Virtual event draws more than 450 unique views as friends, families gather to recognize graduating seniors

May 08, 2021:  Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), a Qatar Foundation partner university, celebrated the 95 graduates in the Class of 2021 on May 6. The virtual event drew more than 450 unique views from around the world as friends, families and members of the CMU-Q community logged in to support and recognize the class.

At the celebration, Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q, praised the Class of 2021 for rising to the challenges of the pandemic: “Your senior year has been challenging, but you have adapted, prioritized learning, and found ways to collaborate, create, and celebrate together. Our community is stronger because of your Tartan spirit, and on behalf of the entire CMU-Q community, I want to thank you for that.”
 
Although the traditional, in-person ceremony was postponed due to COVID-19-related restrictions, the virtual event included many traditional elements. Each year, CMU-Q announces the Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards, which recognize the top student in each program, based on grade point average at the time of graduation. For the Class of 2021, the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award recipients are: Noora Ibrahim S. A. Al-Mohannadi in biological sciences; Muhammad Abdurrehman Syed and Omar Mohamed Naim, who tied for highest GPA in business administration; Laila Ossama El-Beheiry in computer science; and Mohammad Shahmeer Ahmad and Shouq Hani Al-Khuzaei, who tied for highest GPA in information systems. 

The winner of the 2021 Meritorious Teaching Award, Cecile Le Roux, was also announced at the celebration. Students in the graduating class nominate faculty members for the award, and the winner is selected by a committee of former teaching award winners. Le Roux is an assistant teaching professor, organization and behavior, and has been a member of the CMU-Q faculty since 2018.

Dina Abdelazeem, the student speaker for the Class of 2021, delivered a reflection at the event: “Even though COVID did have an influence in our journey, always remember that it did not define it. All of our accomplishments started with the decision to try.”
  
The Class of 2021 represents each of the four programs of study at CMU-Q: biological sciences, business administration, computer science and information systems. There are 23 nations represented in the Class of 2021, and 49% are Qatari citizens.

This is the 14th graduating class from CMU-Q. Including the Class of 2021, the total number of CMU-Q alumni is more than 1000.