The George Washington University Class of 2028’s arrival to campus comes at a time when all eyes throughout the world are watching Washington, D.C.
In just over two months, a historic and consequential presidential election will be held to see who occupies one of the globe’s most famous residences and office of power at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.—blocks away from GW’s Foggy Bottom Campus.
At Saturday’s Convocation, President Ellen M. Granberg encouraged the Class of 2028 and new transfer students to rise up, meet the occasion and live out the innate passion for politics and civic engagement that defines GW. She formally welcomed the students to the GW community, which includes over 120 members of Congress, 79 ambassadors, two U.S. Secretaries of State, two U.S. Attorney Generals and countless journalists, judges, CEOs, athletes and entertainers who have graduated from GW and gone on to change the world.
Granberg acknowledged that each student was at the start of their own unique journey and challenged them to take full advantage of the many opportunities GW has to offer.
“Our location in the heart of the nation’s capital is not just a point on a map—it’s an open invitation to participate in history,” Granberg said. “I can’t imagine a more exciting time or place to begin your college journey.”
And based on the palpable enthusiasm circulating throughout the Charles E. Smith Center at the sight of the tubas that would eventually play GW’s fight song, “Hail to the Buff and Blue,” it’s clear the Class of 2028 is ready to answer the call.
“That’s precisely why we all chose to come to GW,” Granberg said. “You’re here to learn, grow, push boundaries and to become the kind of leaders our world needs. Class of 2028, your journey begins today, and I can’t wait to see where it takes you.”
Convocation is one of two ceremonies that bookends a student’s time at GW—the other being Commencement on the National Mall. It is the formal recognition of the start of academic journeys as new students begin their matriculation at GW joining a long of great scholars at the institution more than 200 years old.
The morning ceremony included a procession of academic leaders, trustees and staff members. In addition to Granberg, Saturday’s attendees and participants included Provost Christopher Alan Bracey, newly elected Trustee Camila Tapias and the deans of GW’s five undergraduate residential colleges: Alyssa Ayres of the Elliott School of International Affairs, Lynn Goldman of the Milken Institute School of Public Health, John Lach of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, interim Vanessa Perry of the School of Business and Paul Wahlbeck of the Columbian College or Arts and Sciences (CCAS), each of whom encouraged their school’s students to cheer and applaud when their school was recognized.
Bracey urged students to understand that the university exists not simply for job placement but for a higher calling. He said that GW is a place where free inquiry and expression are embraced and exercised, where truth is pursued, where ideas are generated and tested and where knowledge is created and distributed around the world to benefit society.
“There is no better place—no better university—to pursue truth and explore ideas, to grow and to mature, and to change the world than the George Washington University,” Bracey said.
The event is also paired with Welcome Day of Service as first-year students embark on another important pillar at GW—civic engagement.
Service is exactly how student speaker Olivia Frankiewicz, a senior in CCAS majoring in psychological and brain studies, found her higher calling at GW.
A lover of art, Frankiewicz used a blank canvas metaphor throughout her address to challenge her younger peers to find ways to make their own spaces rich and colorful. Her canvas, she said, is marked by her time spent at ThriveDC, a shelter and safety net for people experiencing homelessness. Frankiewicz has since become the director of programming for the Residence Hall Association, is a Civic House program assistant with the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service and is president of GW Ballroom.
“My message to you all comes down to this: pick up your brush and start painting your canvas. Find what you love—academics, athletics, student orgs or service,” Frankiewicz said. “Use these as your medium to make your mark. Today’s Convocation and Welcome Day of Service is just the first step—an introduction to the many opportunities to engage in service at GW and in the community.”
At GW, where classrooms rub elbows with some of the world’s most consequential land and institutions, the tools are all available to fill that canvas, and the Class of 2028 came from near, far and wide to access them. All 50 states and more than 100 countries represent the first-year and new transfer contingent, and Granberg urged them to listen and embrace each other’s unique experiences and viewpoints that will enrich their own.
As the world watches Washington, D.C., its newest inhabitants are ready to make their mark.
“GW students are some of the most intellectually and socially engaged on the planet, and your academic experience is part of what will give you the skills you need to take all of that energy and channel it into greatness,” Granberg said. “It is an amazing privilege and an amazing opportunity, and I hope the next four years of your life will be like no other.”
