President Lee Bollinger addressed the School of General Studies’s unique role at Columbia, noting that GS represents “what is best about the University.”
Class Day Speaker Roger Leeds, Professor at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University, detailed his “zigzag” career through the worlds of academia, investment banking, venture capital, and public sector work in the Peace Corps and at the World Bank, and spoke of the special sense of camaraderie that GS graduates share.
Valedictorian Kira Boesch, a former ballet dancer, and salutatorian Elliot Shackelford, a former concert pianist, spoke of coming to GS from a performing arts background and of the inspiration they took from their fellow GS students. Shackelford and Senior Class President Henry Wells were presented with the Alumni Key Award for academic achievement and outstanding service to the School.
Additionally, Fox News broadcast live from the ceremony, in a story that focused on Jason Lemieux, Brendan Rooney, and Kevin Stendal, three Marines in the Class of 2011 who encouraged each other to apply to, and then succeed at, GS.
Degrees will be officially conferred at the University-wide Commencement ceremony on Wednesday, May 18.
Media Coverage
GS Class Day 2011
Senior Wisdom: Vals and Sals Edition
General Studies Graduate and Army Medic Is Ready to Push the Envelope Again
Commencement 2011: Grads celebrate diverse pasts at General Studies Class Day
Senior Profile: Kira Boesch
Senior Profile: Nathan Miller
Senior Profile: John McClelland
Music instructor named salutatorian
Brothers in Arms Graduate From Columbia University
Marines Employ Skills Learned on the Battlefield to Graduate in the Ivy League
