Georgetown University

Many Hoyas recognize the yellow house one block from the Hilltop Campus. What they might not know is that it houses Georgetown’s Office of Neighborhood Life (ONL).

Inside that yellow house is Gwen Coleman (G’21, G’23), whose mission at Georgetown is to help people understand how ONL is here to help them.

Coleman, director of ONL, grew up in New Jersey with her sights set on medical school. After graduating from Virginia Tech, she moved to DC to try the city she kept hearing about. She worked at a hospital in Virginia while she contemplated her next steps. When she reached out to a college mentor for guidance, her mentor nudged her toward something she had never considered: higher education.

Coleman had served in student government in college and as an orientation leader and loved it. As it turned out, medicine and higher education were more interconnected than she thought.

“At the core of both is that I like helping people,” she said.

In 2016, she began her higher education career in alumni relations at American University. When a program coordinator role opened at ONL in 2017, she applied, wanting to explore a new aspect of university operations and how universities interact with their local communities. Nearly a decade later, she’s directing the very office that first hired her.

Learn more about Coleman, how she nurtures the university’s relationship with the Georgetown neighborhood and her ever-growing Lego collection. https://bit.ly/3PRKNnM

Georgetown joins the nation in celebrating Pride Month, honoring the legacies, accomplishments and contributions of our LGBTQIA+ community. https://bit.ly/4v6EpYE

Don't mind us, just reminiscing about spring days on the lawn with our Hoyas 🌸 ☀️ 🌱

📸 : on Instagram

"Now in my senior spring, as I prepare to graduate, I am happy to report that I did not become a new person during these four years. Instead, I became a smarter, kinder, more worldly, and harder working version of myself. Georgetown provided the people and the opportunities for me to discern just who I was and what I was called to be at my university."

Written in the weeks leading up to graduation, Michael Woch (SFS'26) reflects on the ways that his time at Georgetown helped him grow into the best and most authentic version of himself.

Becoming a Better Version of Myself | LearningWell Magazine Looking back on a transformational college experience

With the first open DC Mayoral seat in 20 years, GU Politics partnered with Fox 5 DC for the 2026 DC Democratic mayoral primary debate at Georgetown University’s Capitol Campus.

In the debate last week, candidates Gary Goodweather, Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan McDuffie discussed affordability, public safety and other pressing topics for DC voters in front of a live audience of DC residents and Georgetown University community members.

The event marked one of the first televised debates since DC implemented ranked-choice voting for local elections.

McCourt School's Institute of Politics and Public Service Hosts 2026 DC Democratic Mayoral Primary Debate - McCourt School of Public Policy The McCourt School's Institute of Politics and Public Service at Georgetown University hosted the 2026 DC democratic mayoral debate.

Anya Wahal (SFS’23) has been named a 2026 Knight-Hennessy Scholar, a prestigious graduate program at Stanford University that prepares students for international leadership.

Wahal is one of 87 scholars from 31 countries in this year’s cohort. Scholars receive up to three years of financial support for graduate school while taking part in mentorship, experiential learning opportunities and leadership development to prepare them for future leadership roles.

Wahal joins five other Hoyas who have been named Knight-Hennessy Scholars in recent years, including last year’s recipient Elena Sapelyuk (SFS’23). At Stanford, Wahal will pursue a juris doctor and Ph.D. in water policy.

“We are proud of Anya and her work, from here at Georgetown to her time as a Fulbright Scholar and Marshall Scholar and now as part of the next cohort of the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship,” said Lauren Tuckley, director for the Center of Research & Fellowships. “Her research demonstrates the rigor and passion needed to make a change for the common good in water policy.”

Ever since her first year at Georgetown, Wahal has dedicated her research to water policy and how it impacts people, particularly in vulnerable communities with limited access to water. Now as a Knight-Hennessy Scholar, she will continue her work to bridge the divide between policymakers and the people they serve. https://bit.ly/3RtHW4I

Today and every day, we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. 🇺🇸

Alina Watson (H’26) spent much of her childhood in waiting rooms at military and veterans hospitals with her dad.

For all of Watson’s life, her father lived with a severe neurological disability from his service as a U.S. Army tank commander. Watson helped care for her dad and went with him to his countless cardiology and neurology appointments.

In those waiting rooms, her dad repeatedly gave her a charge for her life.

“Go be a doctor, and help people like me,” Watson remembers her dad telling her.

She still thinks about his words all the time.

“Being in that position in such a formative time, it showed me what’s truly valuable in life. For me, that was a person’s health,” she said. “It was the most powerful thing I could have done with my life to honor my dad’s legacy.”

Watson’s dad passed away during her senior year of high school, months away before she started at Georgetown. But his words have fueled her through four years at Georgetown preparing to go to medical school.

“I knew that in being a doctor, it would be hard no matter what,” she said. “However, the privilege that I will get in being able to serve service members, veterans and their families is everything I had wanted. I knew that if I ever got the opportunity, I would want to treat, diagnose and serve people like my dad.” https://bit.ly/4dEeiRX

“On that day, I realized my whole world was changing,” she said. “I don’t think I understood it at that very moment, but now looking back, it changed me as a person. It will forever be a part of me.”

Tanya Tkachenko (SFS’26) was on a gap year after high school when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

She was in her hometown in the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine at around 6 a.m. when she noticed her mother getting ready to go to work at her military office earlier than usual. When she asked why, her mom told her the war had started. She asked her to grab the family’s credit cards and run into town to withdraw cash at the bank and stock up on groceries.

On her street, Tkachenko saw neighbors frantically packing their cars. At the bank, the lines stretched outside. The grocery shelves were stripped bare, reminding her of the COVID-19 pandemic just two years prior.

Tkachenko always dreamed of studying in the U.S. When the war started, she didn’t know what her future looked like.

But Georgetown made her dream come true.

Tkachenko is part of the first undergraduate cohort of the Gracias Family Sunflower Current Use Scholarship Fund. The scholarship, funded by an over $6 million commitment from Antonio Gracias (SFS’92, G’93) and Sabrina Kuhl Gracias (B’93), has supported 22 Ukrainian students at Georgetown, including undergraduates in all schools who demonstrate financial need as well as merit-based scholarships for graduate students in the School of Foreign Service (SFS).

After four years on the Hilltop, Tkachenko will graduate with a college experience that has prepared her to serve and help rebuild the country she calls home. https://bit.ly/4eYXY0p