The Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs celebrated its Class of 2025 graduates May 19, 2025, awarding 34 Master in Public Policy (MPP) degrees and six Master of Advanced Study (MAS) degrees.
The day began with a procession to Yale’s Old Campus, where the University symbolically conferred degrees on all undergraduate and graduate students from the Class of 2025. Yale Jackson students Öznur Öztürk MPP ’25 and Guilhem de Sartiges MAS ’25 served as marshals, who play an honorary role in leading students on Commencement Day. Mushfequr Rahman MPP ’25 served as the banner bearer for the Jackson School.
The graduates then returned to Horchow Hall for the school’s diploma ceremony, where Dean Jim Levinsohn welcomed guests and lauded the graduates for the community they have built during their two years at the Yale Jackson School. “As you move forward with your careers, you can’t do it alone,” said Levinsohn. “The simple fact that you’ve been there for each other — that’s evidence that helps me know that you’ll work together to make a difference, to do good.”
Levinsohn also remarked that the graduates will be entering careers where they will face “immense” global challenges. These challenges, he said, serve as a reminder that “education can seem like a pursuit in search of a mission.”
“If ever there was a time to really know why we’re doing what we’re doing, it’s now,” he said.
In addition to serving as banner bearer, Rahman was selected by his classmates as class speaker. He said that his class’s two years at the Jackson School have been about “definition — as meaning, clarity, and outline.” Moving forward, the graduates may define themselves as policy professionals, scholars, strategists, or diplomats, but the truth is that their “definitions will keep evolving.”
“They’ll stretch with the choices we make, the places we go, and the people we carry with us,” said Rahman. “That’s what makes this moment so special — not that we’ve figured everything out, but that we’re ready to keep going. Together, apart, in ways both big and quiet.”
The definition of policy will continue to evolve, as well. “We’ve learned that policy isn’t just about designing programs,” Rahman said. “It’s about expanding who gets a seat at the table, uplifting voices too often unheard, and imagining solutions that reflect both what is and what could be. And we’ve searched for answers in a world that often made those questions feel painfully urgent.”
During the ceremony, two students were recognized for outstanding academic achievement. Mary Trichka MPP ’25 received the Award for Academic Excellence in Global Affairs, given to the master’s student in Global Affairs with the highest academic achievement. Nicole Wong MPP/MBA ’25 received the Miguel Ferreyros Memorial Award, which is awarded to the joint-degree student in Global Affairs with the highest academic achievement.
The celebration ended with a luncheon with Yale Jackson graduates and their families.
The Yale Jackson School also congratulates its Class of 2025 undergraduate Global Affairs majors, who received their diplomas in separate ceremonies at Yale’s 14 residential colleges.