Award-winning CNN International Anchor and Mason alumna Hala Gorani is slated to deliver the 2015 Commencement address to the graduating class at George Mason University on May 16th. The ceremony will be held at 10:00 at the Patriot Center, and is open to all graduating seniors and their guests.
Gorani earned a Bachelor of Science from George Mason University in 1992 and went on to study at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris, where she graduated with a masters in Political Science in 1995. She was born in Seattle and raised in Paris, France, and is fluent in English, French and Arabic. She also wrote for Broadside at Mason, which is now the Fourth Estate.
Based in London, Hala Gorani is an anchor and International Correspondant for CNN International. She is the host of World Right Now a show that aims to bring viewers into the heart of international politics and events. In addition to her anchoring responsibilities, Gorani often finds herself working in the field to report major breaking news stories. In 2014, she covered the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebannon. Hala also covered the 2012 Egyptian Elections and has reported dtriaght from Jordan and Eygpt a number of times. CNN cites her as being one of the most instrumental journalists in regard to their coverage of the Arab Spring.
In 2010, Gorani covered the earthquake in Haiti, which earned CNN a Golden Nymph Award, one of the highest honors in international journalism. Gorani was also awarded a News and Documentary Emmy for her work on the 2011 Egyptian revolution that eventually led to the downfall of then President Hosni Mubarak. She previously hosted Inside The Middle East a show that focused on the most prominent social, political, and cultural issues in the Middle East. She hosted the show for five years, during which she reported on issues such as poverty in oil-rich countries, struggles that artists face in Iraq, and the gay community in the Middle East, which earned a nomination for a Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLADD) award.
The Mason community is looking forward to an inspiring commencement speech by an alumna who isn’t afraid to tackle uncomfortable topics and delivier truth.
source: http://edition.cnn.com/profiles/hala-gorani-profile#about