Commencement Program 2025 EN by Georgetown University in Qatar

Commencement Exercises

i. Processional

ii. Order of Academic Procession

The Chief Marshal

Brendan Hill, Ph.D.

Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs

Georgetown University in Qatar

Procession of the Colors

Colors of the State of Qatar and of the United States of America

Colors of Georgetown University and of Qatar Foundation

Colors of the Nations Represented by the Class of 2025

The Senior Class Marshal

The Class of 2025

The Faculty Marshal

Jeremy Koons, Ph.D.

Professor

Georgetown University in Qatar

The Administrators

The Faculty

Members of the Boards

The Presidential Party Marshal

Marie A. Mattson

Secretary of the University

Georgetown University

The Dean of Georgetown University in Qatar

The Interim President of the University

iii. Opening of the Ceremony Safwan Masri, Ph.D. Dean Georgetown University in Qatar

iv. The National Anthems of the State of Qatar and of the United States of America

v. Invocation Mohammed Ahmad Ali Ahmad Hannoun, sfs’25

vi. Dean's Address Dean Masri

vii. Reading of the Marie A. Mattson University Charter

viii. Address to H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman the Graduates bin Jassim Al Thani Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs

ix. Presentation of Bachelor Dean Masri of Science in Foreign Service Candidates

x. Conferring of the Robert M. Groves, Ph.D. Degrees in Course Interim President Georgetown University

xi. Presentation of Executive Master's Dean Masri in Diplomacy and International Affairs Candidates

xii. Conferring of the Interim President Groves Degrees in Course

xiii. Closing Reflections Interim President Groves

xiv. Alma Mater Georgetown Commencement Choir

xv. Benediction Ryan Maher, S.J., Ph.D. Haub Director of Catholic Studies Georgetown University

xvi. Recessional

Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service

Nagla Ahmed Abdelhady English Modern School Al Khor, Qatar

✴ Ola Magdi Abdelrahman Sherborne Qatar Doha, Qatar

Azamat Abdurakhmanov Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Chemistry and Biology

Shymkent, Kazakhstan

Philmon Habtom Abraha Bahir Dar Academy Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Russell Niglo Adzedu

Adisadel College Boys’ School Cape Coast, Ghana

Sarah Shaima Aidarus Blyth Academy Doha, Qatar

Lolwa Alamri Newton International School Doha, Qatar

Amira Shafek Al-Aswadi Middle East International School Doha, Qatar

Moza Fahad A. H. Al-Attiya Gulf English School Doha, Qatar

✴ Lujain Fatick Al Belushi International School of Choueifat Muscat, Oman

Hend Abdulrahman Al-Delaimi Qatar Academy Doha, Qatar

■ Rokaiah Hussein Aldobashi magna cum laude

Hayat Universal School Doha, Qatar

◉ Aisha Nasser Al Fadala Qatar Academy Doha, Qatar

Deema Ali Al-Hail Qatar Academy Doha, Qatar

The listing of candidates for degrees and awards is accurate as of April 24, 2025. note: Latin Honors are not projected for prospective Summer 2025 graduates.

• Alpha Sigma Nu | ■ Ph i Beta Kappa

C August 2024 Graduates | ◉ December 2024 Graduates | ✴ Prospective Summer 2025 Graduates

•■ Deema Alhashemi summa cum laude

Al-Arqam Academy for Girls

Doha, Qatar

Sara Mohammed Alhatou Michael E. DeBakey High School

Hissa Khalid Al-Hitmi

Mohammed Abulrahman Al Hitmi

Latifa Meshal Al-Hitmi

Doha, Qatar

Gulf English School

Doha, Qatar

Gulf English School

Doha, Qatar

Gulf English School

Doha, Qatar

Rashid Ali Al-Humaidi Al Khor International School

◉ Al Ghalya Mohammed Al-Jahni

Shaikha Ibrahim Al Jaidah

◉ Dhabya Nasser Ibrahim Al-Malki AlJehani

Aisha Saeed Al Kaabi

Maya Tamim Al-Kawari

✴ Khalid Jassim Al-Kuwari

• Rinad Al-Khalifa

Ghanim Rashid Hussain Al-Hussain Al-Kubaisi

AlDana Ahmad Mohammed Jassim AlKuwari

◉ Abdulaziz Ghanim Alkuwari

Al Khor, Qatar

Qatar Academy

Doha, Qatar

American School of Doha

Doha, Qatar

Al-Maha Academy

Doha, Qatar

Gulf English School

Doha, Qatar

American School of Doha

Doha, Qatar

English Modern School

Doha, Qatar

Sherborne Qatar

Doha, Qatar

Qatar Academy

Doha, Qatar

Gulf English School Doha, Qatar

Qatar Academy

Doha, Qatar

Waad Nasser M. Al-Ali Al-Maadeed Gulf English School

Doha, Qatar

The listing of candidates for degrees and awards is accurate as of April 24, 2025. note: Latin Honors are not projected for prospective Summer 2025 graduates.

• Alpha Sigma Nu | ■ Ph i Beta Kappa C August 2024 Graduates | ◉ December 2024 Graduates | ✴ Prospective Summer 2025 Graduates

Mohammed Ali Al Mesned Gulf English School Doha, Qatar

Hind Mubarak K. A. Al-Mohannadi Doha Academy

Doha, Qatar

Roudha Abdulla Al-Naama Al-Eiman Secondary School Doha, Qatar

◉ Latifa Mahanna Al-Naimi Sherborne Qatar Doha, Qatar

Alghalya Salman Alneama

Newton International School Doha, Qatar

◉ Shahad A. AlQassabi Qatar International School Doha, Qatar

Maytha Khalid Al-Shrame Al Jazeera Academy Doha, Qatar

◉ Moza Abdulla Fahad Al Thani

◉ Hind Nassir A. A. Al-Thani

◉ Al Johara Khalifa Ali Al Thani

• Moza bint Faisal bin Fahad Al-Thani cum laude

• Raed Asad magna cum laude

Gulf English School Doha, Qatar

Qatar Academy Doha, Qatar

Qatar International School Doha, Qatar

Sherborne Qatar Doha, Qatar

International School of London Doha, Qatar

Aamna Asim The Next Generation School Al Wakra, Qatar

Aly Ashraf Attia cum laude

Mesaieed International School Mesaieed, Qatar

Zainab Ayub Afghan Habib Tajrobawi High School Peshawar, Pakistan

Frances Joy Balani Philippine International School Doha, Qatar

Mohd Ali Irshad Baqri MES Indian School Doha, Qatar

The listing of candidates for degrees and awards is accurate as of April 24, 2025. note: Latin Honors are not projected for prospective Summer 2025 graduates.

• Alpha Sigma Nu | ■ Ph i Beta Kappa

C August 2024 Graduates | ◉ December 2024 Graduates | ✴ Prospective Summer 2025 Graduates

Anastasiia Berseneva State Budgetary Educational Institution “School No. 962” Moscow, Russia

• John Carlos Burog magna cum laude

■ Elene Chkhaidze magna cum laude

Philippine School Doha, Qatar

116th Public School Tbilisi, Georgia

Salma Ahmed Darwiche International School of Choueifat Muscat, Oman

◉

• Maryam Daud magna cum laude

• Maheen Elahi cum laude

Samantha Isabel N. Facun

•■ Gaebriel Joseph Fairlight-Olsen magna cum laude

Beaconhouse School System Islamabad, Pakistan

Lahore Grammar School Islamabad, Pakistan

Philippine International School Doha, Qatar

Neverland Academy Deland, United States of America

Ibrahim Jassim I. Q. Fakhroo International School of Choueifat Doha, Qatar

✴ Fatima Hassan Fakhry

Zain Fanik cum laude

Natali Fanik

Areesha Fatima cum laude

Alannah Felix

Michelle Siyabonga Khethiwe Hadebe

•■ Abdul Hannan magna cum laude

Gulf English School Doha, Qatar

South Brunswick High School New Brunswick, United States of America

Beaconhouse School System, Liberty Campus Lahore, Pakistan

DPS - Modern Indian School Al Wakrah, Qatar

African Leadership Academy Johannesburg, South Africa

Sceptre College Karachi, Pakistan

The listing of candidates for degrees and awards is accurate as of April 24, 2025. note: Latin Honors are not projected for prospective Summer 2025 graduates.

• Alpha Sigma Nu | ■ Ph i Beta Kappa C August 2024 Graduates | ◉ December 2024 Graduates | ✴ Prospective Summer 2025 Graduates

Mohammed Ahmad Ali Ahmad Hannoun

Aya Ahmed Sideeg Hassan

•■ Hala Eyad Hudaib summa cum laude

Ramallah Friends School Ramallah, Palestine

Amna Bint Wahb Secondary School for Girls Doha, Qatar

United World College of South East Asia Singapore, Singapore

Mohammad Yousef Jaski The Next Generation School Al Wakra, Qatar

Ulukbek Kaziyev Nazarbayev Intellectual School Astana, Kazakhstan

Riwaj Khatiwada Goldengate International Secondary School Kathmandu, Nepal

Jamolbi Khushqadamova Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad, India

Ghita Laaroussi Lycée Descartes Rabat, Morocco

■ Kiyoun Lee magna cum laude

Korea International School Jeju Seogwipo, Republic of Korea

Junyang Liu Experimental School Affiliated with Zhuhai No.1 High School Zhuhai, China

✴ Ayoub M’channa

Leshamta Wangui Maina

Michael E. DeBakey High School Doha, Qatar

African Leadership Academy Johannesburg, South Africa

Mohamed Ahmed Mansour International School of Choueifat Doha, Qatar

Abdullah Bin Masood Roots Millennium School Islamabad, Pakistan

Rawan Saeid Ahmad Mohamad International School of Choueifat Doha, Qatar

C Ayah Elias Mohammed Sandford International School Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The listing of candidates for degrees and awards is accurate as of April 24, 2025. note: Latin Honors are not projected for prospective Summer 2025 graduates.

• Alpha Sigma Nu | ■ Ph i Beta Kappa C August 2024 Graduates | ◉ December 2024 Graduates | ✴ Prospective Summer 2025 Graduates

Yaseen Muhammad iCademy Middle East

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Hafsa Najdan

Emilia Pacheco De Larrea

Yasmina Husam Qush

◉ Arnav Raman

Hafsa Rehman

Newton International Academy Doha, Qatar

American International School of Muscat Muscat, Oman

Qatar International School Doha, Qatar

Delhi Public School Bokaro, India

Mesaieed International School Mesaieed, Qatar

Angelica Balmadrid Reyes St. Paul College Pasig City, Philippines

Sakhra Riyaz Delhi Public School Srinagar, India

Santiago Rubio Henao

Zahra Hassan Saboorzadeh

Waterford Kamhlaba, United World College of Southern Africa Mbabane, Eswatini

Global Academy Doha, Qatar

Shadi Ismat Safar Overland High School Aurora, United States of America

Mizhgona Saidvalieva Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad, India

Tala Salim

Alexander Fabian Sandner

English Modern School Doha, Qatar

American School of Doha Doha, Qatar

Maya Saqr Qatar Academy Doha, Qatar

Rafal Fadi Sarout International School of Choueifat Doha, Qatar

The listing of candidates for degrees and awards is accurate as of April 24, 2025.

note: Latin Honors are not projected for prospective Summer 2025 graduates.

• Alpha Sigma Nu | ■ Ph i Beta Kappa

C August 2024 Graduates | ◉ December 2024 Graduates | ✴ Prospective Summer 2025 Graduates

Jood Sheikh cum laude

Qatar Academy Doha, Qatar

✴ Aday Shunushev Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Physics and Mathematics Kostanay, Kazakhstan

•■ Sargis Simonyan magna cum laude Ayb School Yerevan, Armenia

✴ Safya Sulaiman DPS - Modern Indian School Doha, Qatar

Khumoyun Suyunov Academic Lyceum No. 1 Navoiy, Uzbekistan

Beyonce Teta Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology Bugesera, Rwanda

Zarniso Tolibshoeva Musalloevna Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad, India

Jocelyn Tsai

Abdullah Khalid Tubailah

• Obaid Ullah cum laude

Taipei Municipal Datong High School Taipei, Taiwan

Qatar Academy Doha, Qatar

Lahore Grammar Senior School for Boys Lahore, Pakistan

Mohammed Ali Usrof Arab International Academy Doha, Qatar

• Brian Cody Wibowo cum laude

■ Yishi Yang magna cum laude

Sampoerna Academy Medan, Indonesia

High School Affiliated with Renmin University of China Beijing, China

Maleeha Zehra Delhi Public School Srinagar, India

The listing of candidates for degrees and awards is accurate as of April 24, 2025.

note: Latin Honors are not projected for prospective Summer 2025 graduates.

• Alpha Sigma Nu | ■ Ph i Beta Kappa

C August 2024 Graduates | ◉ December 2024 Graduates | ✴ Prospective Summer 2025 Graduates

Executive Master’s in Diplomacy and International Affairs

Aljazy Al-Ali

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

State of Qatar

Maryam Misfer M. D. Al-Hababi Barzan Holdings

Muneera Yaqoub Ibrahim Alhail

AlJazi Hamad Al-Hedfa

Alanoud Mohammed Rashid Al-Zamil AL-Kuwari

Ministry of Foreign Affairs State of Qatar

Qatar Museums

Majed Sultan Al-Maadeed Amiri Diwan

Alanoud Saoud Al-Mahmoud

Ministry of Foreign Affairs State of Qatar

Aldana Faisal Al-Mahmoud Amiri Diwan

Sana Ibrahim Ali Al-Malki

Asma Ahmad Saad Al Hassan Al Mohannadi

Mohammed Rashid S. Al Muhaizaa

Yousef Ali Al-Mulla

Rashed Sultan Al-Naemi

AlReem Majid A. M. Al-Sowaidi

Maha Talal A. B. Al-Sulaiti

Abdulaziz Abdulla A. Al-Thani

Jassim Faisal J. AlThani

Mounera Issa Thamer Issa T. Al-Thani

Muneera Mohammed AlThani

Rashid Salem S. R. Mejegheer

Ministry of Foreign Affairs State of Qatar

Ministry of Interior State of Qatar

Ministry of Foreign Affairs State of Qatar

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology State of Qatar

Ministry of Interior State of Qatar

Ministry of Defense State of Qatar

Georgetown University in Qatar: A History

eorgetown University is one of the world’s leading academic and research institutions, offering a unique educational experience that prepares the next generation of global citizens to lead and make a difference in the world. We are a vibrant community of exceptional students, faculty, alumni, and professionals dedicated to real-world applications of our research, scholarship, faith, and service.

Established in 1789, Georgetown is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in the United States. Drawing upon this legacy, we provide students with a world-class learning experience focused on educating the whole person through exposure to different faiths, cultures, and beliefs. With our Jesuit values and location in Washington, D.C., Georgetown offers students a distinct opportunity to learn, experience, and understand more about the world.

Georgetown’s campus in Doha, located in the heart of the Middle East, allows the University to carry on its more than 200 year tradition of building women and men in service to humankind. The resources of Georgetown coupled with those provided by the Qatar Foundation allow students and faculty to study, conduct research, and be a part of an educational enterprise that is uniquely positioned to shape international affairs in the century ahead. With the support of Qatar Foundation, Georgetown University provides a truly global education in Qatar.

The University Seal

he seal of Georgetown University bears the founding date, 1789; the University motto Utraque Unum, taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians meaning “two into one”; the Latin inscription Collegium Georgiopolitanum Ad Ripas Potomaci in Marylandia, which means “Georgetown College on the Banks of the Potomac in Maryland”; and other significant symbols including the lyre, an instrument invented by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, symbolizing learning.

The Mace

s with all ceremonies of Georgetown University at which degrees are awarded or the faculty appear in academic attire, the School of Foreign Service in Qatar processes with the University Mace. From ancient times a king’s mace has represented his authority to act on behalf of his people and today universities each have a Mace as a symbol of their power to confer degrees of learning.

The University Mace used by the School of Foreign Service for Commencement, and all its ceremonies, was commissioned under the authority of the Board of Directors and crafted by Evan Reed, Professor of the Practice in the Department of Art and Art History at Georgetown University.

The lowest section of the Mace’s shaft is ornamented with a silver band on which is engraved the motto Utraque Unum, “and the two are made one.” This motto, coming originally from the Bible, has meant many things at Georgetown during its more than two centuries of history: the combination of learning and faith, the contributions to knowledge of both the arts and the sciences, even the healing of a nation after the Civil War as the North and South came together. Here in Qatar the motto takes on further meaning as two cultures work together.

The middle section of the shaft is a stylized burj al hawwa, the traditional wind tower of Gulf architecture. And at the top of the highest section of the shaft is a sculpture of two stylized Sidra trees, beneath whose entwined branches is a hollowed out space holding an open book, made of silver, that symbolizes the love of the Arab poet for the shade of this tree. On each facing page of the open book are the Great Seal of Georgetown University and the Seal of the Society of Jesus.

Professor Reed chose two woods for the Mace—Holly and Purple Heart—whose hues, pale white and deep purple, match those of the Qatar national flag.

Academic Dress

hen a college faculty lines up in cap and gown it reveals the medieval origins of the university. Up until the early eighteenth century men and women wore their rank on their backs, or on their heads or hands. Great ladies wore rings and tiaras, great lords and kings wore crowns, the rich wore heavy gold chains and mere players, like Shakespeare, wore the livery of their patrons. We have not totally lost this custom considering the ubiquitous white coats of physicians and computer experts, the robes and wigs of English judges and barristers, the gowns that preachers and choir members wear, and the clerical collars worn by members of the clergy.

The original robes worn by academics were made of heavy wool, to protect against the pervasive chill of unheated academic halls. The general rule of such regalia is the higher the degree, the gaudier the outfit. The University of Paris robes its doctorates in gold, Bologna crowns them with what look like lamp shades, and at Oxford and Cambridge doctors wear bright scarlet. The lesser degrees, those of master and bachelor, have robes that are generally black but they too are trimmed with a colorful hood and, in England, even with fur. Doctoral gowns in America were once all black and the only way of identifying their source was by the hood. In the twentieth century, however, various universities began to clothe their age with new glamour. Harvard and Fordham doctoral gowns are now maroon, Yale’s dark blue, Columbia’s are light blue, and Georgetown’s are blue with gray stripes, the colors the school adopted after the Civil War.

The doctor’s gown is the fullest of the three and the most elaborate. It has long bell sleeves and velvet panels down its front with three stripes of the same material on the sleeves. The master’s gown is the only one under which a suit coat must be worn because its long squared-off sleeves have a hole in them through which the arms protrude. The bachelor’s gown is the simplest, looking very much like a choir robe, with long pointed sleeves as its distinguishing mark. Even when the gowns are a uniform black, the hoods are all different. The longest and fullest is the doctor’s hood, and the hoods for master’s and bachelor’s are simply smaller versions. The hood was once worn on the head although in its modern shape it would be difficult to make a hat out of it that wouldn’t remind onlookers of Salvador Dali. The inside of the hood is lined with colors to identify the institution that granted the degree. Thus at Georgetown all hoods have a lining of blue and gray.

The border around the hood generally indicates the subject in which the degree was taken. These colors around the hood have remarkable aptness and indeed, considered together, reveal the prejudices of the academy about its various specialties. The humanities bask in the purity of white, whereas the more practical sciences show gold. Economics is ironically signified by copper, medicine by green and law by presumptuous imperial purple. The bias of the academy gives drab to business as its color. Theology processes in martyr’s scarlet and philosophy in contemplative blue. More random colors can be seen in dentistry’s lilac, education’s light blue, engineering’s orange, fine arts’ brown, music’s pink, public health’s salmon, and nursing’s apricot. The hood is worn around the throat and over the shoulders, and these identifying colors can generally be spotted right under the wearer’s chin.

Alma Mater

Tune: Men of Harlech Words: Robert collier, cOL 1894 arranged by dr. José antonio Bowen, 2001

hail, O George- town, al - ma Ma - ter, Swift Po - to - mac’s love - ly daugh - ter,

ev - er watch- ing by the wa - ter, smiles on us to - day.

Now her child- ren gath - er round her, lo! with gar- lands they have crown’d her,

rev’ rent hands and fond en- wound her with the Blue and Gray.

Wave her col - ors ev - er, furl her stan - dard nev - er, but

raise it high, and proud - ly cry, May George - town live for -

ev - er. Where Po - to - mac’s tide is stream - ing, from her spires and stee-ples beam-ing, see the grand old ban-ner gleam-ing, Georgetown’s Blue and Gray.