Class of 2021: Tamuq honours new batch of 107 engineering graduates
Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq), a Qatar Foundation partner university, graduated 107 engineers yesterday at a virtual ceremony. The Class of 2021 included 89 Aggies who received bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and petroleum engineering.
Twenty-two graduates were recognised as Undergraduate Research Scholars of Texas A&M’s main campus in College Station, Texas (US), and 35 students graduated with Latin honours. Tamuq also awarded 18 master’s degrees in chemical engineering. Of the total graduating class, 57% is female and 51% Qatari. Graduates represented 19 nationalities. To date, Tamuq has granted a total of 1,268 degrees.
Hourig Ohanian, a Class of 2021 mechanical engineering graduate, addressed her classmates and fellow graduates on behalf of the student body. She acknowledged the difficulties they faced, particularly in the past two years, and congratulated her classmates on their achievements.
“Today, we accomplished one of the biggest milestones in our lives,” Ohanian said. “This is the point where we carry the title ‘engineer.’ We are not only responsible for advancing technology, or creating graphs and codes, drilling, designing cars and buildings. We are responsible for the safety and well-being of the public, the environment, and for the future of our community.”
She continued, “However, we also carry another important title — ‘Aggie engineer.’ We have been taught more than just what was said in classrooms. We have been taught the importance of diversity, sociability, sustainability, management, creation, and social awareness. I hope that each and every one of you carry and improve on the technical knowledge that you have gained in and out of these classrooms, as well as the Aggie core values that we have been taught over the years for the rest of your lives, and never forget that the Aggie family is always there for you. You should all be very proud of yourselves after all the hard work, and it is truly an honour to be called an Aggie engineer.”
During the ceremony, Amanda Roberts Mather — a Class of 2000 graduate of Texas A&M University and the assistant director of academic services at Tamuq — inducted the graduates into The Association of Former Students, Texas A&M’s alumni organisation that comprises more than 500,000 graduates of the university and is known worldwide as the Aggie Network.
Dr Cesar Octavio Malave, dean of Tamuq, presided over the ceremony. He congratulated the graduates and reminded them of the unique position each holds in the world as a part of the global Aggie Network. “You have earned a degree from one of the top engineering programmes in the world,” Malavé said, “and this is an amazing achievement. Throughout your studies, you have persevered and you have succeeded. Today is proof of that success.
That you have reached this day means that you are ready to leave university behind and head on to your next adventures. With challenge comes change, and each of you has shown your strength and resilience, and your commitment to being an engineering leader in Qatar.
As you go forward tonight, remember you are now among more than 500,000 graduates of Texas A&M University around the world. Show the world how Aggies live their core values — not just in the workplace, but also in your communities and your families. You are engineering leaders in Qatar, and we are so proud of you.”
Watch the recording of the event at https://2021.tamu.qa/