- Faculty & Staff
- About
- Departments and programs
- Accelerated Law (SFU-Exeter)
- Anthropology
- Applied Legal Studies
- Cognitive Science
- Criminology
- Economics
- English
- French
- French Cohort Program
- Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies
- Gerontology
- Global Asia
- Global Humanities
- Graduate Liberal Studies
- Hellenic Studies
- History
- Indigenous Languages
- Indigenous Studies
- International Studies
- Labour Studies
- Linguistics
- Medical Humanities and Social Sciences
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Public Policy
- Social Data Analytics
- Sociology
- Urban Studies
- World Languages & Literatures
- Undergraduate
- Graduate
- Alumni
- Research
- Teaching
- News & events
- FASS at Surrey
- Next steps for new students (redirect)
- Convocation
Convocation
Four exceptional FASS graduands named June 2026 convocation speakers
Four hand-selected graduands from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) were specially chosen to deliver the commencement speech to their graduating class this upcoming June convocation. Congratulations to the speakers!
Graduand speakers
Selected by the faculties and the Registrar based on student achievement and extracurricular involvement.
Eli Hacker
BEnv (Hons.), Resource and Environmental Management, Indigenous Studies minor
Eli Hacker graduates with a Bachelor of Environment (Honours) in Resource and Environmental Management, a minor in Indigenous Studies and certificates in Sustainable Development and Indigenous Studies Research. During his time at SFU, he served as the inaugural president of the Resource and Environmental Management Student Association, volunteered as a research assistant in the Fire and Ecosystems Research Lab, completed an honours thesis exploring sustainable forestry and Indigenous co-management and got engaged. Eli was awarded the Undergraduate Scholars Entrance Scholarship with Distinction, a FENV Changemaker award and a FASS Dean’s Undergraduate Fellowship. He looks forward to beginning his career building resilience in communities and ecosystems through employment as a policy analyst in the marine sector.
Alexander Hodaly
BA, Political Science
Alexander Hodaly graduates with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. During his time at SFU, he served as president of the Political Science Student Union and was instrumental in reviving both Gadfly, SFU’s undergraduate journal of political science, and the SFU Amnesty International chapter. He is a recipient of the Gunraj Gill Memorial Award in Political Science and a graduate of SFU’s NATO Field School and Simulation Program. His academic work focuses on international relations of the Middle East and Palestinian statehood. Professionally, Alexander served as a negotiations analyst at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and is currently a researcher at the Iran War Observatory. He looks forward to starting his master's degree in Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge this September.
Tanjila Afrin Sejuty
MA, International Studies
Tanjila Afrin Sejuty graduates with a Master of Arts in International Studies, which includes a thesis on the endurance and work of social reproduction in Rohingya women’s lifeworlds in Malaysia. Her research has been presented in various courses, conferences and workshops and attracted multiple fellowships and awards from SFU and beyond, including the prestigious Aziz and Parin Dossa Community Outreach Award. During her time at SFU, she worked as a teaching and research assistant and completed a co-op term at Indigenous Services Canada. Motivated by her deep engagement with research and passion for anthropology, she plans to pursue a PhD in the future to continue addressing the systemic and social barriers faced by Rohingya refugees transnationally.
Mishael Abu-Samhan
BA (Hons.), Philosophy and Political Science
Mishael Abu-Samhan graduates with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Philosophy and Political Science. During his time at SFU, he completed the NATO Field School and Simulation Program and served the student body as a peer educator, student Senator and mentor, as well as president and co-president of the Philosophy and Political Science Student Unions, respectively. He also played a key role in restarting SFU’s Amnesty International chapter after a period of inactivity. In recognition of his academic achievements and community service, he has been named to the President’s Honour Roll seven times, awarded a FASS Dean’s Undergraduate Fellowship and won the 2024 Laurine Harrison Undergraduate Service Award, among other recognitions. He will attend law school at the University of Toronto this fall.