During my sophomore year of college, however, something happened to remind me of my mother's advice. i was working as a delivery man for the harvard student agency. one day as i was waiting for my packages in the office, an elderly black woman tottered in and wearily leaned on her cane. she hoped to find someone who would type a short letter for her. such a simple, easy thing to do. but hsa has no typing service, and the receptionist had to tell her that she had come to the wrong place. as the old woman turned to leave, frustrated and confused, one of my coworkers called her over, gently sat her down, and typed the letter. it was such a simple act. yet never has a harvard student seemed so great to me as in that moment of reaching out.

i began to reflect on what my mother might have meant. in the sudan, we had carried with us all that we owned, but that included our devotion to one another. in that sense we carried a home, a community, a sense of mutual responsibility wherever we went. on that day in the harvard student agency, my coworker carried a community with her as well: the simple community of human connection and duty. the purpose of the story asgedom tells in this portion of his harvard graduation speech is to

a show that the receptionist at the hsa was not as responsible as the student worker

b describe how he someone type a letter when he worked for the hsa

c demonstrate the importance of being responsible and making connections with others

d explain why his coworker decided to the elderly woman type the letter