Last week we celebrated the completion of the fall semester for our first cohort of graduate students. We had a small dinner, followed by speeches and a presentation of certificates.
Our assistant academic director, Fabio Capano, advised the students through the semester and worked most closely with them. He congratulated them on their success and recalled the great relationships that everyone has built here in the International Accelerator program at American University. Dr. Jeremy Shiffman, from American University’s Department of Public Administration and Policy, worked with many of the students and was a favorite professor among the students. It was clear that the relationship between the students and the faculty and staff was quite special, and that this group had made a lasting impression in the International Accelerator program and at American University.
One of the MAP students, Elyas Yohanis Asamau, gave a speech as well. Elyas reflected on the academic journey he had taken this semester, as well as the friendships that had formed among his colleagues.
The group was small (only 12 members, two of whom missed the ceremony because they had a more pressing concern: final exams!), but that allowed them to bond both which each other and their professors. The MAP program will certainly grow in the semesters to come, but we won’t forget the hard work that our first students put in, as well as the positive and friendly attitudes they showed in the classroom and in visits to the IAP office!
