Graduates Sparkle at Honors' 2015 Celebration of Distinction
Honors 2015 Graduates who lived together as Freshmen in "Lander 8" at the Celebration of Distinction—friends for life.
The Honors Program was once again delighted to witness the liftoff of hundreds of diversely talented, deeply authentic people—no longer our students—as they take flight for their next adventures in education, work, and self-discovery.
The annual Celebration of Distinction (CoD) is one of the highlights of our year, bringing together the entire Honors community to enjoy the commencement of our graduating class. Alumni, students, parents, brothers and sisters and friends come together with faculty, staff, and administrators of the University at a special brunch with live music, awards, inspiring speeches, and a procession of Huskies who are graduating this year with Honors. Dean Taylor once again draped the Honors cord over the shoulders of each graduate in the procession and closed the ceremony reminding us how precious our time together has been.
Kaija Reinelt's commencement speech was just as brave, humorous, and moving as anyone who knows her would expect. All of the student speakers and musicians reminded the rest of the audience how special each member of the community really is and how wonderful it is when we are building a thing together... even when it feels like a kind of farewell.
But this doesn't need to be goodbye. Honors Director Vicky Lawson addressed the roomful of alumni, some of whom graduated many years ago and some who are only now joining those ranks: "You will have many homes throughout your lifetime and Honors will continue to be one of them as much as you would like it to be. Return to us as a mentor, be a voice in our events and share your stories and wisdom with future generations. We invite you not only to stay in touch, but to stay involved."
See photos of the CoD on our Facebook page and if you're not already convinced that professor of Law Theo Myhre deserved to win this year's Honors Excellence in Teaching Award, ask Honors sophomore Hannah Russ for full details.
Special thanks to everyone who has made this year in the UW Honors Program one of the very best. Learn more about some of the newest Husky Honors alumni by perusing these student profiles.