Sarah White
  • Master of Public Administration
  • Class of 2015
  • Decatur, GA

Sarah White Graduates from Georgia State University

2015 Jun 29

Sarah White of Decatur graduated from Georgia State University on May 9, 2015 with a Master's Degree in Master of Public Administration.

Georgia State University graduated more than 5,700 students receiving bachelor's, master's and specialist's degrees at the university's spring and summer commencement on Saturday, May 9 in the Georgia Dome.

Bestselling writer Jonathan Safran Foer, author of "Everything Is Illuminated" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," was the keynote speaker.

Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" was chosen as the university's First-Year Book Program selection for the freshman class in 2011 as part of an effort to provide a common intellectual experience and foster critical thinking. Many of those freshmen who read Foer's book participated in the May 9 ceremony.

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" tells the story of a 9-year-old boy searching for a lock fitting a key that belonged to his father, who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

The novel, an international bestseller, received numerous awards, including the Victoria and Albert Museum Award and the Prix des libraries du Quebec. The novel was made into a film in 2011.

Foer's first novel, "Everything Is Illuminated," debuted to sweeping praise when the author was 25 years old. Foer is included in The New Yorker magazine's "20 under 40" list of the best young writers in the U.S. He also has been named one of Rolling Stone magazine's "People of the Year" and Esquire magazine's "Best and Brightest."

The university held a separate commencement for 135 Ph.D. students on Monday, May 11 at the Rialto Center for the Arts.

For more about commencement at Georgia State, visit commencement.gsu.edu.