Parton then founded the Imagination Library in 1995 to send children in Sevier County a free book each month until they turn five years old. She was inspired by her father, who never learned to read or write, to start the initiative, which quickly expanded across Tennessee and then across America. It is now available to children in several foreign countries. In just 23 years, the small community charity has expanded worldwide and distributed millions of free books; in fact, Parton donated the Imagination Library’s 100 millionth book to the Library of Congress last month.

Those accomplishments alone are beyond impressive—I can barely fathom such a number—but Parton’s giving doesn’t stop there. In 2016, when wildfires destroyed homes in Sevier County, Parton established the My People Fund to distribute millions of dollars to almost a thousand displaced families over a period of six months. She’s also donated to many other charities and often donates anonymously.

Parton’s self-made rise to fame and success, especially from such humble beginnings, is a story of inspiration just perfect for Commencement. She actually spoke a bit about her life at the University of Tennessee’s commencement in 2009, when she was awarded an honorary doctorate.

I think we at Harvard need to hear it, too; it’s a good reminder to stay humble, dream big, and work hard for what you want. I know that’s a pretty stereotypical graduation message, but we could hear stand to hear it from a unique perspective: Harvard has hosted few women, few entertainers, and few Southerners in its long history of past commencements. In addition, Parton’s dedication to philanthropy—especially in her own hometown—is a great reminder to give back and remember your roots. When you come from somewhere small and rural, you grow up itching to get out and find the opportunities you never had. Parton left, made it big, and went back to help the place that helped her get so far, the place that made her what she was. I think that each of us has the responsibility to use our education and opportunities to improve our communities and the lives of the people that helped get us here in the first place.

If you need even more convincing, take a few minutes to watch Parton on stage (or better yet, watch the entirety of her hit film “Steel Magnolias”). She’s tiny in stature but her personality is larger than life, and she’s as genuine as they come. She radiates wisdom—kind that comes from turning struggle into success.

Harvard, Dolly Parton is the whole package, and I think we could learn a few important lessons from her life. I hope you’ll consider her for Commencement.

Emilee A. Hackney ’20 is an English concentrator living in Adams House. Her column appears on alternate Thursdays.