By Sarah Kyo, Web Communications Specialist
Excitement and anticipation is in the air at the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering Convocation (Christina Olivas photo).
(This week, SJSU Today’s small but mighty band of writers and photographers took a peek at graduation receptions and convocations campuswide so we could share with you the excitement of the more than 8,000 members of the Class of 2012. We’ll post more photos on Facebook.)
As family and friends filed into the Event Center on the afternoon of May 25, a slideshow presentation displayed the faces of Spartans from the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering.
These were just a sample of the Class of 2012. Belle Wei, the Don Beall Dean of Engineering, would shake hands with more than 700 bachelor’s and master’s degree recipients that day.
Student speaker Killol Acharya, one of the 2012 Outstanding Graduating Seniors, encouraged his fellow classmates to become “global citizens.”
“I hope today we expand the definition of success to service, caring and social responsibility,” he said.
Acharya said there was a time when he thought success only meant wealth, power and titles. During his time at SJSU, something changed within him as he became more involved on campus and in his community. With all of the problems in the world, he encouraged his classmates to use their knowledge and skills to help those who are less fortunate.
“We’re finally engineers,” Acharya said. “We can fix this, right?” Spartans responded with cheers.
The college’s ability to attract international talent to Silicon Valley was showcased at convocation. Many members of the crowd expressed their delight when a graduate proudly held India’s flag in the air when it was his turn to walk across the stage.
The icing on the cake — both figuratively and literally — was a dessert reception in the Engineering Lobby. This was a sweet ending to the graduates’ time at SJSU.