At Thursday’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development doctoral recognition ceremony, 75 graduates were recognized and celebrated by the school’s dean, faculty, and their friends and families.
Carol Kochhar-Bryant, a senior associate dean in GSEHD, and Michael Feuer, dean of GSEHD, congratulated the graduates on their courage to pursue doctoral degrees and thanked them for their contributions to the field of education.
Here are the top five noteworthy moments from the afternoon’s celebration.
1. Finding courage to turn visions to reality
Kochhar-Bryant said faculty in GSEHD grew alongside this set of graduates, as they taught their classes and worked with the students on their dissertations. She said as the school works toward reaching its own goals and starting new programs, faculty encourage graduates to make their own visions reality.
“We trust that each of you will find the courage to imagine new solutions to problems within your professional realm, the courage to act, the courage to persist through challenges,” Kochhar-Bryant said.
2. Creating opportunities
Kochhar-Bryant said regardless of where graduates come from or where they go to work in the future, they should seize opportunities to use their talents and backgrounds.
She said many students were given the chance to study at GW and earn their doctorate degrees through financial aid awards and they should work to give future generations the same kinds of opportunities.
“In the coming years, I hope you find a way to pay your opportunity forward and assist others in any way you can,” Kochhar-Bryant said.
3. 50 years of favorite things
Feuer said 2015 is a monumental year because it marks important anniversaries in the field of education. Both the Elementary and Secondary Education and Higher Education Acts were passed 50 years ago.
It has also been 50 years since “The Sound of Music” was released, which Feuer said gave him the opportunity to re-watch the movie this year. Feuer said the movie’s song “My Favorite Things” has prompted him to consider his own favorite things throughout the year.
“Doorbells and sleigh bells and brown paper packages and bright copper kettles and all of that is fine. But really for me, being here with this cohort of GSEHD docs is one of my favorite things,” Feuer said.
4. Emotional acronyms
Feuer said in D.C. everything gets reduced to an acronym, so he created his own version of GOP to stand for the three emotions he and other GSEHD faculty felt about the doctoral graduates: gratitude, optimism and pride.
“You have given us a unique gift — and I know it was an expensive one — to know you, to work with you and to learn from you,” Feuer said.
5. Thanking and remembering with flowers and clocks
Maxine Freund, GSEHD’s associate dean for research and external relations, introduced the program faculty who then invited each graduate on stage to be recognized individually.
Every graduate received a flower which they were instructed to give to someone in the room who supported them in earning their degrees.
They also received a GW clock to take with them in their new roles and careers, because “time moves forward after graduation,” Freund said.
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This post was updated to reflect the following correction:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported in a headline that GSEHD Dean Michael Feuer called the doctoral graduates some of his ‘favorite things.’ He called the doctoral ceremony one of his ‘favorite things.’ We regret this error.