SIT Graduate Institute marks 8th annual degree ceremony in Washington, DC
Announcement Date: August 12, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC 鈥 Seventeen students received master鈥檚 degrees on August 11 during a ceremony at the National Presbyterian Church that emphasized the importance of cultivating community to build a more sustainable world. It was an historic day: Nine of the graduates hailed from the first cohort of SIT鈥檚 new Climate Change and Global Sustainability degree program. Eight completed the hybrid master鈥檚 program in Sustainable Development with a focus on international policy and management.
鈥淏oth of these programs are first of a kind,鈥 Dr. Ken Williams, dean of SIT Graduate Institute, told the students in his welcoming remarks.
Graduates were praised both as pioneers and passionate advocates for global sustainability throughout the ceremony, which was punctuated by the sounds of African drumming by soloist Roy Horton.
鈥淵ou now have a degree and experience that sets you apart from the others,鈥 said Dr. Deborah Robinson, the Graduate Center鈥檚 academic director in Washington, DC. 鈥淭hank you so much in advance for helping to save the world.鈥
Robinson was honored as a professor emerita during the ceremony. SIT also presented a certificate of appreciation to Joyce Howland, coordinator of DC Student Services.
Graduates were also encouraged to look to each other for solidarity as they set out to create change.
鈥淭he people who get the most done, for themselves and for the world, are the people who have networks that support them, and networks that they support,鈥 said keynote speaker Ian Fisk, executive director of the Mentor Capital Network, a group of more than 1,000 individuals who have built, managed, invested in, or studied social enterprises. 鈥淭o that end, I recommend that you keep this particular audience with you for as long as you can. Because your best resources for career success are sitting in this room. They鈥檙e your classmates.鈥
It was clear that the graduates agreed.
Michael Keel spoke on behalf of the students in the Sustainable Development program, offering kind words to each of his classmates and pointing out the importance of developing supportive communities like the one they鈥檇 found. 鈥淪ustainable development is about people,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about all of us. It鈥檚 about taking care of people and lifting each other up.鈥
Similarly, Cassidy Madden said that her cohort in the Climate Change and Global Sustainability program pushed each other to think about climate change in new ways as they hiked glaciers in Iceland and snorkeled in the coral reefs of Tanzania. She pointed out that the global degree format 鈥 in which students spent each semester in various parts of the world to see how climate change affects ecosystems differently 鈥 not only brought the students together but also gave them valuable insight into what is truly a global problem. 鈥淭he world we live in is an interconnected one,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 confident together we will confront these tremendous challenges.鈥
Dr. Sophia Howlett, president of SIT, urged the graduates not to let those challenges overwhelm them. She noted that while it鈥檚 easy to turn away from difficult things happening in the world 鈥 from climate change to mass shootings 鈥 she鈥檚 proud of the students for choosing to tackle global problems instead. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e shown that you care and you鈥檙e going to do something,鈥 she said.
For now, though, these graduates face a more immediate challenge: finding jobs.
In his remarks, Fisk shared the stories of social entrepreneurs who have sought to make a difference through their work, whether they鈥檝e founded ethical chocolate companies or created businesses that hire former child soldiers. 鈥淚 strongly encourage you to find work that makes you happy and helps you to feel valuable to the world,鈥 he said.
They鈥檒l be pursuing that work in fields from farming to fashion.
Colin Byers, who received his degree in Climate Change and Global Sustainability, hopes to find work on a hydroponic farm or in the field of climate disaster mitigation. Charles Mfortow, who commuted from Atlanta once a month for the in-person portion of the hybrid Sustainable Development program, will continue promoting clean water, particularly in his local Cameroonian community. And Aimee-Rose Reker Aranada plans to not only incorporate sustainable practices in her own work as a fashion stylist and buyer but to further develop the toolkit she created for her capstone project that will help others in the fashion industry pursue sustainable business practices.
鈥淚t feels amazing,鈥 Reder Aranada says of her completed degree. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to see where everybody goes.鈥