This weekend's torrential rains could not stop CEE from shining, as graduates donned their robes and bid their final farewells to Georgia Tech.
The 245th Commencement Exercises were held May 4 and 5, for graduates and undergraduates respectively.
Friday night's exercises featured a rousing talk by Brown University president Ruth Simmons and a moving speech by CEE graduate student (and Marshall Scholar) Jacob Tzegaebe, who regaled this fellow graduate students with his own childhood dreams and urged them to never stop asking questions.
"When I was a boy my parents called me by a nickname: 'the professor' because of my inquisitive nature, my willingness to always ask why," said the Snellville native, who will leave Georgia this fall to pursue his doctorate in England.
"Why is the sky blue? Why is it that when I mix baking soda and vinegar I have a big mess I need to clean up? Why shouldn’t I touch this electric fence? I always asked why, and when I got an answer to my question that didn’t seem correct or there was no answer, I searched for it myself."
"And that right there is what I think we all have in common. We are inquisitive in nature, we are hungry for knowledge, and we are never afraid to ask why. Even more important is that when we realize we are asking a question that has yet to be answered, we don’t get worried, we get ready. Ready to push the envelope, innovate, and find a solution. This is why we came to graduate school, why we are graduating today, and this is the foundation that the rest of our future must be built upon."
Among the approximate 100 students to receive doctorates at Friday's ceremonies were CEE's own Stephanie German and Jazalyn Dukes. (below)
