On June 10, 2022, the Department of Asian Languages and Literature held our 2022 Convocation and Awards Ceremony and Reception in Kane Hall on the UW campus in Seattle. It was our first in-person convocation event since 2019, and people were ready! We had approximately 180 students, faculty, special guests, family, and friends celebrating our students’ accomplishments. Our special guests included the Consul General of Japan in Seattle with his wife and one of his staff members, the Director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, several members of the Steering Committee of Washin Kai (Friends of Classical Japanese), and our Convocation Speaker, Assunta Ng.
Founder and Publisher of Seattle Chinese Post and Northwest Asian Weekly, Assunta Ng (UW ‘74, ‘79) addressed the attendees with a lively and inspiring speech, using several chapters from her remarkable life story to offer lessons to the graduates.
Rebecca LeVeque (B.A. in Japanese, Phi Beta Kappa) then gave the student address to the graduates, focusing on the power of language for both social communication and individual expression. Rebecca was followed by the faculty’s presentation of Bachelor’s and graduate degrees. The ceremony concluded with the presentation of awards to students for various outstanding achievements.
You can see the complete list of awards on our Awards & Honors page. Fortunately, friends and family who could not attend were able to watch a livestream provided by the Kane Hall staff.
After the ceremony, attendees enjoyed refreshments and socializing at a reception in the Walker-Ames Room.
