Speakers to the masters and doctoral students graduating from Columbian College of Arts and Sciences Friday advised the graduates to think broadly and thoroughly when faced with life’s challenges.

Sharing experiences conducting research, describing their favorite moments at GW and commending faculty members, the speakers offered advice to the graduates for their future endeavors.

1. Don’t make your degree an ugly sweater.

Susan Sterner, an associate professor for the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, said a student choosing to go to graduate school is a student giving themselves a gift. She told students not to waste their gift of a graduate school education by turning it into the equivalent of receiving an ugly sweater.

“Drive life forward and you’ll do it looking fabulous in your new sweaters,” Sterner said.

Sterner said that even though she is a professor who assesses students for a living, she encouraged graduates to push back against requirements. She said by being skeptical, they can glean a deeper meaning from different events in life.

“Embrace the process,” she said. “Embrace it as your means to become citizens.”

2. Plan ahead, but be flexible for surprises.

Kelsey Nyland, a student receiving a master of arts in geography, said her experiences researching climate change in Alaska and Russia have taught her to take advantage of opportunities that can easily be perceived as obstacles.

She said when she was in Russia, she had missed the only train to Moscow. Her professor helped her catch up to the train and she managed to get on board, but during the process found herself almost engaged to the conductor.

“Never blindly nod when you don’t understand the language,” Nyland said.

Nyland said people on the train were actually former prisoners celebrating their release, but that she made the best of the unexpected circumstances. She urged fellow graduates to do the same by being flexible in the face of unanticipated events.

“Make new goals. Have a plan, but don’t be deterred if you find yourself with an expired visa and surrounded by Russian convicts,” Nyland said.

3. Make your mark on the GW family

Ben Vinson, dean of the Columbian College, advised students to consider the characteristics of their time at GW. He said that they are creating experiences that will eventually become their history, so graduates shouldn’t be tempted by the immediacy of modern culture.

“Resist the temptation to forgo thoughtful deliberation in a world that demands instant results,” Vinson said.

The dean emphasized the ways that students at GW form bonds as community members, whether it be through going to office hours, forming partnerships with research partners, holding hands, singing together and more recently, utilizing technology. He then brought out a “selfie stick” and starting snapping memories with the new graduates.

“We have moments that can be recalled. We call this mechanism the selfie,” Vinson said. “I’d like to remember this moment forever.”

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