May 2008

If you’re like me, it’s been a while since you graduated from AU.  Yet the university's recent 122nd commencement exercises remind me of a day I’m sure you remember, too – collecting my AU diploma with pride and excitement about all that lay ahead.

The Class of 2008 is an impressive bunch. Our newest ranks of alumni emit the raw energy, enthusiasm, and drive you might expect. Yet they also went through college during some sobering times. This group of students came of age in the wake of 9/11.  Their entire college careers have known wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and they’ve witnessed the devastations of the Asian tsunami in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and now, the cyclone in Burma and the earthquake in China.

Still, every generation has landmark events in their histories. While each member of the class of ’08 will carry a myriad of memories with them for the rest of their lives, what matters now is what they make of their new-found knowledge of their majors, the world, themselves, and how all those pieces fit together.

Please join me in welcoming the class of 2008 to our alumni circle with open arms, hearts, and minds. Our newest members may be leaving campus, but they will be Eagles now and forever. And each of us, as AU alumni, is better for it.

Sincerely,

Brian F. Keane, SPA-SOC/BA '89

 
Dr. Neil Kerwin '71 bestowed the 2008 President's Award to Patrick Sullivan at commencement.   photo by Jeff Watts

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Melissa Reichley
Executive Editor, Alumni Update and
Director, Development Communications
202-885-5930

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