Friends, family and faculty packed the Charles E. Smith Center at the George Washington University on May 17 to celebrate the Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH)’s graduating class of 2018.
The commencement ceremony honored over 850 graduates who received bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees in various public health concentrations. Many of the proud graduates sported caps with glittering decorations that proclaimed, “Now the adventure begins!” and “Thanks mom and dad!”
Dean Lynn R. Goldman provided welcoming remarks to the graduates and their loved ones, nothing the students’ “passion and commitment to excellence, a quest for truth and an enthusiasm for public health.”
Student speaker Molly Shea, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public health, questioned her classmates on the meaning of public health. In her speech, she stated “public health is everywhere” and noted the graduates are all “members of the same global community working toward the same goal: universal good health.”
Attendees also heard from keynote speaker Anne Schuchat, MD, the Principal Deputy Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Schuchat encouraged graduates to “embrace the unexpected,” noting that she felt the best moments of her career came from unexpected circumstances and opportunities.
“This journey may take you places you never expected,” Schuchat said.
After Schuchat’s speech, graduates walked across the stage and accepted their diplomas, with cheers and tears emitting from the stands. A celebration held at Milken Institute SPH immediately followed the commencement ceremony.
Graduates could also attend the university-wide commencement ceremony, held on the National Mall on May 20. The commencement speaker was Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences.