AUK Graduation Ceremony 2007

The Graduation Ceremony of the Undergraduate class of 2007 at American University of Kuwait took place at Al-Hashemi ballroom in the Radisson SAS Hotel at 7 PM on Tuesday, June 19, under the patronage of Her Excellency the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Ms. Nouriya Al-Sabeeh, represented by the General Secretary of the Council for Private Universities, Dr. Imad Al-Attiqi.

Dr. Nizar Hamzeh, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences welcomed students, their families and guests to the ceremony, and proceeded to introduce the president of the university, Dr. Marina Tolmacheva who stepped up to the podium to give her welcome remarks.

Dr. Tolmacheva welcomed everyone to the second ever graduation of AUK students since its start in 2004. The strength of the university, she said, was synonymous with the quality of its faculty and academic programs. She expressed a great sense of pride in the faculty members at AUK describing them as "dynamic, competent, and caring."

"Our faculty," she said, "have set high standards for their students and provided a supportive learning environment for students to be successful. Under the tutelage of the AUK faculty, these seniors have mastered the knowledge of their field, the ability to think critically, the art of effective communication, and the respect for diversity, be that diversity national, ethnic, cultural, or intellectual. Through personal growth experiences in and out of the classroom, this group of seniors is more self-aware and ready to embark upon leadership roles in their societies. On behalf of the faculty and staff of the American University of Kuwait, we congratulate you graduates and welcome your family and friends as we celebrate your achievement."

Next she spoke of the university's institutional merits, such as obtaining Kuwaiti accreditation in 2006, the addition of a new classroom building, the licensing of new programs and introduction of new majors in Arts & Sciences, the establishment of the new academic tradition of celebrating the Liberal Arts Week and the introduction of the first AUK academic serial publication, AUK Occasional Papers.

Additional emphasis was placed on students' achievements outside the classroom. Amongst those: AUK's victory in the University Champion's Cup, participation in Model United Nations, trips abroad to study in Jordan and London, mentoring their peers by serving as orientation leaders, peer academic advisors and tutors.

She further highlighted AUK students' campaigning and fundraising capabilities, citing an awareness campaign for Darfur as one example.

As another point of pride, Dr. Tolmacheva mentioned that with this class, the university celebrated the graduation of the country's first female student government president.

The president then introduced the Keynote Speaker, Mr. Faisal Al-Ayyar. Mr. Al-Ayyar is a member of the AUK Board of Trustees, within which he serves on the Executive Committee and is the Chair of its Finance, Investment and Audit Committee. Away from AUK, he is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO Group).

"More importantly," Dr. Tolmacheva added, "he possesses the qualities that we work to develop in our students: commitment to service, effective leadership, global awareness, critical thinking, and respect for diversity, all evident in his varying roles throughout the world."

Mr. Al-Ayyar addressed the graduates with an inspirational speech about his personal evolution as an entrepreneur, assuring them that there will be pitfalls but that there is always knowledge to be extracted from experience, whether it's good or bad. Offering personal insight, he told them "that most of the time, the first obstacle will be your own mind, so open your minds, You will be surprised, that once you do this, your destiny suddenly becomes larger."

"Always raise the bar," he told them, "in your conduct, in your ethics, and particularly in your execution."

Following his keynote address, Mr. Al-Ayyar was presented with a plaque from Dr. Tolmacheva, on behalf of the graduating class of 2007.

Dean of Admissions and Registration, Mr. Sean Dollman and President Marina Tolmacheva then conferred upon the graduates their respective degrees, and in keeping with the academic tradition, the graduates were asked to move their tassels from right to left, thereby marking their official graduation from AUK. Following this, each graduate was presented with her or his bachelor's degree diploma by Dr. Tolmacheva and Mr. Imad Al-Ateeqi- Secretary General of the Council for Private Universities, Dr. Dale Eickelman- AUK-Dartmouth Relationship Coordinator, Dr. Nizar Hamzeh- Dean of College of Arts and Sciences, and Mr. Sean Dollman- Dean of Admissions and Registration.

Student Keynote Speaker and Valedictorian, Tasnim Saleh, took to the podium to deliver her speech. Miss Saleh completed the bachelor's degree program in Information Systems. She earned the highest cumulative grade point average of this graduating class. This exemplary student had won a full tuition scholarship, then went on to become the first President's Award recipient in 2005, and has received the AUK 3D art first place award. She was the Division of Sciences award winner in 2006, participant in Soliya Connect Program, was desk editor for the Voice of AUK newspaper and member of the French Club. Tasnim has tutored for the Student Success Center and worked in the Writing center. She has interned at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, worked as a student assistant in the Office of the Registrar before ending her career with us as a Records Services Coordinator.

The end of the ceremony was marked by the traditional cutting of the Class of 2007 cake in the reception area of the ballroom, and professional photography was provided for all graduates and their families and friends.

The dinner reception was sponsored by National Bank of Kuwait, with whom AUK shares a long-standing memorandum of understanding.