Commencement weekend for the Class of 2009 kicked off May 14 with Senior Convocation, a ceremony that bookends students' Hilltop experience.
Graduating students filed into McDonough Arena, just as they did four years ago for New Student Convocation at the start of their Georgetown educations. But this time, they were there to begin their farewells to the university.
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“This encapsulates the idea that we've come full circle at Georgetown,” said English major
Raymond Tolentino (C'09). “It creates a connection from when I first started at Georgetown to my life after Georgetown.”
Graduates and their families heard from several speakers at convocation, including Army
Capt. Daniel Feehan (SFS'05). An Army Ranger who served two tours of duty in Iraq and is now putting graduate school on hold while he joins Teach for America, Feehan embodies the “call to care for the collective development of the human family,” said Georgetown President
John J. DeGioia.
Feehan recounted a lesson he learned from
Peter Krogh, dean emeritus and professor of foreign service -- “always take the cookie when they are passed.” That is, always embrace opportunities when they come, he said. Feehan “took the cookie” when he went to Iraq, accepting a position to lead soldiers on hunts for roadside bombs instead of working in reconstruction, as he had planned.
Taking the cookie, Feehan said, doesn't always work like you plan. He found himself in the middle of combat, watching other soldiers bravely risk their lives and doing the same himself.
“It's at these moments when you realize that your life is not just your own. As you now seek an outlet for the passions born in this place, your life will become just as important to those you impact,” he said.
“Don't kid yourself for a second that you, at 21 or 22, do not have the capability to impact real human life, in any role that you choose.”
Seniors also heard from two fellow classmates.
Lubna Kayyali (SFS-Q'09) is one of the 21 students who are the first graduating class from the School of Foreign Service-Qatar. She spoke about connecting two worlds -- the East and West, Doha and Washington -- noting that her classmates included a Qatari prince, an American marine and a man who fled war in Bosnia as a child.
“Different in their past, but one in their journey,” Kayyali said. “Different in their experiences but one in their journey. That's who we are. That's Georgetown University in Qatar.”
Shemeko Nanlee “Amy” Hang (C'09), the other student speaker, paid tribute to her parents, who fled Laos following the Vietnam War and came to America without money and the ability to speak English. Her parents prodded their children into education, public service and civic engagement, she said.
Hang acknowledged that her class faces tough challenges with the economy still slumping, but said she is optimistic for the future and what her classmates can do.
“Our education here at Georgetown has given us both literally and figuratively the tools and vocabulary to change the world,” Hang said. “And it's a world in deep need of change.”
Before the Class of 2009 was inducted into Georgetown's alumni association, seniors left the university with a final gift. The class gift totaled $20,089, with students choosing which programs or scholarships would receive their individual donations.
Senior Convocation marks the start of undergraduate commencement activities. The weekend includes tropaia ceremonies, Mass celebrations, receptions and individual commencements for each of Georgetown's schools. A full schedule is available at Georgetown's
commencement Web site.
