Georgetown Celebrates the Class of 2023 at Commencement

Georgetown conferred degrees to more than 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students at the Class of 2023 Commencement from May 18–21.

“Today we celebrate this journey that you’ve made here and the one in which you’re about to embark. This is an extraordinary moment in your lives — there is nothing quite like this moment,” Georgetown President John J. DeGioia said at Senior Convocation on May 18. “Members of the Georgetown Class of 2023, your moment is at hand. Congratulations!”

Each of Georgetown’s 10 schools celebrated individual commencement ceremonies over the weekend, featuring commencement speakers such as NBC News’ Yamiche Alcindor (C’09) and Savannah Guthrie (L’02); Igor Smelyansky (MBA’05), CEO of the Ukrainian postal service; Frank McCourt (C’75), founder of Project Liberty, executive chairman of McCourt Global; and Dan Helfrich (SFS’98, MBA’99), chair and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP.

“Your story is just beginning, or at least a thrilling new chapter. What a surpassing joy it is to stand here with you and root for you,” Guthrie said at the Georgetown Law commencement. “We need you in the future. We need your rigor, the creativity of your intellect. We need your thoughtfulness and precision. We need your fairness. We need your sincerity. We need your passion. We need your heart for the outsider. We need your fire for justice.”

Presenting the Class of 2023

The weekend celebrated the many accomplishments of the Class of 2023, a group of graduates that includes a Rhodes Scholar, Fulbright recipients, military servicemembers and veterans, NCAA league champions, student-parents and first-generation college students. Members of the Class of 2023 also came from all over the world to Georgetown, representing 72 countries and all 50 states.

Graduates at the African-American heritage ceremony.

In his speech to the senior class, Provost Robert M. Groves highlighted the adversity the Class of 2023 battled through as the COVID-19 pandemic sidetracked many of the graduates’ first years on campus.

“We celebrate your perseverance you showed during that time of challenge; your loyalty to this institution and, most of all, the resilience, the generosity and the adaptability you developed in the time you spent away,” Groves said. “But we also celebrate how quickly you adjusted to a very different campus, the campus of the tents — your beloved tents — to which you returned in 2021. You have been and to us always will be amazing. We salute you!”

A Charge at Senior Convocation

Senior Convocation kicked off the commencement weekend, where nearly 1,800 undergraduate students from all of Georgetown’s schools gathered on Healy Lawn to look back on their four years together.

Collectively, this class of undergraduates has completed 70,846 courses at Georgetown and received over $118 million in scholarship support from Georgetown.

Students process into Senior Convocation carrying the flags representing the home countries of members of the Class of 2023.

“We ask you this afternoon to look back on the time you spent here, and the time you spent away from here. We invite you to recall the optimism with which you arrived long ago on that August, not only optimism about yourself and what lay ahead for you, but also about the world,” Groves said. “And we ask you to reflect on the wisdom with which you now prepare to leave your student lives behind.”

Alumnus Michael Meaney (SFS’12), the event’s keynote speaker and the head of learning growth at the digital apprenticeship platform Multiverse, spoke to the graduates about the importance of discernment in making life’s many choices. Over the last decade, Meaney taught with Teach for America, completed a Ph.D. at Cambridge University as a Gates Scholar and also serves on the board of directors for See More Impact Labs and the Camp Catanese Foundation.

“Pay close attention to what is happening around you, and what is happening inside of you. Clarify the motivations behind your choices. Are you acting out of fear or out of freedom?” Meaney said. “Lean on your own community of saints to guide you, to support you and to hold you accountable.”

Sophie Bennett (C’23), an art history major who will pursue a master’s degree in art and museum studies at Georgetown, was one of the student speakers at the Senior Convocation. She was joined by Atharv Gupta (SFS’23), a science, technology and international affairs major who dedicated his time at Georgetown pursuing international development and will spend the next few years as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford.

The Faces of the Class of 2023

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The Faces of the Class of 2023

“Being at the McCourt School was a transformative experience for me, both professionally and personally. I was able to grow my skills and meet some incredible people. Congratulations to my fellow graduates!”

Sumin Lee (G’23), who completed her master’s in policy management from the McCourt School of Public Policy

“I’m so excited to be graduating today. This has been a profound experience. I will implement cura personalis, care for the whole person, in my future practice every day.”

Priaya Concalvez (N’23), who will be a nurse in the surgical cardiac unit at Medstar Washington Hospital Center

“It’s one of the best schools in the world for a reason. I’ve learned a lot in the program and look forward to using it to bolster my career moving forward.”

Trent Wieland (G’23), who studied applied intelligence in the School of Continuing Studies while working as a paralegal and now is pursuing a career in the government

“To the Class of 2023, when an unexpected failure knocks the air out of your lungs, when you catch a glimpse of your own ugliness, I hope you resort to yourself and seek your own help.”

Sophie Bennett (C’23), during her speech at Senior Convocation

“The best part was really meeting so many different people from such different parts of the world I never would have interacted with otherwise. The professors have been really supportive, and I’ve learned so much. Finding this community has been the best part.”

Ayza Bukhari (MBA’23), who will join Ernst & Young as a management consultant

“Today feels pretty surreal. My mom and dad both coming from Ghana, all they wanted for me was to get a higher education, and the fact that I got an opportunity to come to a prestigious school like Georgetown means the world to them and to me. I’m very grateful for this opportunity. I feel proud of both of us. It’s a really big moment for everybody.”

Tony Gyimah, Jr. (B’22), a defensive linebacker on Georgetown’s football team who will be working in the finance department at the Hershey Trust Company

“I’m feeling a little nostalgic but excited since it’s been six years since I came to campus. I had a lot of good classmates and a wonderful advisor. I’m most proud of completing the Ph.D. itself. It’s another milestone, but one that was very daunting.”

Gretchen Sileo (G’23), who completed her Ph.D. in economics and will work as an assistant professor at Temple University

“Georgetown gave me the opportunity to do something that I’ve always wanted to do. I am just excited to show the health care industry that I am a Georgetown-trained physician and I’m ready to go.”

Malcolm Meredith (M’23), who graduated from the School of Medicine

“The people really do make the place. The people who I have had the pleasure of meeting during my four years at Georgetown University have positively shaped my experience and who I am as a person. My only advice to those who come after me is to be intentional. Say yes to great opportunities and invest your time in cultivating Georgetown friendships because they are super special.”

Hannah Kamee Folau (H’23), who graduated with her bachelor of science in global health

“You have taught me that nothing we do matters if it’s not for others, if it’s not underpinned by kindness and grace. Without this vision and without our tireless efforts to achieve it, climbing this hill will have been for nothing. We climbed this hill not to enjoy the view, but to help others climb theirs. We climbed to serve.”

Atharv Gupta (SFS’23), in his remarks at Senior Convocation

“I think Georgetown Law puts its money where its mouth is in terms of public interest and public service. I don’t think a lot of law schools do that. I think being in a community of people where going into public interest is not necessarily the outlier or going into something other than Big Law is not necessarily the outlier is really important.”

Maya Gandhi (SFS’20, L’23), who will be working in the general counel’s office at the New York Times

Fellowship and Scholarship Recipients

Georgetown’s Class of 2023 accumulated numerous awards and prestigious scholarships across their years, including:

19 Fulbright Recipients
1 NSF GRFP Recipient
1 James C. Gaither Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
2 Goldwater Scholars
1 Pickering Fellow
1 Rangel Fellow
1 Rhodes Scholar, 8 Rhodes Finalists
5 Marshall Finalists
1 Big East Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium First Place Awardee

Class of 2023 By the Numbers

Each of Georgetown’s schools welcomed new graduates to an alumni community comprised of more than 200,000 Hoyas.

The McCourt School of Public Policy celebrated 398 graduates on May 18, including 238 masters of public policy; 86 masters in public management; 23 masters in international development policy; 37 masters of science in data science for public policy; and 14 executive masters in policy leadership.
On May 19, the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences conferred 441 degrees. New graduates include 41 new Ph.D. holders, 151
Graduates at the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences’ commencement ceremony.

masters of arts in the humanities and social sciences and 249 masters of science in the natural and computational sciences. The ceremony also celebrated the 439 students from the Biomedical Graduate Education who received their degrees, including 40 doctor of philosophy degrees; 14 executive master’s in clinical quality safety and leadership degrees; 380 master of science degrees; and 5 master of arts degrees.
The McDonough School of Business graduated 370 undergraduates and 815 graduate students. Graduate degree holders include 410 MBAs; 48 executive MBAs; 19 executive masters in leadership; 158 masters of science in finance; 97 masters of science in management; 27 masters of arts in international business and policy; and 56 masters of science in
Graduates celebrate at the commencement for the School of Continuing Studies.

business analytics.
The School of Continuing Studies graduated 1,319 graduates on May 19. These include 1,253 master of professional studies degrees, 27 executive master of professional studies degrees; six master of arts in liberal studies degrees; nine doctor of liberal studies degrees; and 24 bachelor of arts in liberal studies degrees.
The Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences welcomed 903 new alumni on its May 20 commencement ceremony. This includes 733 new bachelor of arts degrees and 170 bachelor of science degrees.
On May 18, the School of Nursing graduated 341 students, including 31 bachelors of science; 251 masters of science; 27 doctors of nurse anesthesia practice; and 32 doctors of nursing practice.
The School of Health conferred 105 new degrees on May 20. Graduates include 30 bachelors of science in global health; 26
Two graduates celebrate after receiving their M.D.s from the School of Medicine.

bachelors of science in health care management and policy; 32 bachelors of science in human science; and 17 masters of science in health systems administration.
The Walsh School of Foreign Service graduated 977 students, adding 422 bachelor’s degree holders and 555 master’s degree holders to its alumni base on May 20.
Two hundred students received their M.D. degrees on May 21 from the School of Medicine, including 12 students who received a dual degree with either a Ph.D. or MBA.
In the last commencement ceremony, Georgetown Law awarded 1,285 degrees. Of the graduates, 693 earned their J.D., and 581 earned their masters in law, while 11 earned their doctor of juridical science degrees
In its May 11 commencement ceremony, Georgetown University in Qatar conferred 105 bachelor of science in foreign service degrees and 18 executive master’s in diplomacy and international affairs.