Last weekend, we celebrated the graduation of the MAGES class of 2025, along with their family and friends. The German Ambassador welcomed us into his beautiful Residence for an evening of reminiscing and celebration. 
After carefully reviewing the third finalists for the Hopper award (Sophia Athan, Siv Röhrl, and Sophia Winograd), the CGES Alumni Association Board selected Siv Röhrl for her outstanding thesis,”Donde hubo fuego, cenizas quedan : The Impact of Wildfires on Internal Migration in Spain.” Named in honor of Jill A. Hopper (MAGES ’96), the Hopper award recognizes dedication to academic service and scholarship.
Charlotte Davis was awarded the Ken Okoth (MAGES ’05) award. Awarded by the CGES faculty, this award recognizes exceptional dedication to social engagement and academic excellence. Charlotte’s dedication to improving the world through space exploration policy has already launched her into a career at the State Department’s Office of Space Affairs.
Graduate speaker Lauren Letizia wrapped up the evening with a toast that truly encapsulates the MAGES experience. You can read the full speech below.
We’re so proud of all our graduates this year, and we know they’re off to do great things!
“Good evening, everyone.
It’s truly an honor to be standing here at the German Ambassador’s residence, a place that symbolizes transatlantic partnership, dialogue, and diplomacy—values that have shaped our time in the MAGES program and will guide us moving forward.
First, I’d like to thank the Ambassador and the entire team at the Embassy for graciously hosting us. I also want to recognize the faculty, staff, family, and friends who supported us, not just in our studies, but in all the moments in between: the all-nighters, the existential crises over footnotes, and the spontaneous debates that started with “well actually, in the European Council…”
Tonight is a moment to pause and reflect on how far we’ve come.
When we arrived at Georgetown—some of us straight from undergrad, others from the workforce, and several of us already with passport stamps from Munich, Chişianǎu, Paris, Belgrade, and Vienna —we were united by a common question: What does it mean to study Europe today?
Over the last two years, we’ve wrestled with complex questions about democracy, security, memory, and culture. We’ve debated the future of the EU, unpacked the role of NATO in a changing world, and discussed the enduring shadow of history on modern politics.
But more than anything, we’ve built a community. We became sounding boards, sparring partners, collaborators, and confidants in the ICC’s windowless classrooms and the crowded CGES library table, where no work got done, but laughs were many. The MAGES program is rigorous, yes, but it is
also human. And I think that humanity—the ability to connect across borders, disciplines, and experiences—defines who we are as a cohort.Graduation is often framed as an ending, but tonight, it feels more like a hinge—between what we’ve studied and what we will do.
We graduate at a moment of profound uncertainty and change. The war in Ukraine has reshaped Europe’s strategic landscape. China is on the march through the Indo-Pacific. Iran continues to develop nuclear weapons. And vitriolic political divisions—on both sides of the Atlantic—seem to have seeped into almost every aspect of our lives.
And yet, I’m hopeful. Why? Because I’ve seen what this group can do.
We are analysts, advocates, future diplomats, consultants, and scholars. We understand that policy is personal—behind every data point or IR theory are nations comprised of people. And we are ready not just to critique the world as it is, but to help build it as it should be.
Studying European affairs has never been just an academic pursuit for me. It’s deeply personal.
Whether it was learning about the reconstruction of postwar Europe or studying how societies confront painful pasts, I’ve come to see that memory is not just about what we remember but also how we act on what we know. This program gave me the tools to ask hard questions and the courage to pursue answers that matter. It helped me find my voice—and just as importantly, my peers helped me refine it.
And I think that’s the magic of MAGES: it doesn’t just teach you about Europe. It teaches you to listen across differences, argue with integrity, and lead with empathy.
So tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow, we graduate. And soon, we scatter throughout Europe, D.C., and destinations we can’t yet imagine.
But wherever we go, we carry this community with us. The spirit of MAGES—curious, collaborative, idealistic in the best way—will shape our choices and the change we hope to bring.
Let’s not forget that we studied Europe at one of its most consequential moments—and we did so together.
To my fellow graduates, thank you for your brilliance, humor, and friendship. Thank you to our professors and mentors for pushing and believing in us. And to our families and loved ones for cheering us on, even when we couldn’t quite explain what “neorealism,“neofunctionalism,” or “liberal intergovernmentalism” meant.
As we look ahead, may we hold fast to what brought us here: a passion for understanding, a belief in dialogue, and a commitment to something bigger than ourselves.
Thank you—and congratulations, Class of 2025!”
-Lauren Letizia (MAGES ’25)