It was all about smiles earned and praise deserved Saturday as Florida Tech held three joyful spring commencement ceremonies on its Melbourne campus. More than 1,800 degrees were conferred across the daylong event.
But rest assured that the process that culminated in this cherished recognition was not all laughter and lightness. Simply put, it took a lot of work from each one of these members of the Class of 2025.
“Your skill, your drive, your persistence—that is what brought you here,” Florida Tech President John Nicklow told the soon-to-be-graduates in his opening remarks. And their new degree is proof, he said.
“At Florida Tech, success is never handed out—it’s earned. You’ve proven your merit, and the world knows it. Employers trust this institution because they trust the students who graduate from it,” Nicklow continued. “Every opportunity you’ve had here—you earned. Every door that opens next, you’ll open with the strength you’ve built here.”
Keynote speaker Mike Moses helped propel his 17-year NASA career and his ongoing work as president of Virgin Galactic’s human spaceflight program with a 1991 Florida Tech master’s degree in space sciences.
He understands what it takes to get to this point, he told the crowd: “A lot of grit and determination.”
But now the world is ahead of these graduates, and it is their chance to define it, Moses said. He offered three lessons learned over his distinguished career:
- Imagine every possible outcome.
- Rockets don’t get us to space, people do.
- Your goals should not be big, they should be enormous.
“Most things that are worth doing in life are going to be hard. Make those goals big anyway,” he said. “Allow yourself imagination for every outcome and courage to create that possibility.”
Honorary Degree
In the morning ceremony, Nicklow awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to Vik Verma, a 1987 Florida Tech graduate and 15-year member of the university’s Board of Trustees.
Verma is a technology pioneer with more than 30 years of impact and innovation across his distinguished career. He was lauded for his remarkable service to the university, his tireless efforts at harnessing technology for the good of all, and his positive community impacts here and beyond.
“Congratulations and thank you for representing Florida Tech so well,” Nicklow told Verma.
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Missed out? Or eager to relive the excitement? Enjoy this photo gallery from Saturday’s spring commencement. Here are a few highlights:
