“This is a moment that will echo throughout your life. It symbolizes a starting point, a bedrock foundation for catapulting forward, for moving ahead, for moving onward in your personal odyssey.”
—Ben Vinson, III
Dean, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
With faculty, friends and family looking on, the Class of 2016 received a celebratory sendoff as Columbian College Dean Ben Vinson urged graduates to continue pressing “onward,” embracing both the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead. “Some of you may not even know how you’re moving onward; you just know—somehow—that you are. You’re still dreaming, imagining the possibilities, still searching for your path and coming to terms with all the world has to offer,” Dean Ben Vinson told students at the May 13 and 14 CCAS Celebration ceremonies. “As you move onward, seek opportunity; do not wait for it to find you. Allow your passion to guide you to create a meaningful life. Stay inquisitive, and stay thirsty.”
Taking a microphone into the audience, he encouraged students to share how they were feeling at this moment in their lives. The unprecedented turn of the microphone lit up CCAS social media and garnered responses that ranged from thrilled and proud, to grateful shout-outs to loved ones and salutes to first-generation graduates.
The CCAS Celebration included two undergraduate ceremonies and a graduate and doctoral ceremony, and featured addresses from students who have distinguished themselves during their time at GW. Among them were Christopher Evans (Political Communication), who spearheaded GW’s first peer support program, and Katherine Bradshaw (Classical Studies and English), the driving force behind the creation of the GW Bardians, an undergraduate group that organizes readings, performances and community events related to Shakespearean studies. Alumni Association Prize winners Laura Zillman (Human Services) and Laura Hellwig (Archaeology) were honored for their community service and campus leadership. Zillman has volunteered for nonprofits aiding victims of domestic violence while Hellwig has held leadership positions with organizations like the Residence Hall Association and the Classics and Archaeology Club.
At the graduate student Celebration ceremony, Distinguished Scholar and Student Speaker Amanda Figueroa (American Studies) emphasized the many ways the Class of 2016 can make a difference in the world, referencing her own work to protect women crossing the dangerous United States-Mexico border.
The CCAS festivities were followed on May 15 by GW’s Commencement ceremonies on the National Mall and a powerful address by U.S. Senator Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.), who challenged students to “Go out, be the light, remain faithful and change our world” with enthusiasm and optimism. “We're called to be a nation of love,” he said. “What we need to do is understand that we have to love each other, that we have to see each other have worth and dignity and value.”
Relive graduation highlights in the articles and videos below:
- 2016 Columbian College Celebration
- Photo Gallery and Video: 2016 Celebration: Undergraduate Ceremony (12:00 pm)
- Photo Gallery and Video: 2016 Celebration: Undergraduate Ceremony (3:30 pm)
- Photo Gallery and Video: 2016 Celebration: Graduate and Doctoral Ceremony
- U.S. Sen. Cory A. Booker Encourages Graduates to ‘Stay Faithful’
- Graduates’ Voices Heard Before and After Commencement
- A Day in the Life of a GW Graduate