On Dec. 7, TFAS celebrated the graduation of its Capital Semester Fall (CSF) 2012 students at a reception at its historic headquarters building in Washington, D.C.  We were pleased to welcome the students’ families, internship supervisors and mentors to this celebration of our students’ many accomplishments.

The intensive 15-week program, which began in September, includes a full-time internship, various site briefings throughout the city and academic courses worth 12-credits from Ohio Northern University.

After opening remarks by TFAS President Roger Ream, Major Garrett, chief White House correspondent for CBS News and National Journalcorrespondent-at-large, delivered the ceremony’s keynote address.  Garrett’s inspirational remarks covered the important of persistence and passion, drawing on his own academic and professional experiences.

Poya Osgouei, a CSF student from Chapman University who interned at the Heritage Foundation, also addressed his classmates, discussing his experience at TFAS and in Washington, D.C. Osgouei and his family escaped from Iran when he was a small child as a result of political oppression, making Osgouei particularly qualified to reflect on the state of freedom in the United States. “I was happy to learn the principles that have made America the greatest nation in the history of mankind, and I know that we will restore it to greatness,” said Osgouei.

TFAS Executive Vice President Steve Slattery delivered the closing remarks with a quote from the American Revolutionary hero Joseph Warren. “On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important question, on which rests the happiness and liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves.” We are confident that our newest alumni will do just that.

We wish our Capital Semester graduates the best of luck as we welcome them to the TFAS alumni family, and we look forward to welcoming the Capital Semester Spring 2013 students when they arrive in Washington on Jan. 16.