By Rohini Thakkar
This year, two DUCIGS units celebrated the resilience and strength of students, families, faculty and staff members in a virtual graduation ceremony, marking the second time that the Asian-Pacific Studies Institute (APSI) and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) held a virtual graduation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Asian-Pacific Studies Institute (APSI) commemorated five students who successfully completed the Master of Arts in East Asian Studies Program. In his opening remarks, APSI director Richard Jaffe acknowledged the students lived through “cataclysmic and historical” times, during which they mostly worked in isolation, without much access to additional resources.
He also compared these difficult times to a Chinese idiom, ‘Sāi Wēng Shī Mǎ’, about a man who lost his horse, but his apparent misfortune turned out for the best. These enduring times of history, Jaffe added, taught us to stay interconnected through technology even though we were not able to meet in person.
Paula D. McClain, Dean of Graduate Education at Duke also congratulated the graduates in a prerecorded message. “Wherever you go from here,” McClain said, “I hope you will find ways to use the creative and analytical skills you’ve developed at the graduate school to make a difference in your field of expertise and in our broader society.”
Read more about the APSI ceremony and watch the full video recording: https://asianpacific.duke.edu/news/apsi-celebrates-ma-graduating-class-2021
The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) celebrated ten certificate recipients this year. Five undergraduate and five graduate students who obtained the certificate in Latin American Studies joined the virtual ceremony. In a particularly enduring time for them, with restricted travel and research, they rose to the occasion and succeeded in their goals.
In a pre-recorded message, CLACS Director, Patrick Duddy congratulated the students: “We would welcome an opportunity to stay in touch with you wherever your professional ambitions lead you in the years to come.”
The recipients expressed their gratitude towards their mentors and professors. They also shared their projects, their memories from the time at Duke and their future aspirations.
Read the story about the 2021 recipients of the certificate in Latin American Studies: https://spark.adobe.com/page/sd9vZI8SbkorX/
