Government Department Homecoming 2024!
The Chancellors Hall Homecoming Brunch this year was a great success! Government, Economics, International Relations, and Public Policy alumni enjoyed breakfast with their former professors and mentors. Each Department and Program shared undergraduate successes from the past academic year. This year, Donn and Jeanne Weaver and their extended family joined us to honor their son Todd Weaver, a Government Department alum (Class of 2008), who died in battle serving his country in Afghanistan on September 9, 2010. The Weaver Scholarship was created to honor Todd’s legacy. Government and International Relations majors may apply for this scholarship to support study and travel abroad.
This year’s recipients (both IR majors) are Julia Meyer ’26 and Jackie Velotas ’26. Currently, Julia is spending the fall semester at sea, visiting ten different countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. From the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Julia shared that “(b)eing awarded the Weaver scholarship has enabled me to participate in this amazing program and get an up-close and hands-on introduction to different international communities’ solutions to both global and local challenges. This opportunity to participate in meaningful engagement and fieldwork, to provide service to different communities, and to develop a better understanding of what it means to be a global citizen has already begun to change my worldview and I look forward to bringing back my new perspectives and knowledge into the classroom and in the greater William & Mary community when I return in the spring.” During the spring semester, Jackie will be in Copenhagen with the DIS Study Abroad program. Jackie is interested in the everyday global interactions between government and their citizens in influencing international relations.
At the Homecoming Brunch, Jackie received a copy of Losing Todd: Finding Peace in my Heart, by Jeanne Harris Weaver. Included in this publication are Jeanne’s paintings celebrating her son’s life. A gift of these twenty-one paintings will be made to the Muscarelle Museum of Art, which will display them in 2025. During public remarks, Donn Weaver shared his appreciation for his family's connections with W& M and the Williamsburg area. Donn made heartfelt references to Todd’s commitment to his country and recognized the strong sense of civic duty and community values fostered by a William and Mary undergraduate education.
