This post was written by Hatchet Reporter Gabi Marush.
President Steven Knapp announced Friday afternoon that senior Zoe Petkanas is slated be the student speaker for the University-wide Commencement ceremony on May 16.
Petkanas, an international affairs major, was one of eight students selected by the individual schools to compete for the honor. The students presented two minute speeches to a panel of judges including University Marshal Jill Kasle, University spokeswoman Candace Smith and others. The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences had two speakers and students from the School of Business and School of Medicine and Health Sciences did not participate.
“It is an incredible honor. I am happy to be able to speak to my experiences here, it’s been an incredible four years,” Petkanas said. ”I’m a little overwhelmed, but really excited. I didn’t let myself imagine it happening!”
Petkanas began her two minute speech discussing her experience walking to her first class freshman year when a presidential motorcade passed her on Pennsylvania Avenue.
“I knew GW wasn’t going to be a typical college experience,” she said.
She also spoke about the experiences last summer in Jordan, as a Gamow Fellow. After graduating, Petkanas plans to spend two months in Muscat, Oman. She received a critical language scholarship from the State Department.
Petkanas said she plans to keep her speech basically the same for Commencement but may tweak part of it.
“I plan on keeping [my speech] basically the same,” she said. “[But] being able to elaborate on a few things would be great.”
Kasle said at the audition that having a student speak at Commencement gave students a voice about their shared experiences.
“Graduation is for the students. They want to see one of their own on the stage,” Kasle said.
A student has spoken at every University-wide Commencement ceremony since 1992, Knapp said at the competition Friday. Last year two students, Cosmin Florescu, an Elliott School of International Affairs graduate student and Naomi Rapp, an undergraduate School of Engineering and Applied Science student, spoke.
