AUC celebrates spring 2013 Graduation commencement ceremonies

The American University in Cairo (AUC) held its Spring 2013 commencement ceremonies for 702 master’s and bachelor’s degree candidates. In the two ceremonies, President Lisa Anderson awarded 557 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate degrees to candidates from each of AUC’s schools. Ben Wedeman, CNN senior international correspondent in Rome, Italy and an AUC alumnus, and Hisham Ramez, governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, addressed the students as the keynote speakers.

In his remarks to graduate students, Wedeman, who led CNN's coverage of the uprising against then-President Hosni Mubarak as well as the wider unrest in the Middle East, encouraged the students to be brave in the “new brave Egypt.” “Despite the uncertainty of today, you, the graduates will succeed, inshaaAllah. You will prosper. Although you will have bad days, the good days will be more,” he said.

Wedeman asked the audience members to keep their sense of humor. “Even during the hardest days of the revolution, what kept me going was the ability of ordinary people to laugh at the latest turn of events, to see something funny, ironic in the darkest moments. The Egyptian sense of humor is a weapon of mass destruction that destroys overblown egos, that burns down the flimsy façade of power faster than a barrage of Molotov cocktails,” he added.

Speaking at the undergraduate commencement, Ramez asked students to try everything first because they will only know what they are good at through experience. “Failure in anything is not the end; it’s always the start,” he said. “We all went through failures until we learned what to do right. Great innovations started with a simple idea. Always keep your approach and communication simple, and you'll reach your goal.” Ramez advised the students to listen more than they talk and to leave their work to prove how successful they are.

At the undergraduate commencement ceremony, 99 undergraduate students graduated with honors, 102 with high honors and 86 with highest honors. In addition, several students were recognized by individual awards for their superior academic performance, as well as their contributions to campus and community life. The President’s Cup and the associated Mohamed M. El-Beleidy Academic Award, both of which go to the student with the highest grade point average, were awarded to five students this semester: AminaSaleh, Dalia Elserafy, Darin Radwan, Miral Tawfik and Nourhan Sakr.

The Parents Association Cup, given to the student who has demonstrated unusual capability in blending academic achievement with a major contribution to student activities, was awarded to Doha Tantawy. Magda Keshk and Fatema Niazy received the Nadia Younes Award for Public and Humanitarian Service, and the Ahmed H. Zewail Prize for Excellence in the Sciences and the Humanities was given to Dalia El Serafy. The Ahmed El Mehallawi Family Award, given to a senior who has demonstrated academic achievement and community involvement through extracurricular activities, was awarded to Zeina Mohamed. The Dr. Abdel Rahman El Sawy Award, given to the Public School Scholarship student with the highest grade point average in the engineering department, was presented to Karim Ayyad. The Student Government Cup was awarded to Ahmed Fayed and Youssef Mahchi for working successfully in different branches of the student government and in diverse entities, organizations and offices throughout the campus. Meanwhile, the Omar Mohsen Athletic Achievement Cup was given to Karim El Shazly for his valuable contributions to the athleticsoffice and AUC.

The commencement ceremonies also presented an opportunity to honor faculty members for their excellence in academia and research. Maki Habib from the Department of Mechanical Engineering was presented with the Excellence in Research and Creative Endeavors Award. Mahmoud Farag, also teaching in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, was awarded the Excellence in Academic Service Award. The Excellence in Teaching Award was given to two faculty members: Hani Sayed from the Department of Law and Rania Jabr from the English Language Institute.

Moreover, for the first time, a dual degree of Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Science in construction engineering was awarded to Ahmed Alaa Fayed. The first Master of Arts in Egyptology and Coptology was earned by Ariel Singer, while Nesma Mahgoub received the first Bachelor of Musical Arts in performance.

Speaking at the undergraduate ceremony, President Lisa Anderson addressed the students: “I hope that, in addition to everything else you learn at AUC, graduates, you learned the value of perseverance, of trying again when you don’t succeed, of designing new roads when your path is blocked, of planning ahead to anticipate obstacles.”

Anderson mentioned that the University is establishing a scholarship fund in the memory of late Provost Medhat Harounand will be inaugurating an atrium in his name in October 2013, marking one year since he died.