On September 28 Cultural Attaché Dan Hastings attended the exciting graduation ceremony of students who completed their undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Warsaw’s American Studies Center. It was the second time that the American Studies Center held an “American style” commencement ceremony which students themselves organized. The ceremony kicked off with the national anthems of Poland and the United States performed by the university’s choir, followed by remarks from Dr. Grzegorz Kość, the director of the American Studies Center, Cultural Attaché Dan Hastings, and the graduate student Aleksandra Rabenda who gave the valedictorian address to her fellow graduates. Professor Tadeusz Sławek of the University of Silesia delivered the commencement speech, which was then followed by the conferment of diplomas and the graduates’ gleeful throwing into the air of their mortarboards. Photos and a reception with friends and family concluded the joyful event.
The U.S. Embassy, which has enjoyed years of cooperation with the American Studies Center and has employed their students, would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the students – as well as their parents, families, friends, teachers – on their academic achievement and wish them well in their future careers. We also would like to thank our friends and partners at the American Studies Center for the hard work they provide year in and year out to engage, educate, and prepare future generations of American Studies scholars in Poland. Last but not least, we would like to thank Coca-Cola for the sponsorship they also provided for the graduation ceremony.
