The diversity in Florida Tech’s Clemente Center Saturday was remarkable as hundreds of students, family members and friends gathered for fall commencement.
The graduates across morning and afternoon ceremonies represented 61 countries and 48 states; different languages drifted above the crowd. There were dozens of degree program represented, from STEM disciplines to strategic communication.
The clothing was sparkles and fancy suits, cool earth tones and electric blues, high heels and flats. Some in the audience sat quietly, clearly emotional, as a loved one crossed the stage. Others leapt up to shout and celebrate, mobile phones targeting the action.
But all 1,164 Florida Tech students, amid this glorious variety, are, at last, Florida Tech graduates – a hard-earned status and privilege that they will now share for the rest of their lives.
“As you commence this new stage of your life, remember to embrace your strengths even as you seek new challenges,” Florida Tech President John Nicklow told the graduates. “Welcome new and sometimes uncomfortable experiences. Grow in your personal life and in your work life. And never forget you are a Florida Tech Panther for life.”
At the morning ceremony featuring students from the Bisk College of Business and the College of Psychology and Liberal Arts, keynote speaker Maj. Gen. Timothy Sejba, commander of the Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM), said the skills these students learn can carry them into careers in many fields, including space.
“Innovation. Risk taking. Financial management. How to communicate. How to motivate teams. How to know what makes people ‘tick.’ What to make of the human condition. These things are the essence of any industry—particularly the space industry,” Sejba said.
He added, “It’s true. Any pursuit in life, you need to know a little about business, psychology and liberal arts.”
Sejba brought with him congratulatory messages from two people currently on the International Space Station: Space Force Col. Nick Hogue, the first Guardian to travel to space, and the Florida Tech alumna Sunita Williams ‘95.
“Florida Tech is in an ideal position literally and figuratively to be a key part of the next generation of space exploration, with advancements in science, engineering and manufacturing,” Williams said, according to Sejba. “Florida Tech has risen to the occasion and advanced alongside and as a partner in this booming space business.”
In the afternoon ceremony with graduates of the College of Engineering and Science and the College of Aeronautics, Sejba recalled the early days of Florida Tech and how it was intertwined with NASA, which like the university was established in 1958.
“You know, it’s been said that without NASA, there might not have been a Florida Tech. But I think the opposite is also true. Without Florida Tech there might not have been a NASA,” he said.
He later added, “As graduates of Florida Tech, the success of the early space program is in your DNA – it’s your heritage and legacy associated with the school. The excellence of that age is your trademark, technical aptitude your birthright.”
Sejba spoke about the different possible careers of the graduates given the variety of majors represented, from aerospace and biomedical scientists to pilots, electrical engineers and even an astronaut or two.
But whatever job they land, whatever field they choose, the notion of “service” must be primary, he concluded.
“That’s what will matter most when you retire someday. It won’t be the salary you had, the titles you held or even the resume you built,” Sejba said. “It will be the difference you made by serving others. When you can combine that with your passion for scientific wonder, well, that’s the recipe right there for flourishing.”
