George Mason University has ushered a new class of graduates out into a world that they were told yesterday (Thursday) is filled with both opportunities and challenges.
“Believe it or not, your learning journey is just beginning,” George Schindler, former president and CEO of the technology firm CGI, said during winter commencement ceremonies held at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax.
Schindler served as commencement speaker at the ceremony, which celebrated approximately 5,200 students who earned bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and law degrees and certificates.
“Change is occurring more rapidly than ever before. There’s no clear roadmap,” said Schindler, whose career spans 40 years in the tech arena.
He urged the new graduates to remain deeply curious, agile and adaptable, and to be deliberate when making decisions.
“Listen to all advice, [but] be willing to throw most of it away — unless, of course, the advice is from your mother,” Schindler said. “Always follow your mom’s advice.”
The ceremony’s student speaker was Caroline Little Oduro, who acknowledged that she took an unusual route to graduation.
In addition to experiencing a mix of in-person and remote learning during the pandemic, she almost cut her time at Mason short when she and her husband, former GMU basketball standout and 2023 graduate Joshua Oduro, prepared to welcome their first child.
Their son Saint, now 10 months old, was in attendance, and Caroline Oduro is eight months’ pregnant with the couple’s first daughter.
“I’m sure everyone graduating has had something in their lives in the last four or so years that made them question whether or not they were going to be able to finish their degree,” Oduro, who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, said.
Some educational institutions talk about supporting students, while Mason lives it, according to Oduro, who added that she’s “learned here, I’ve grown here and I’m just so proud to be standing here today.”
Another new graduate, Syleah Manns, said the Mason community helped her navigate the sharp curves and traffic jams on the educational roadway. With a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering, she is the first person in her family to graduate a four-year college.
“That is just something that will carry on with me for the rest of my life,” Manns said.
The winter Class of 2024 represented students from 45 states and 89 countries, according to GMU President Dr. Gregory Washington. He urged the new grads to consider ways to give back, and be prepared to sometimes face opposition as they continue to grow in their lives and careers.
“Leadership is hard, and it’s inherently risky,” Washington said. “Think about at what level and at what capacity you might want to exercise that leadership.”
The present students included Yevin Goonatilake of Leesburg, who received a bachelor’s degree in computer science at just 15 years old.
Already enrolled in Mason’s graduate engineering program, Goonatilake earned an associate’s degree in computer science from Northern Virginia Community College at age 13. That made him the youngest NOVA graduate since 1975, when the school began keeping electronic records, according to GMU.
Goonatilake isn’t quite the youngest grad in GMU history, an honor that goes to a 13-year-old female student who earned a bachelor’s degree in 1972. But he is the youngest to graduate with a 4.0 grade-point average.
In addition to his studies, Goonatilake plays professional minor-league cricket for the Baltimore Royals Sunny Sohail Cricket Academy. The squad traveled to Texas and North Carolina for matches during the past semester.
“I need both,” Goonatilake told GMU of balancing cricket and coursework.
Also at the commencement ceremony, Maureen McCarthy Scalia received an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree for her commitment to education and volunteer work.
GMU named its law school after her late husband, Antonin Scalia, in 2016, the year the U.S. Supreme Court justice died. In addition, a reading room in the school’s library was dedicated to her in 2018.
Founded in 1956 as a two-year Northern Virginia branch of the University of Virginia, GMU became an independent institution in 1972. The winter 2024 graduates join the ranks of about 240,000 alumni, university officials said.
While the commencement struck an upbeat tone, Mason wrapped up its winter semester amid some controversy after the FBI, Fairfax County and university police raided the Springfield home of two students on Nov. 7.
Prompted by a property destruction investigation, the search turned up guns and “materials calling for violence against Americans and in particular Jews,” Washington said in a Dec. 13 message to the community. The students were banned from campus, and the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) has been at least temporarily suspended.
With limited information about the investigation available at the time, several student groups issued a joint statement on Dec. 3 condemning SJP’s suspension as part of a “broader attempt to silence the movement for Palestinian justice and the free expression of Palestinian solidarity.”
Petitions for emergency orders to bar the students’ father and brother from possessing guns were denied by a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge.
Separately, the Washington Post reported yesterday that a freshman student at GMU has been charged in federal court with allegedly plotting to attack Israel’s consulate in New York City. The student was arrested in November and has been banned from campus.
