Public Affairs

The American University of Kuwait Graduates its 2019 Class

17th Jun 2019 | by the Department of PR & Marketing

AUK held its annual graduation commencement for the Class of 2019 on Thursday 13th of June where 437 students—285 from the College of Arts and Sciences, and 152 from the College of Business and Economics—officially became AUK graduates, amongst whom were 7 graduates with highest honors, 20 with high honors, and 21 with honors. The ceremony was held under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Hamed Al-Azmi, Minister of Education and Higher Education and represented by Dr. Habib Abul, Secretary General of the Private Universities Council (PUC).

The graduation was attended by Shaikha Dana Naser Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Founder and Chair of AUK's Board of Trustees, Dr. Habib Abul, Secretary General of Private Universities, members of the AUK Board of Trustees, diplomats, dignitaries, and the families and friends of this year's graduates.

Executive Vice President, Ms. Amal Al-Binali welcomed the guests and family members of the graduates to AUK's 14th graduation ceremony and officially inaugurated the event by introducing the traditional processionals of the faculty, graduates, and president’s party.

Following the National Anthem and the Holy Quran recitation, AUK President, Dr. Rawda Awwad gave an opening speech in which she relayed her confidence in the graduates’ ability to make a positive impact on society. “They have developed an understanding of the value of the liberal arts.  Regardless of the degrees they have pursued and the skills they have acquired, this education has sophisticated them into becoming transformative agents,” she said.

Dr. Habib Abul, Secretariat General of the Private Universities Council (PUC) also gave a speech that urged the graduates to continue their journey of learning and exploring in the next phase of their lives, as he explains, “I have no doubt that the knowledge and experience you have gained during your studies will qualify you to start a new professional journey. Success will not come easily, so you must persevere and explore new cultures and creative outlets and continue on a lifelong journey to learn.”

The commencement keynote address was given by the Minister Plenipotentiary, Assistant Foreign Minister for the Americas, Her Excellency, Reem M. Al-Khaled encouraged the graduates to venture into endeavors that would challenge them and benefit others, “Put yourself in other people’s shoes to understand yourselves and them, have big dreams, be brave, share your ideas, have an open mind, embrace cultural diversity, cultivate your minds and souls through art, literature, and music, and do not forget to make time for community service,” she said.

Following the keynote address, the class valedictorian was announced by the Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Hanan Muzaffar. The AUK class of 2019 valedictorian is Lolwa Anwar Al-Roshoud who majored in English Literature and earned a GPA of 3.97. During her speech, Lolwa stressed on the utilization of skills and hard work to achieve more goals, “Fellow graduates, this journey was through hard work of connecting smaller pieces to get the bigger picture and enduring through hardships to achieve a certain goal. We must take all the skills we have adopted to the real world. Carry your ambitious mindset, open mind, consideration, patience and leadership to the next level, whether you'll attend grad school or start your career, you have already learned to fit into different communities,” she said.

The event then proceeded to the part of the ceremony most anticipated by the graduates—the distribution of their earned degrees. Upon the recommendations of President Awwad, the college deans conferred upon the graduates their respective degrees. The graduates were then awarded their diplomas by President Awwad, Dean Ali Charara for the College of Arts and Sciences, and Dean Ralph Palliam for the College of Business & Economics, and H.E. Reem M. Al-Khaled.

In keeping with the academic tradition, the graduates were requested to shift their tassels from right to left, thereby marking their official graduation from AUK. As the ceremony drew to its conclusion, the graduating class celebrated the occasion and took commemorative photos with their families and friends.
 

 
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