The American School of Doha (ASD) graduated one hundred and fifty-three students from the graduating class of 2015 on Friday. Dignitaries, families, ASD alumni and friends attended the vibrant ceremony.
Several students were given awards for their achievements in the areas of academics, athletics, arts and service. The ‘Ambassador’s Award’ was presented by the United States Ambassador to Qatar, Dana Shell Smith, to Maha Al Suwaidi. This award is presented to a student who exemplifies a sense of excellence, excels academically and has a sense of community.
Additional awards included the ‘Directors Award’ presented to Temitope Akinade and the ‘ASD Memorial Award’ presented to Connor Kelly and Sylvia Feghali. The winner of the Michael Shahen PTA Scholarship was Emma Leever. Six graduates were recognised in what has become a tradition for ASD to acknowledge graduates who have been students at the school since kindergarten.
Forty-two students graduated with high honours, fifteen graduated with honours, thirty-one were International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Candidates and forty graduates for the Advanced Placement (AP) Recognition of Merit. ASD is one of the few High Schools in the world to offer both the AP and IB programmes. Many of the graduates were also members of the National Honor Society and the International Thespian Society.
73 percent of ASD grade 12 students were accepted to their first choice college or university. This first choice was determined by the selection students made prior to application, in consultation with parents and counselors. As an international school with students from 71 different countries, graduates are matriculating to post secondary institutions in a wide variety of locations around the world. Many of these schools appear at the top of the rankings in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom including all eight of the “Ivy Leagues”. Eighteen students in the graduation class will attend universities in Education City, Doha.
In his welcome speech, High School Principal Colin Boudreau acknowledged the parents as well and described their “tremendous pride” in their children on graduation day. He said that the ASD Mission statement served as a guide throughout the school to focus all efforts. The graduates embodied the intellectual and personal development that the school aims to achieve and are also “positive active global citizens” who have demonstrated through service that they display the ASD. Boudreau concluded his speech by stating, “ You have been gifted an amazing education that nobody can ever take from you. Now please, go out and use that education for some good in the world.”
President of the Jr/Sr Mothers committee, Vice President of the Booster Club, and official cheerleader for the class of 2015, Bev Naim was chosen as the commencement speaker for this year’s ceremony. One offering to the graduates from her speech was to, “Smile. Smile often. Smiling is one of the easiest acts of charity you can do. People see you smile and feel the need to smile back.”
In his salutatorian address, Seon Woo Kim stated: “People at ASD made me think about these small luxuries, and this reflection caused me to change. Things that I had blindly done came more easily, even turned to passions. I know why I do them, and I’m thankful for them. Now, thanks to everyone, as I take a big, solid step into a less controlled and less protected environment, the skills I’ve acquired at ASD will carry me.”
In his valedictorian’s address, Sen Huang said: “We’ve been told, since we were tiny kids that we would grow up to have bright, successful, and special futures, but honestly, there’s something more important being someone “special”: living your life fully.”
Huang continued by expressing his hopes for the class of 2015 of learning how to live happily and stated, “for those that already learned that lesson, I’m hoping that you all will hold tight to that precious realization, despite the inevitable obstacles that will challenge and threaten this idea in college and beyond.” ASD Board of Directors Chairman, Will Cattan, Director Dr Deborah Welch, and High School Principal Colin Boudreau presented the jubilant students their diplomas. The ceremony was concluded with a reception in the dining hall. The Peninusula
