My name is Conor, and I am a fellow Hoya living and working in the Washington, DC area.
I want to take this moment to offer my congratulations to the Georgetown University class of 2020. You have come a very long way during your years on the Hilltop, and during these last few weeks you have overcome unprecedented challenges and transitions that as little as three months ago no one saw coming. I can only imagine the range of emotions you are experiencing as your time at Georgetown comes to a close, but please know that you are not alone. As a fellow alum, I experience them with you.
As we’ve all been forced to make changes in our lifestyles, hopefully you will gain a newfound appreciation for the sports, clubs, and the daily contacts and co-curricular activities that we formerly took for granted. In these times of online learning and social distancing, we have been able to maintain contacts and continue to function as a community and as a society, albeit in a different way. Thanks to collaborative technology that our ancestors could only have dreamed of, we are still able to stay connected and have not had to put friendships on hold. As you go forth from Georgetown to various cities and careers, it is more important now than ever before that you maintain these connections. Wherever your life may take you, you are forever sons and daughters of Georgetown, and the friends that you’ve made here will be friends for life, and they will be there to guide you through your hardest and most trying times.
While we cannot physically gather to celebrate, and you certainly deserve a more fitting closure to your Georgetown career, you should still be very proud of your accomplishments both inside and outside the classroom. We live in very uncertain times where we don’t know when or even if life will ever be the same. But America and the world have been tested many times through depressions, pandemics, and wars. Thanks to our brave leaders who have made a difference, we have emerged victoriously every time. Today, that change and that difference starts with you. You have a unique opportunity ahead of you, and I feel confident that you too will rise to the occasion to continue to make the world better and safer for all of us. I am proud to welcome you as the newest Georgetown University alumni, and I hope that one day when you return to the Hilltop for a reunion, a sporting event, or just for a visit, you will be welcomed back with open arms.
Hoya Saxa!
-Conor S.