Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

On Thursday, August 20, the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar) officially welcomed the Class of 2013 into the university during its New Student Convocation ceremony. The event, held in the LAS Building at Education City, formally inducted the new class of scholars into the academic community.

Mehran Kamrava, the interim dean of Georgetown’s Qatar campus, led the ceremony welcoming 45 new students from Qatar and around the world. Twelve of the students are from Qatar, with the representing 23 nations including; Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Canada, Egypt, India, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, Oman, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sudan, Tunisia and the United States of America.

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During the ceremony, students and their families joined Georgetown University faculty and staff in listening to addresses by French professor, Patrick Laude, student Nada Soudy (SFS ’11), and Dean Kamrava.

The speakers described to the students the importance of the choice they had made in attending Georgetown. Professor Patrick Laude, welcoming the students on behalf of the faculty, described the result of a university education by saying, "This is an intellectual and spiritual unity: you are changed by what you learn, and whatever you learn is also enriched by your studying it, making it yours."

In her message to the Class of 2011, Soudy explained what it means to be a Georgetown student. She emphasized the importance of the community the Class of 2013 was joining, as well as the unique opportunities that arise as a result of being a Georgetown student.

In his keynote speech, Dean Kamrava offered three pieces of advice to the incoming class. He encouraged the students to work hard and persevere, but also to question everything. "Our job here is to encourage you, and to teach you, to question things, not to just accept what we tell you as scientific truths, but to think critically and analytically," he said.

The ceremony marked the close of a week of orientation events for the new students, which included information sessions on Qatar and Education City, as well as lectures on academic integrity, privacy, and other subjects. The students also participated in fun activities such as a scavenger hunt, a trivia quiz and a trip to the desert.