GS Celebrates the Class of 2025 at Class Day Ceremony
On Monday, May 19, the School of General Studies celebrated the outstanding accomplishments of the 864 members of the Class of 2025.
The School of General Studies (GS) celebrated the Class of 2025 at the GS Class Day Ceremony on Monday, May 19, 2025.
Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch opened the ceremony with a warm welcome to the Class of 2025, their loved ones, GS faculty and staff, Columbia faculty and staff, and distinguished guests, including representatives from GS’s partner institutions.
Among those guests, Dean Rosen-Metsch extended a special welcome to Dr. Shiang-Kwei Wang, the Provost of Hostos Community College, and Dr. Charlie Branas, Chair of Epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Wang and Dr. Branas were in attendance in celebration of the first two GS graduates of the innovative NextGen Public Health Scholars Program, a 2+2+2 collaboration between Hostos Community College, Columbia School of General Studies, and the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. Shared Dean Rosen-Metsch, “this innovative program is designed to build a pipeline of future public health leaders by supporting students through their associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees across our three institutions.”
Continuing her opening remarks, Dean Rosen-Metsch said, “as I have seen firsthand over these past years, you are innovators, change makers, doers, and dreamers—you make things happen.” She added, “to all of you graduating today, you are Columbians now and forever, and you are GSers now and forever…we have been through a lot together—perhaps more than we anticipated—but take seriously the importance of that bond and please remember each other as you move on to change the world. We are truly privileged to count you as lifelong members of the Columbia intellectual and alumni communities.”
“As I have seen firsthand over these past years, you are innovators, change makers, doers, and dreamers—you make things happen.”
Dean Rosen-Metsch then introduced a congratulatory video message from Claire Shipman, Acting President of Columbia University, who was unable to join the Class Day Ceremony in person for a very special reason: she was attending the graduation ceremony of one of her children!
Following Acting President Shipman’s remarks, Dean Rosen-Metsch introduced Alicia Graf Mack ‘03GS, the 2025 Class Day Keynote Speaker. A titan in the dance world and a highly participatory Columbia and GS alumna presence, Graf Mack has served as the youngest and first Black Dean and Director of the Dance Division at The Juilliard School since 2018. This year, she will assume the role of Artistic Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, leading the company where she once danced as a principal dancer.
In her remarks, Graf Mack, who also delivered the Class Day address in 2008, reflected on the ups and downs of life…and how her GS experience gave her the courage and confidence to persist. Recalling a major health setback suffered mere months after delivering that Class Day speech in 2008, she shared, “but here’s what was different the second time around. I knew, somehow, that I wouldn’t break. I wasn’t lost. I wasn’t starting from scratch. I had my Columbia education to support me. I had expanded in ways that were far beyond physical. And I had fully embraced that sometimes, when life knocks you off your feet, it’s actually inviting you to take a different kind of step forward.”
Graf Mack offered three pieces of advice to graduates, informed by her career in dance: “preparation is everything,” “the magic happens between the poses,” and “courage is poise under pressure.” Graf Mack concluded by saying “as you step into your next chapter, whatever it may be, I invite you to move through life like a world-class dancer…You are already extraordinary. And your path doesn’t have to make perfect sense right now. It just has to be yours. Congratulations, Class of 2025. Dance boldly. Move freely. Live fully. And may your next step be your best one yet.”
“As you step into your next chapter, whatever it may be, I invite you to move through life like a world-class dancer…may your next step be your best one yet.”
Dean Rosen-Metsch then presented several awards to distinguished graduates. The Alumni Key Award, given in recognition of outstanding campus involvement and academic accomplishment, had three recipients. The first was Ava Kamdem ‘25GS, a formerly incarcerated survivor of human trafficking, a student parent, and a tireless advocate for system-impacted students and community members. The second recipient was Maya Platek ‘25GS, a highly active campus leader, including serving two terms as GS’s Student Body President. The final recipient was Brian Williams ‘25GS, a United States Marine Corps veteran who, at GS, served as MilVets Vice President.
Dean Rosen-Metsch also presented the Campbell Award, given to a student who demonstrates exceptional leadership and Columbia spirit, to Matthew Rambo ‘25GS. A U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and current National Guardsman, Rambo served as MilVets Vice President and will continue his Columbia journey in the fall, pursuing a master’s degree at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Dean Rosen-Metsch also introduced the Class of 2025 Salutatorian, Guthrie Amanuel Petteys ‘25GS, a community college transfer student, justice reform advocate, and aspiring public defender.
Dean of Students Marlyn Delva then presented the 2025 degree candidates, marking the official transition of the graduates from students to alumni. Following the presentation of the degree candidates, Dean Rosen-Metsch introduced the Valedictorian of the Class of 2025, Peter Gorman ‘25GS, a graduate of the Dual BA Program between Trinity College Dublin and Columbia University, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in neuroscience and behavior. Gorman is the second GS Valedictorian from the Dual BA Program with Trinity College Dublin.
“To get a GS education is to navigate a world without straight lines,” shared Gorman. “GS is called ‘non-traditional,’ but that doesn't begin to describe it. It is borderless. These people in caps and gowns are here on purpose. Many of us changed careers, crossed oceans, raised children, overcame illness. Many of us might not have had the same opportunities in another place. The author Tara Westover called an education a selfhood; the transformation which makes a person of us. I would contend, then, that GS must be the best educated school at Columbia.”
“The author Tara Westover called an education a selfhood; the transformation which makes a person of us. I would contend, then, that GS must be the best educated school at Columbia.”
Speaking to the unprecedented times that he and his fellow Class of 2025 graduates have faced, Gorman said, “our time here has been shaped not only by a curriculum, but by activism, protest, and humanitarian crisis. To quote Thoreau, we’ve encountered frictions both necessary and unnecessary. We’ve been challenged not just to learn, but to act. To decide what kind of students, and people we want to be.”
In conclusion, Gorman urged his peers to carry the lessons of their Columbia experience forward into their next chapter. “As we GS students have done time and time before, I hope we may use experience as a guide and inspiration to urge better from ourselves, from Columbia, and from the world around us. We will remember because this place matters. This time matters. What we have done here, the incredible things that each of us have accomplished, the people we’ve met, the challenges we’ve overcome and those challenges that still seem overwhelming—the stories, as we like to say—these things will give us our future. It is by the virtue of memory that we will carry these stories with us. And it is by the virtue of education that we will use them to make a difference.”
“I am honored to be your dean now and for years to come as you join our strong Columbia GS alumni community,” said Dean Rosen-Metsch as she concluded the ceremony, once again congratulating the Class of 2025 and welcoming them into the Columbia alumni family.
Overview of the Class of 2025
- Number of 2024 Graduates: 864
- The average age is 27; our youngest graduate is 20 and our oldest is 75
- Graduates hail from 42 states and 68 countries
- 31% of graduates are new Americans or international students
- First-generation college graduates: 214
- Number of graduates who were community college Phi Theta Kappa members: 173
- GS Honor Society members graduating: 395
- JTS/GS Joint Program graduates: 29
- Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po graduates: 123
- Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program between City University of Hong Kong and Columbia University: 16
- Dual BA Program between Trinity College Dublin and Columbia University graduates: 59
- Dual Degree Program between Tel Aviv University and Columbia University graduates: 44
- Number of graduates who received a Pell Grant: 230
- U.S. military veterans graduating: 93
- International military veterans graduating: 80