Celebrating Our Graduates
It is one of the most exciting times of the year on the Kennedy
School campus. Our community is coming together this week to celebrate our
graduates’ remarkable achievements before they head back into the world
in service of their communities. Harvard Square is a flurry of activity, as families
and friends have descended upon the Harvard campus to celebrate their loved ones’ accomplishments.
This is a week we look forward
to all year—and we’re so pleased to be able to celebrate in person for the
first time since 2019. The 2022 Commencement Week celebrations kicked off on Monday, May 23 and Commencement Day is on Thursday, May
26. We are also thrilled to welcome the Class of 2020 and 2021 graduates
to campus on Saturday and Sunday for their own long-awaited in-person
Commencement celebrations.
For those of us who work in the Office of Admissions & Financial Aid, it is inspiring to see what the students we admit to HKS do while they are here and what they aspire to do after graduation.
Take a moment to learn about some of our exceptional 2022 graduates.
her chance to make the world a better place
Sirene Abou-Chakra MC/MPA 2022
Creating a purpose-driven
career brought this executive to the Harvard Kennedy School.
full circle to help Bedouin parents and their babies
Yasmeen Abu Fraiha MC/MPA 2022
Dr. Yasmeen Abu Fraiha, a leader in genetic testing for the Bedouin community in southern
Israel, will use her Kennedy School education to broaden her impact on health
care in the region.
meaningful change for refugees
Sebastian Agignoae MPP 2022
Motivated by a unique
personal history and a love for music, Agignoae is helping refugees keep culture,
and hope, alive.
legible the beauty and brilliance of underserved communities
Damarcus Bell MPP 2022
Motivated by a unique
personal history and a love for music, Agignoae is helping refugees keep
culture, and hope, alive.
and for Indian Country
Joel Chastain MC/MPA 2022
Chastain is taking lessons learned from the Chickasaw Nation and Harvard Kennedy School
to promote tribal economic development.
equitable and efficient city services
Juliahna Green MPP 2022
Green wants to improve city
services for those that need them most.
long route to Cambridge—from China via South Africa
Lucy Luo MPA/ID 2022
Curiosity about the world
has led Luo to a focus on international development.
a life of service with a love of performing
Nico Maffey MPA/ID 2022
Maffey combines knowledge and discipline to pursue ventures that make a
difference in the developing world.
nature, community-based resilience, and biodiversity
Swapan Mehra MC/MPA 2022
Mehra is on a mission to
protect South Asia’s richly diverse and vulnerable natural environments.
the stories of diverse, unsung women, one interview at a time
Jamie Mittelman MPA 2022
A storyteller launches her
COVID-adapted dream job: a platform for women Olympians and Paralympians.
passion for learning, communicating, and helping others
Mauro Morabito MC/MPA 2022
Morabito used his
language skills for humanitarian service in some of the world’s toughest
conflicts—and now he is taking on climate justice.
a passion for the arts to civic and humanitarian spaces
Garen Scribner MC/MPA 2022
A dancer pivots to advocacy
and social entrepreneurship.
to help homeless in less-welcoming land
Alena Vachnová MC/MPA 2022
Vachnová will return
to changing Slovakia to help fleeing Ukrainians and others.
long military heritage shapes a desire to keep the peace
Clark Yuan MPA 2022
Yuan
wants unique perspectives to have a seat at the table when critical decisions
are being made.