A South Bronx man was chosen from hundreds of candidates to deliver this year's commencement speech at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Edison Julio's speech to his Ivy League peers was about "desperation" and the perseverance displayed by the young men he tutors at Rikers Island.

Julio, 29, delivered his message while wearing a shirt with the image of Kalief Browder, who killed himself after spending three years on Rikers Island for a crime he didn't commit.

While attending Harvard, Julio tutored at a Massachusetts prison and also taught creative writing at Rikers.

Julio says he hopes to enter politics one day and to start an education program to bring change to his own community.