School of General Studies Celebrates Scholarship Recipients

On Tuesday, November 10, students, alumni, and faculty gathered in Low Memorial Library to celebrate scholarship recipients at the School of General Studies. These scholarships are made possible by generous alumni and donors, many of whom were present to share dinner with their respective scholarship recipients.

November 18, 2015

The dinner was an occasion for students and donors to mingle with each other, and to pay tribute to the School of General Studies’ diverse student and alumni community.

“Tonight we bring together the most important members of the GS community: our academically accomplished students who have been awarded named scholarships,  and our alumni and friends whose generous support of the scholarship fund transforms the lives of these students,” said Dean Peter J. Awn in his introductory remarks.

Christopher Riano

Alumni speaker Chris Riano ’07GS, partner at Drohan Lee, LLP and professor at Columbia Law School, spoke to his experience at the School of General Studies, and the resilience that comes with being a part of the GS community.

“GS students have already accomplished so much coming in the door; with our community’s help there is truly no limit to what they can do in the future,” he said.

Riano currently serves on the Columbia Alumni Association and plays an active role in maintaining GS’s alumni relations, which are critical to supporting the scholarship fund.

At the close of the dinner, Hannah Germond ’16GS addressed the audience about her path to the School of General Studies, which has taken her from performing as a professional concert pianist, to being the youngest elected city council member in Indiana—and now, to completing her B.A. at Columbia.

Daniel Slaughter and Hannah Germond

“The one lesson that’s impacted me most at Columbia is a lesson recently learned. And it’s a simple one: that is to be my most authentic self, to shed my perfectly fine self, to just be me,” she said, reflecting on the pressures that come with being a non-traditional student.

Germond expressed her gratitude to donors, and speaking on behalf of GS students said, “thank you for investing in our GS experience, so that we can continue our stories.”