SIT Graduate Institute Honors Washington, DC Center Class of 2015

Publication Date: August 24, 2015
Publication Location: WASHINGTON
Contact: Kathryn Schoenberger   |   [email protected]

World Learning congratulates SIT Graduate Institute’s Washington, DC Center class of 2015, a group of leaders ready to put their knowledge and skills in development into practice to make meaningful contributions to the field.

An August 22 ceremony at the National Presbyterian Church honored this year’s 29 graduates with master’s degrees in sustainable development and featured a keynote address from Rajiv Shah, distinguished fellow at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

During the celebration, President and CEO Donald Steinberg, World Learning Board Chair Thomas Hiatt, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of SIT Graduate Institute Daniel Cantor Yalowitz, Dean of Students Michael Smallis, Academic Director of SIT Graduate Institute’s DC Center Deborah Robinson, and Associate Professor Davina Durgana presented the graduates with their diplomas. The ceremony also recognized CARE-Ethiopia as an outstanding practicum partner.

In his address, Shah told the graduates they are entering the field “at a time when the possibilities have never been brighter,” and are part of a “movement” that has the chance to end scourges like polio and subsistence poverty within the next few decades. He added this process will not only impact the world, but also the graduates themselves.

“When you dedicate your life to changing the world, to serving the least fortunate, what I’ve learned is the thing that changes most is yourself,” Shah said.