Live from the National Mall: It’s GW’s Class of 2026

In the shadows of the Washington Monument at Commencement on Sunday, GW Today writers caught up with members of the university's graduating class to see what memories, places, classes and professors were at the top of their minds moments before they were conferred and welcomed into GW's alumni community.

The Class of 2026 numbers 8,164, with 3,726 undergraduates and 4,890 graduate students. Undergraduates included 690 double majors. The youngest graduate is 17; the oldest 76. The Class of 2026 includes three sets of twins. The class represents 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 131 countries.

Here, in their own words, are some answers to questions GW graduates shared regarding their time at the university. (Comments have been edited for clarity and length.)

Q: Do you have a favorite "only at GW" moment?

Hugo Amat Granier de Cassagnac, M.A. International Affairs, Elliott School
My first year I got to visit the Department of State and for me, so I'm French, I'm a French citizen and it was really something that I did not expect and something that I was looking for when I got into GW and something I think only GW could get me there.

Deborah Barker-Manase, M.A., Graduate School of Education and Human Development
I think it was really the moment of just discovering so much that is out there in terms of disability policy and education services and I couldn't have done that without so many moments of learning in the program that I was in. I loved all of my classes. They were all so relevant for me because I am the mother of an autistic young man. I can't really say which one was my favorite because they were all so relevant to our personal experience as a family.

Kelsey Harris, Global M.B.A., School of Business
This right now. This is my third graduation. My fourth degree. And all my other ones have beautiful and nice, but being able to have graduation on the Mall, GW may be the only school in the country, in the world really, that allows you to do that. It's special and really cool, being able to look at the Washington Monument while listening to speeches and the pomp that comes with graduation. It will be the only time I had graduation on the Mall.

Meredith Wells, M.D., School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Working at GW Hospital is unique in and of itself. I had multiple rotations where I'd end up working with the Secret Service, which I feel like is an "only at GW" moment. I chose GW in the first place because I wanted to work more in health policy and global health, which is still something I'm interested in.

Q: What was your favorite class, and why?

Koa DeMarzo, B.S. Political Science, Public Policy Focus, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
I'm a political science major but my favorite class was actually business ethics. I took it with Professor Massoni because I was doing a minor in business. I loved it because we had really good discussions about everything and we talked about various cases in business. It was very relevant and contemporary. I thought the class was well designed.

Kyle Donohue, J.D. GW Law
My favorite class was probably, and this is a little nerdy, History of the Common Law with Professor Renée Lettow Lerner, just because I love history. And I jumped at the opportunity to be able to take another history class, but in law school.

Ian Nappi, B.S. Computer Science, School of Engineering and Applied Science
As hard as it was, I think O. S.-operating systems. We had an end of term project where we built our own container management system, and I had a great team. That was a cool experience.

Jennifer Snyder, M.P.S., College of Professional Studies
I loved Opposition Research. I learned so much about campaigns and what to do for opposition research and how to defeat your opponent. I hope to be a strategist for campaigning.

Q: Which place on campus will you miss the most, and why?

Isabella Kim, Global M.B.A., School of Business
I will definitely miss the Gelman Library and the Kogan Plaza. Whenever the weather was nice, my friends and would have little picnics and study sessions at those places there. So I will definitely miss those areas the most.

Sophia Noto, B.A. Graphic Design, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Since I'm a graphic design student I spent a lot of time in the Flagg Building. It's beautiful. It contains so much history. I spent countless hours working on my artwork there. I think I'm going to miss that place a lot. It's such a beautiful building, the architecture. It is a very peaceful place to study.

Reagan O'Brien, B.A. International Affairs, Elliott School
I think one place that I will miss, that won't be the same because the people that I met here at Elliott and at GW while I was here won't be there, definitely the rocking chair like in Kogan. In Kogan and in U Yard. I think U Yard is really special and I'll definitely miss it. It's got so much character, so much has happened there, especially in my four years. So I think that is one place that I will definitely miss because the energy of the people is what makes it great.

Morgan Urlaub, M.A. International Development Studies, Elliott School
I love the Elliott fifth floor study lounge, that was always a great place for me to go study. It was always kind of quiet but there were always some events going on so you could kind of meet people and see all your friends.

Q: What was your favorite place within the DMV you discovered during your time here?

Jesse Field, Accelerated B.S.N., School of Nursing
Being in the DMV is a real privilege and one of the things I love about D.C. in general is just being able to come out and be on the National Mall, go for a run between the monuments and just really enjoy the beauty of the area.

Emma Meverden, M.A. Museum Studies, Sorcoran School of the Arts and Design
I really loved going to the Planet Word Museum. I thought it was a really fun experience to bring my family to, friends to, who really wanted a hands-on learning experience and get to know a lot about cultures from around the world. I also really loved going to Gelman Library, too, to walk through the university archives, it was a lot of fun.

Richard Nesbitt, B.S. Computer Science, School of Engineering and Applied Science
The Kennedy Center is a great place. It's nice to just go up on that terrace and just look over the Potomac and watch airplanes land.

Isabella Rubietta, M.P.H., Milken Institute School of Public Health
I really just enjoy your guys' museums! You have so many amazing free museums, it's so much fun. We were at the National Museum of the American Indian yesterday, which was so cool. There was a hula performance going on yesterday-it was amazing.