Title: Georgetown Celebrates the Class of 2026 at Commencement

Amid Healy bells tolling and a Hoya Saxa cheer, Georgetown’s commencement weekend officially began.

From May 14-17, Georgetown celebrated 6,930 undergraduates and graduates who walked across Healy Lawn and earned their degrees. 

“To you students and the families that are assembled outside around us … this is the moment that our faculty and staff wait for every year. This is pure joy,” said Interim President Robert M. Groves at senior convocation. “This is an extraordinary moment. There’s nothing else quite like it.”

Each of Georgetown’s 11 schools celebrated individual ceremonies over the weekend, featuring commencement speakers like Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, former Secretary of State John Kerry; and Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Programme and wife of the late Senator John McCain. 

Alumni, including James Farley Jr. (C’85), president and CEO of Ford, and Essya Hanachi (B’91), a senior finance executive and former CFO of U.S. Personal Banking at Citigroup, also addressed students. 

Brady spoke about overcoming doubt and adversity, reflecting on his own moment of hardship and a comeback victory during the 2017 Super Bowl game against the Atlanta Falcons.

“This is the key: You don’t quit and you don’t make excuses,” he said. “Every hard choice is a brick in the path toward the life you want. But every excuse is a brick in the wall that will stand in your way.”

At the School of Foreign Service’s undergraduate commencement ceremony, Kerry spoke about diplomacy and humility, finding common ground with the late John McCain, and always fighting for progress. 

“Some of the most important decisions that you all will make will seem ordinary in the moment, but in fact, they may be historic. And history we know rarely announces itself,” he said. “Usually these decisions can be seen and felt as very small. What matters, though, is quiet persistence. The choice to show up, the choice to listen, the choice to stay engaged when cynicism feels easier. … 

Class of 2026. Disturb the universe. Disturb it with curiosity. Disturb it with courage.”

A Class of Fulbrights and Champions

As the nation’s capital celebrates its 250th anniversary, the university marked its 209th commencement ceremony in Washington, DC.

This year’s graduating class is made up of 1,918 undergraduates and 5,012 graduate students. 

They include 34 Fulbright recipients, a Goldwater Scholar, five Schwarzman Scholars, two Truman Scholars, Rhodes finalists, newly commissioned military officers, first-generation college students, student-parents and tournament champions. 

As the students leave Georgetown, Interim Provost Soyica Colbert reminded Hoyas that they always have a home here.

“As you soar, remember, we love you and will always love you from the Hilltop,” she said during senior convocation.

The Opening Ceremonies

Commencement weekend events began with senior convocation on May 14, when undergraduates gathered for the last time as a class and inaugurated the weekend’s ceremonies.

Members of the senior class processed to the base of Healy Hall holding 64 flags, each representing their home countries.

For Tanya Tkachenko (SFS’26), who enrolled in Georgetown during the Russia-Ukraine war and carried the Ukrainian flag, the event marks the fulfillment of a childhood dream.

“Ever since I was a child, I had this American dream of being in the U.S. and having this real college experience,” she said. “I’m just very grateful to be here and for the opportunity Georgetown gave me, for believing in me four years ago because I was so little. I can’t believe that I’ve changed so much.”

Fellow members of the Class of 2026 addressed students, including Evie Steele (SFS’26), a Schwarzman Scholar and editor-in-chief of the student newspaper The Hoya, and Harry Sun (C’26), a Goldwater Scholar who’s been accepted to Harvard/MIT’s MD – Ph.D. program. 

During his speech, Sun spoke about his mother, a former nurse, who passed away from cancer last year. He shared how precious the moments he spent with her were, and urged graduates to hold their loved ones dear.

“Hold on to each other. Hold on to each other and cradle the people and the joys that bring you rest,” he said. “From my mom, I learned as much as we ceaselessly strive, we must also ceaselessly rest. That there is no greater reward than a joy that satiates.”

Sun also spoke about how his mother’s experience with cancer motivated him to research unknown questions about cancer and seek better treatments for patients. He encouraged fellow graduates to use their gifts amid the uncertainty and challenges of the world.

Alumna Emma Hinchliffe (C’15), who gave the convocation address, also urged graduates to embrace uncertainty. Hinchliffe, the former editor-in-chief of The Hoya, is now the editor of Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women section. 

“Just remember that you’re only at the beginning, and there is still so much to discover. … So be open-minded, try things, take risks, don’t count yourself out or assume something will be terrible before it proves that to you,” she said. “Your time at Georgetown prepares you to forge a better path than what’s always been done. And I also know that the thing you’re best at, that only you can do, you might not even know about it yet.”

Groves closed senior convocation by officially admitting students to the commencement ceremonies.

“Members of the Class of Georgetown 2026, your moment is at hand. Congratulations!” he said.

Class of 2026 By the Numbers

In May 2026, Georgetown added 6,930 graduates to its ranks of more than 240,000 alumni worldwide.

The Class of 2026 hails from 45 states and DC, two U.S. territories and 64 other countries. Here are how many students graduated from each of Georgetown’s 11 schools:

• Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences: 866 undergraduate students
• Georgetown Law: 1,146 graduate students, including 6 S.J.D
• Graduate Studies: 497 graduate students
• McCourt School of Public Policy: 246 graduate students
• McDonough School of Business: 374 undergraduate and 988 graduate students
• School of Continuing Studies: 854 graduate and 50 undergraduate students
• School of Medicine: 213 M.D., including 4 M.D./Ph.D., 4 M.D./MBA graduates, and 297 graduate students in Biomedical Graduate Education.
• Berkley School of Nursing: 26 undergraduate and 167 graduate students
• School of Health: 90 undergraduate and 62 graduate students
• Walsh School of Foreign Service: 512 undergraduate and 542 graduate students

Over their time at Georgetown, the Class of 2026 received numerous awards and prestigious scholarships, including:

• 1 Allbritton Scholar
• 3 BIG EAST Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium Medalists
• 34 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grantees
• 1 Goldwater Scholar
• 5 Schwarzman Scholars
• 2 Truman Scholars
• 4 Voyager Scholars