Our 2023 Commencement Celebrations
GW School of Business
2023 Commencement Celebrations
The GW School of Business proudly invites the Class of 2023 to our celebratory events. Mark your calendars and begin planning for your participation.
Schedule of Events
Beta Gamma Sigma Induction Ceremony
Thursday, April 27, 2023, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
City View Room
Invitation only
GWSB School of Business Class of 2023 Soirée
Thursday, May 4, 2023, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Location announcement within the invitation.
Online Programs Graduation Celebration
Saturday, May 13, 2023, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
The Virtual Celebration link will be distributed to graduates, families, and guests in advance.
Student and Faculty Awards Ceremony
Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 4:00 p.m.
Continental Ballroom, University Student Center
Invitation only. Reception immediately follows ceremony.
Undergraduate Programs School Celebration
Thursday, May 18, 2023, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Each graduate will receive six guest tickets to the celebration in the Charles E. Smith Center.
Reception immediately follows in Oglethorpe Great Hall (Duquès Hall, First Floor Lobby).
Master’s and Doctoral Programs School Celebration
Friday, May 19, 2023, 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Each graduate will receive four guest tickets to the celebration in the Charles E. Smith Center.
Reception immediately follows in Oglethorpe Great Hall (Duquès Hall, First Floor Lobby).
GW University Commencement on the National Mall
Sunday, May 21, 2023, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Each graduate will receive six guest tickets for the GW Commencement on the National Mall.
Live Streams
We invite all Class of 2023 graduates, together with their families and friends, to watch the undergraduate and the master's and doctoral commencement celebrations here via live stream.
Undergraduate Programs Celebration
Master’s and Doctoral Programs Celebration
Social Media
Use the hashtag #GWSBgrads2023 on Instagram to have your commencement post appear here.
Programs
Undergraduate Programs Celebration
Master’s and Doctoral Programs Celebration
Keynote Speakers
Master’s and Doctoral Programs Celebration
Hans Vestberg
Chairman & CEO, Verizon
Hans Vestberg leads Verizon, the world’s largest wireless, fiber-optic and global information networks and services company. In 2017, Hans served as Verizon’s chief technology officer and president of Global Networks, responsible for developing the architecture for Verizon’s fiber-centric infrastructure. He was appointed CEO in August 2018 and chairman of Verizon’s board of directors in March 2019.
Before joining Verizon, Hans was chief financial officer and CEO of Ericsson, where he led the company’s transformation from its focus on hardware to software and services. Hans is a founding member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Broadband Commission for Digital Development, where he has led climate-change and digital-health initiatives. He is a board member of BlackRock, the UN Foundation, and the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, and is co-chair of the New Jersey CEO Council, a coalition of leaders from the state’s largest companies. He chairs the World Economic Forum’s EDISON Alliance for digital inclusion, which aims to impact 1 billion lives with affordable and accessible digital solutions by 2025. Born in Hudiksvall, Sweden, Hans earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Uppsala in Sweden. He is married with two children and is fluent in Swedish, English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Undergraduate Programs Celebration
LaJuanna Russell (MBA ‘98)
President & CEO, Business Management Associates, Inc.
A visionary who started her now award-winning, multi-million-dollar business with a personal investment of $500, Ms. LaJuanna Russell has more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of business operations and government contracting. She is particularly practiced in the areas of human resource management and process improvement and is a sought-after speaker on topics such as the future of work, leadership, diversity and inclusion, entrepreneurship, and women in government contracting.
In addition to her certification as a Six Sigma Green Belt, Ms. Russell holds a BA in Communication Studies from Virginia Tech and an MBA with concentrations in International Business and Finance from the George Washington University. She is the chair of Small Business Majority’s board of directors, a member of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce board of directors, a member of the George Washington School of Business advisory board, a member of the Professional Services Council board of directors executive council, a member of the Campagna Center board of directors, the DC Leadership Council co-chair for Vital Voices, a member of the Women Impacting Public Policy board of directors, a member of Intuit’s Small Business QuickBooks Council, immediate past chair of the Alexandria Commission on Employment, and an alumna of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program.
Student Speakers
Master’s and Doctoral Programs Celebration
Islindy Merius (MBA '23)
Islindy Merius is a Global MBA candidate and Forté Fellow at the George Washington University School of Business (GWSB). While at GWSB, Islindy also obtained a graduate certificate in Project & Program Management, along with a graduate certificate in Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. Prior to business school, she obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Roger Williams University School of Law. At GWSB, Islindy served as president of the Black MBA Association and vice president of the GW Haitian Alliance.
Islindy spent the first year of the MBA program interning at Passbook Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on immigrant-led fin-tech and commerce-tech companies. As part of her internship with Passbook Ventures, Islindy has helped to incubate Nandi Labs, a passbook portfolio company that is building a Web3 marketplace for art creators and collectors. From there, she went on to intern with Microsoft, where she used her newly acquired experience in venture capital to help build a propensity model to fine tune Microsoft’s strategy for working with late-stage startups valued at over one billion dollars.
Islindy has been awarded the Raymond James Scholarship award, the Student of the Year award, and the Partner of the Year award, all of which were given by the DC Chapter of the National Black MBA Association. Outside of GWSB, she is also the community engagement lead of the #SHE_BUILDS Global Initiative, an international platform that exists to accelerate progress in emerging markets by equipping women entrepreneurs with the tools to scale their impact. A proud Haitian, Islindy is fluent in French, Spanish and Haitian Kreyol. When asked for her favorite or most inspiring quote, she quoted Corita Kent: “Life is a succession of moments; to live each one is to succeed.”
Undergraduate Programs Celebration
Aditi Rao (B.S. '23)
Raised in Austin, Texas, Aditi Rao is graduating Summa Cum Laude from the George Washington University School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing with a concentration in Information Systems & Technology Management, and she is a member of the university honors program. Aditi has been highly involved on campus as a Business Leader Development program mentor for the career strategy course, fostering students’ career readiness and professional development. She is a member of the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity and a member of the Kappa Delta sorority. In addition, she previously served as vice president of external affairs for the Undergraduate Business Association. In her previous internship experiences, Aditi worked as a strategy and operations intern for Oliver Wyman and as a technology consulting intern for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Post-graduation, Aditi will be joining Bain & Company as an associate consultant in their Dallas, Texas office.
Regalia
All students participating in school celebrations and Commencement on the National Mall must wear regalia. Active service members may wear their dress uniform in lieu of regalia. Graduates may order regalia online through April 13.
Keepsakes
Information about additional purchases such as announcements, diploma frames, yearbooks and class rings will be shared in the future. The GW Campus Store offers alumni clothing and gifts.
The Cherry Tree yearbook offers portrait appointments through its website. It is an independent student organization that is not affiliated with University Events. If you feel that you received a message from them in error, or were excluded from their mailing list, please visit their website for contact information. All students of GW (undergraduates of any year, master’s students, and doctoral candidates) are welcome to purchase yearbooks and have a portrait taken. The general content of our book is geared toward undergraduate students.
Banner Bearers
There will be five banner bearers from the GW School of Business at the university commencement celebration on the National Mall on Sunday, May 21: two undergraduates, two master’s students, and one doctoral candidate. One of the five banner bearers will be selected to carry the school banner and lead the other four banner bearers in the academic processional and recessional. The nomination window for this competition is now closed.
Apply to Graduate
Spring 2023 graduates must submit a graduation application via GWeb by March 15, 2022. This is the first step and must be completed before registering for any commencement-related events.
Spring 2023 commencement can include all eligible graduates for: Summer 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, and Summer 2023. Summer 2023 graduates who plan to attend the May commencement ceremony must apply for graduation after registering for summer 2023 courses no later than April 1. Students must have either completed their degree requirements or be enrolled in classes that will complete those requirements to submit the graduation application.
Commencement Registration
Each Summer 2022 and Fall 2022 graduate, and each Spring 2023 and Summer 2023 graduating student who has submitted a graduation application in GWeb, is eligible to participate in school celebrations and commencement in May and to invite:
- up to six guests for the Undergraduate School Celebration on May 18, 2023
- up to four guests for the Master’s and Doctoral School Celebration on May 19, 2023
- up to six guests for the Commencement on the National Mall on May 21, 2023
Students must register themselves and their guests to attend Commencement Week events. Registration opens on March 27, 2023 and closes on May 12, 2023. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions or experience any issues during the registration process.
Please note: You must apply to graduate and complete the mandatory online graduation survey before you can register for the School Celebration or Commencement on the National Mall. The graduation survey opens on March 23, 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
- If I am finishing my degree in the summer, can I participate in commencement?
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Yes. Simply apply for summer graduation in GWeb by April 1, after you register for summer courses, to ensure you are included in the commencement program.
- If I am a Fall 2022 graduate, can I participate in commencement?
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Yes. All Fall 2022 graduates are eligible to participate and will be included in communications.
- What if I miss the March 15 (or April 1 for summer) application deadlines in GWeb?
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You can still apply for graduation in GWeb, but inclusion in the celebration program cannot be guaranteed due to publishing deadlines.
- What if I didn’t receive a confirmation after applying to graduate?
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You can check DegreeMAP to confirm that the application is on file. If an application is on file for you, then you will see the words "Sought-Applied to Graduate" or "Applied Late Degree Clearance" in the "Graduation Application" field on your DegreeMAP audit. This is located near the top, in the same section as your name, GWID, major, etc.
- Does the GW School of Business provide graduation cords, medals or stoles?
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GWSB does not provide cords or stoles for Latin Honors. If you are involved in a group that you know or think might provide cords or stoles for graduation, we encourage you to contact that organization in advance. Undergraduate students will receive a medal at their school celebration on Thursday, May 18.
- What are School Celebrations?
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All GW schools and colleges will host a celebratory experience for their graduating students. Graduating students will receive individual recognition, including having their names announced, walking across the stage, and having an individual photo taken, during these celebrations, and they will hear from school leaders and other prestigious speakers.
- What is the Commencement on the National Mall?
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University Commencement brings together students from all GW schools for the conferral of their degrees. The ceremony takes place on the National Mall and is open to all 2023 graduates from bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs to come and celebrate their achievements. This event includes remarks from GW leadership and other speakers.
- Can I purchase GWSB-branded commencement keepsakes?
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Yes. Please visit www.GWSBshop.com.
Please also refer to the University Commencement website for additional Frequently Asked Questions and answers.
Accessibility
GW is committed to providing universal access to all of our events. Please see the information regarding Smith Center and National Mall accessibility on the University Commencement website.
Questions
Contact us at [email protected] to connect with the GW Business Commencement Committee.
GW ALMA MATER
Hail Alma Mater
To thy spirit guiding,
Knowledge thy closest friend
In its strength abiding,
Pledge we fidelity
Ne'er its place resigning,
Hail thee George Washington!
Archive
Revisit Our 2023 Commencement Celebrations
Revisit Our 2022 Commencement Celebrations
Revisit Our 2021 Commencement Celebrations
