DOHA: Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCUQatar) held its 2016 Commencement Ceremony at HBKU Student Centre in the presence of H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson, Qatar Museums.
The ceremony awarded 55 Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degrees in fashion, graphics, interior design, painting and printmaking, and art history, and seven Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in design.
This brought the total number of VCUQatar alumni to 566.
The 15th Commencement Ceremony brought together families, friends, faculty and staff to celebrate the accomplishments of VCUQatar’s graduates.
In her address, Dr Gail Hackett, Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs, told the graduates: “Through you, the world will come to know this region for its profound advances in art and culture and innovation.”
Dr Hackett advised them that failure should be expected as they joined the world of work, because they would have to take risks if they wanted to succeed. “Make failure your springboard and keep going because failure is just another word for experience.”
The keynote speaker was Arnold Wasserman, Chairman, Idea Factory, an innovation consultancy based in Singapore and San Francisco.
Mark Bermejo, the Class of 2016 Valedictorian; and Wurood Azzam, Salutatorian; also addressed the audience.
“Today we graduate as designers and join the artists that made the world more beautiful, lovelier and more meaningful to live in. Let us create and innovate new designs and not just cut and paste, unless we cut out the limitations and paste our designs that improve current issues,” Bermejo stated. Bermejo has a long VCUQatar family history. His brother studied graphic design and his sister studied fashion design.
Following the speeches, Hackett presented the graduates of the MFA degree with their diplomas.
Dean Akel I Kahera presented the graduates of the BFA and BA degrees with their diplomas, while Dr Barry Falk, Dean, VCU Honours College, honoured the nine students who completed a vigorous programmer to graduate from the college.
The ceremony marked the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance on the part of the BFA, BA, and MFA graduates.
It also celebrated the beginning of their venture into the highly complex and exponentially growing professional world of art and design.
The Peninsula
