WASHINGTON – Georgetown University held its commencement ceremonies over the weekend as 137 student-athletes walked across the stage to earn bachelor's and master's degrees.  Beyond the diplomas, a number of student-athletes were honored with awards from their individual colleges during the ceremonies.
 
Field hockey senior Helena Masiello (East Greenbush, N.Y. / Columbia) earned the Thomas Francis Graham Award from Georgetown College.  The Thomas Francis Graham Award was founded by the Graham Family in memory of their father Thomas Francis Graham (C'1949). The honor of this award is bestowed upon a graduating senior of the College who has demonstrated throughout his or her college career concern for others, academic achievement, sportsmanship as a member of an intercollegiate team and dedication to the educational and spiritual goals of Georgetown University.
 
Also from the College, men's golfer Kevin Jackson (Bethesda, Md. / Walter Johnson) won the Loyola Medal. The Loyola Medal, given in honor of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, is presented each year to the member of the graduating class of the College who best exemplified Catholic and Jesuit ideals in his or her collegiate life.
 
In the McDonough School of Business, Abigail Lake (Norwood, Mass. / Ursuline Academy) of the women's swimming & diving team won the Georgetown Accounting Society Award for Service and Excellence.  It is given to a student who has shown excellence in the leadership of and in service to undergraduate accounting students. Lake also served as president of Georgetown's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
 
Sydney Goodson (Great Falls, Va. / Langley) of the women's tennis team won the Award for Achievement in Financial Services. She was honored for her work and dedication over her four-year career in the business school.
 
In the Walsh School of Foreign Service, another women's tennis player was honored as Risa Nakagawa (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. / Palos Verdes Peninsula) earned the Stephanie Waterman Medal.  The Stephanie Waterman Medal is named in memory of a student in the School of Foreign Service who was captain of the varsity tennis team and who died in Senegal in 1985. The medal is awarded to the outstanding scholar-athlete of the graduating class.
 
The awards were distributed at private Tropaia Ceremonies held by the individual school. The word Tropaia, meaning trophy, is ancient Greek and referred to a monument constructed to celebrate a military victory.
 
Commencement exercises were held on Friday and Saturday, while a smaller group will graduate in a private ceremony on Monday. On Friday, the McDonough School of Business and the School of Continuing Studies held graduation, while on Saturday student-athletes earned their degrees from Georgetown College, the School of Nursing & Health Studies and the School of Foreign Service.
 
The class of 2019 enjoyed enormous athletic successes, appearing in a combined 73 BIG EAST Tournaments and bringing 24 BIG EAST Championships home to the Hilltop as well as claiming 21 BIG EAST individual titles. Competing in both the BIG EAST Conference and the Patriot League, this year's senior class combined to garner 147 postseason all-league awards as well as being the recipients of 225 academic all-league honors. The class boasted one summa cum laude graduate, two magna cum laude graduates and eight cum laude.