![]() There’s another entry in the calendar that says, “Paula starts giving me assignments at SAIS.” I still have the very first invoice that I sent her. I did a couple of assignments in 1988 and she was pleased. I met with Paula and showed her some contact sheets of things that I had photographed. He told me he was graduating and asked if I wanted to show Paula some of my work so I could maybe pick up some of the photography work that he used to do. He used to be a student at SAIS, and he was doing photography as a side thing at SAIS as well as being a student. To backtrack just a little bit, I had a very good friend with whom I spoke just this morning. Ambassador to Russia, Robert Strauss, Dean of SAIS George Packard, and SAIS graduate Leila Austin receiving diploma, May 1993 Left to right Associate Dean George Crowell, former U.S. SAIS Commencement, First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C., May 1989 I had my own lab in my tiny efficiency in Adams Morgan, where I lived. And it was very exciting because, I mean, it was black and white film. Graduation used to be held at a church on O Street and 16th Street because it was a much smaller class than what it is now, and so you'll see that church in some of the early pictures. He was re-elected as President later that year. It says “Meet Paula Simmons (former SAIS communications director) at SAIS from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.” And the speaker was former President of Venezuela Carlos Perez. There’s an appointment in the book for Thursday, May 26, 1988. My wife says I'm a hoarder, but you know you have to document things in life. Sardari: So here's the thing - I have my actual hardcover calendar from 1988. What do you remember about the first SAIS graduation that you shot? It's like playing with your camera, getting paid and learning a whole lifetime. I always joke I can run panels on foreign policy or international economics or taxation, or whatever, because I’ve sat through so many VIP speakers, so many amazing heads of states, so many amazing secretaries of state or of treasury. A lot of the think tanks in Washington just by default became my clients, to this day. People would ask, “Who do you know who takes pictures of this kind of stuff?” And they’d say, “We have this guy Kaveh.” Now many of them are my clients, too. I started getting calls from up and down Mass Ave, getting referrals. And through SAIS my business grew unexpectedly into the foreign policy and national policy realm. SAIS was my very first official photography job in Washington. Kaveh Sardari: Honestly, it's like family to me. What is so special about this event that keeps bringing you back? Q: This is your 35th consecutive year photographing commencement at SAIS. He shared some of his memories of SAIS and photography over the years, and what SAIS has meant for him and his career. A longtime Washington, D.C.-based photographer, Sardari has covered presidential inaugurations and political conventions in addition to his years photographing SAIS events. ![]() This May, he’ll be at DAR Constitution Hall covering his 35 th consecutive SAIS graduation. Kaveh Sardari looks back as he prepares to photograph his 35 th consecutive SAIS commencement ceremonyĪward-winning photographer Kaveh Sardari first photographed the SAIS Commencement in 1988. ![]()
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