On Thursday, April 25, nearly 250 members of the American University community came together to celebrate the Alumni Association’s 2024 Alumni Award winners. Six stellar AU alumni were honored for achievements in activism, judicial work, diplomacy, innovation, and service.

In an event described by Vice President of University Advancement Courtney Surls as “one of AU’s most time-honored traditions,” community members heard how the university shaped the lives of honorees Mong-Yong Chung, Kogod/MBA ’91, The Honorable Gerald Bruce Lee, SOC/BA ’73, WCL/JD ’76, WCL/Hon. LLD ’03, Jan Du Plain, SPA/BA ’66, Rob Johnson, SPA/BS ’81, Deon Jones, SPA/BA ’14, and Yamillet Payano, CAS/BS ’18.

AU President Sylvia Burwell lauded this year’s award winners, saying “Each one of you embodies the Eagle spirit—the impulse to do better and be better for the common good, to marshal our resources, our skills, and our passions in service to others.”

Payano, who came to AU on a scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, received a Rising Star award for her groundbreaking startup Sign-Speak. She reminded those in the room to “take the unconventional path as long as it makes YOU happy.”

A second Rising Star recipient, Deon Jones, was described by Alumni Board President LaTanya Sothern, SOC-CAS/BA ’92, as an inspirational musician, artist, and social justice activist, and opened his remarks in song, captivating the audience. He recalled interviewing as a prospective student with Associate Director of Admissions Marquita Lightfoot, who set him on the path to AU. “We all have the power to see the treasure and light in someone else,” Jones said.

In accepting the Alumni Eagle Award, longtime AU supporter Rob Johnson posited that “Those of us who do this work get far more out of it than we put in.” Johnson, a former Alumni Association president, was honored for considerable time and generous philanthropic support to AU.

Du Plain, who received the Alumni Recognition Award for decades of work in cultural diplomacy, said, “American University and its international student body was foundational to my growing awareness of cultural diversity and the importance of Washington, DC as a gateway to the rest of the world in matters of culture, diplomacy, news and US political influence both local and global.” 

Jamie Lander, niece of Mong-Yong Chung, accepted the Global Alumni Leader Award on behalf of her uncle, who is chairman of Hyundai Sungwoo Holdings, one of Korea’s leading automotive parts companies. Sothern described Chung as “a strong believer in the importance of global mindset and culture in fostering future generations of leaders.” And Lander shared with attendees that Chung “credits much of what he learned during his time studying for his MBA at the Kogod School of Business here at AU for his success.”

Judge Lee, a trustee of the university, described enrolling in AU as a high school student and a streetsweeper, saying “Never let anyone tell you that your dreams are impossible. You can if you think you can.” A nod to students in the room, Lee added “If the streetsweeper could achieve his dreams, then your dreams can come true too. It will not be easy. It will take persistence and determination. All things—not a few things—are possible.”

Taking in the moving stories shared—and touting the engagement and generosity of so many in the room—Sothern ended the evening by encouraging attendees to support AU through giving. “Inspired by the student-run Finish Line Committee, the new Finish Line Initiative is our final community-wide call to join the Change Can’t Wait campaign in its remaining months,” she said. Noting that more than 23,000 alumni have given to the campaign thus far, Sothern added that gifts from alumni, students, parents, faculty, and staff are being matched by an anonymous alumnus’s $1 million challenge gift. “Now is the time to get involved,” she said. “Change truly can’t wait.”