Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government & Public Service hosted its first graduation celebration in its new Washington, D.C. teaching site known as the Bush School DC.
The celebration held on May 6, 2022, was attended by graduate candidates, current and former students, their families, and friends, along with the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation CEO and President Abby Spencer Moffat and Founder Diana Davis Spencer.
Funded through the generous support of the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, Bush School DC began classes in January 2021 with a Master of International Policy graduate degree. Additionally, graduate degrees and certificate programs offered include the Master of National Security and Intelligence and the Certificate in Advanced International Affairs.
Jay Silveria, executive director of the Bush School, kicked off the evening with personal remarks about the launch of the Bush School DC and its importance in providing an educational experience for graduate students preparing for leadership roles in public service.
“Make no mistake, we’re going to change the world. And it’s going to take some time because we’re going to do it one student at a time, but make no mistake, we’re going to change the world,” said Silveria.
“Make no mistake, we’re going to change the world. And it’s going to take some time because we’re going to do it one student at a time, but make no mistake, we’re going to change the world.”
Jay Silveria, executive director of the Bush School DC
Roman Napoli, named 2020 Bush School Outstanding Alumnus, also addressed those in attendance, describing how the educational experience he received at the Bush School prepared him for his current role as Managing Director for Policy in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance.
After hearing pre-recorded remarks from the Bush School’s Dean Mark Welsh III and Dr. F. Gregory Gause III, head of the Bush School’s Department of International Affairs, students were recognized for their accomplishments with a Certificate of Completion and a commemorative, numbered coin featuring the image of former President George H.W. Bush, for whom the Bush School was named.
Founded in 1997 on Texas A&M’s College Station campus under the 41st president’s philosophy that public service is a noble calling, the Bush School has since endeavored to carry on the late president’s legacy with curriculum, research and student experiences that are focused on public service.
Graduate candidate Bill Christian echoed that sentiment. “Since I technically started on that graduate degree path in 1989, as a freshly minted political appointee in the administration of President George Herbert Walker Bush – or Bush 41 as we like to say – serving as a speechwriter for the Secretary and Under Secretary of the Navy, and thus eligible to enroll in the Navy War College,” said Christian, “ I guess that is only fitting that I should complete my master’s curriculum essentially right back where I started from – with our beloved Bush 41!”
To learn more about the Bush School DC and its graduate degree programs, visit bush.tamu.edu/dc.
