GW’s Response to COVID-19
As we begin the fall semester, our campus operations continue to be guided by our commitment to the health and safety of the GW community. Learn more about how we are moving onward. For information and resources on COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website.
As they settled into campus, many first-year students participated in Welcome Days of Service, a chance to give back to the GW and greater D.C. communities. This annual tradition began after former First Lady Michelle Obama challenged GW in 2010 to complete 100,000 volunteer hours in one academic year. We’ve exceeded that number every year since. Last year, the GW community completed 654,708 hours of service and was awarded 504 President’s Volunteer Service Awards, a national recognition for service.
This year’s multi-day event marked GW’s first in-person service opportunity for students in more than a year.
We are thrilled to invite the entire GW community to gather together in Washington, D.C., from Oct. 1-3, 2021, for Our Moment, Our Momentum: The GW Centuries Celebration Weekend. This culmination of our bicentennial includes in-person events and activities for alumni, students, faculty, staff and GW families, as well as Commencement for the Classes of 2020 and 2021, opportunities to honor our Monumental Alumni and a closing Bicentennial Bash.
The George Washington University’s bicentennial is an incredible, historic milestone. With 27,000+ students from more than 135 countries, a worldwide community of 300,000+ living alumni, and thousands of faculty and staff, the GW community is coming together to celebrate 200 years of phenomenal growth.
Fourth-year clinical psychology doctoral candidate Andolyn Medina, M.A. ’17, M.A. ’20, likes to keep busy. She is aiming to become the first doctor in her family, a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy and in June she was crowned Miss District of Columbia—one step away from winning the 100th Miss America title this December. Ms. Medina is accustomed to juggling challenges. In addition to her Navy reserve duties and her shifts at the professional psychology program’s Center Clinic—a nonprofit community mental health clinic where students work directly with patients—she balances classwork with pageant preparations.
At GW, our objective is clear for this fall: a comprehensive, in-person living and learning experience for our students, faculty and staff. We are excited about the on-campus experience we will offer our students, including in our classrooms, residence halls, laboratories, libraries and studios. We are taking productive steps to prepare for your arrival to campus, including by updating our public health protocols, reviewing and updating our buildings and classrooms, and preparing our residence halls.
The School of Medicine and Health Sciences White Coat and Honor Code Ceremony symbolized the first of many milestones for the M.D. program Class of 2025. This year’s class of 183 students from 24 states, Washington, D.C., Canada and China represented 81 universities and included 21 GW alumni. The class brings an already impressive list of accomplishments and boasts Peace Corps, AmeriCorps and Operation Smile volunteers, Fulbright scholars, active duty or veteran service members and even a pair of beekeepers.
