“This is a future one can believe in”: SIT’s commencement message is one of hope

August 13th, 2024   |   SIT Graduate Institute

By Abby Henson

Large group of adults pose in three rows wearing graduation caps and gowns. A stone wall is behind them the the view shows green hills in the background.
SIT graduates and faculty pose with Sen. Patrick Leahy following commencement.

On Saturday, former U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy was the keynote speaker at SIT’s 58th graduate commencement ceremony. SIT welcomed 49 new graduates to its extensive global network of alumni serving as changemakers around the world. Eight graduates received their EdD in global education—SIT’s first cohort of doctoral students.

The commencement ceremony took place on SIT’s Brattleboro campus, where staff, faculty, and family members gathered to celebrate the students. In addition to global education, students completed degrees in climate change, diplomacy and international relations, humanitarian assistance, international education, sustainable development, intercultural service and leadership, and TESOL. The graduates were from seven countries: Liberia, Cameroon, Burundi, Japan, Jordan, Canada, and the United States.

A woman and a man greet each other, shaking hands, behind a podium. Both are wearing black graduation robes. An American flag is in the background.
SIT President Dr. Sophia Howlett welcomes Sen. Leahy to the podium.

Sen. Leahy, who was awarded an honorary doctoral degree, encouraged the graduates gathered both in person and virtually to focus on how they can make the world better for all more than worrying about being the best.

“Today is not about me and what I have done in the world. It is about each of you and what each of you is doing and will do for the world in the coming years. You’re our future; you’re what we believe in.

“Every time I step on campus and I listen to the projects and programs you all are leading, I am filled with so much hope for the world and so much pride for SIT and Vermont,” he said.

A woman and a man are pinning a graduation hood onto a man standing in the middle of them. All are wearing graduation robes and a podium is in front of them.
Sen. Leahy (center) receives an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters. Pictured is SIT President Dr. Sophia Howlett (left) and SIT Provost and Dean of Faculty Dr. Said Graiouid.

SIT President Dr. Sophia Howlett further stressed the need for action and to be a source of hope for others.

“We aim to create a space where we can envision a better world—a world that focuses on healing, education, respect, and appreciation for the ‘other.’ A world where each of us lifts up our hand to help and sets our mind to the solutions,” she said. “You became a member of that community when you started with SIT. But today, you step forward into your full role. It is your hand that must be there to help. Your mind that we look to, to provide solutions.”

Two women pose with arms stretched out, wearing graduation caps and gowns. They are standing on a rock and green hills are behind them.
Graduates celebrate following commencement.

Abel Learwellie earned his MA in sustainable development and was one of two student speakers at the ceremony. He is the founder and executive director of Camp for Peace Liberia, an organization dedicated to youth empowerment and peacebuilding in his home country.

“Living in Liberia has taught me the true meaning of resilience. Despite facing numerous hardships, from the lack of basic infrastructure to the aftermath of civil conflict, we never gave up,” he shared. “We found innovative ways to learn, to grow, and to support each other. This resilience is a powerful tool that we, as graduates, should copy and carry with us. Let us harness this resilience to drive positive change and to inspire others to persevere.”

Two women are smiling at each other. Both are wearing black graduation robes and caps.
Anna Gail Caunca (left) smiles with a fellow graduate. Caunca was one of two student commencement speakers.

Anna Gail Caunca also spoke to her fellow graduates. In addition to earning her EdD in global education, she earned an MA in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management from SIT and was a traveling Trustees Fellow with the International Honors Program. She formerly served as group leader for World Learning youth programs and is currently a senior program officer for The Experiment in International Living and World Learning’s Youth Ambassadors program.

A women in a black graduation robe and cap poses next too a man wearing a suit coat and tie. They are both smiling and trees are behind them.
Dr. Joe Lanning poses with a student from his MA in Sustainable Development Practice program. Lanning was the faculty commencement speaker.

“In a society where profit and accumulation of wealth are valued over the welfare of people and our natural environment; where individual or personal freedoms are valued more than the whole through means of competition, dehumanization, and disregard of others, I am made hopeful by the power of the collective energy,” she said, stressing that collective energy can push others to work for a world for all, not just a select, privileged few.

“It is the power of the collective energy that is of utmost importance given the environmental, political, social state of crisis we are facing today.”

Three women and two men pose on a rock. All wear black graduation robes and caps and behind them is a stone wall and trees and road leading away.
Graduates celebrate following commencement. Abel Learwellie (left) was one of two student commencement speakers.

The previous day, Senator Leahy and his wife, Marcelle, shared their decades-long experiences and the senator’s vision for Vermont’s future at a conference on campus that celebrated SIT’s 60th anniversary. The event explored the intersection of local and global initiatives in Vermont and strategies to expand upon these efforts through global education, increased internationalization, and sustainable rural development.

“The state of SIT is strong, and I have so much hope for the future after meeting with your faculty, your students, and your alumni. This is a future one can believe in,” Leahy said.