About 630 to Graduate from Florida Tech Dec. 15 in Two Ceremonies

MELBOURNE, FLA.—The Charles and Ruth Clemente Center is the site of Florida Institute of Technology’s fall commencement ceremonies on Dec. 15. The undergraduate ceremony is at 9:30 a.m. with an expected 239 graduates attending to pick up their diplomas; commencement for those earning master’s and doctoral degrees is at 2 p.m. when 392 graduates will be participating.

About 1,359 degrees have been earned, including associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. The number is the total for all campuses for both the Summer and Fall 2012 terms. These students have earned their degrees through the Melbourne campus in December; summer graduates from all campuses; students who completed degree requirements this fall through the university’s Extended Studies Department, which has 10 sites throughout the United States and a virtual campus; and about 582 (Summer and Fall 2012) students have earned their degrees through online programs.

At the morning ceremony, two bachelor’s degree graduates will receive the Faculty Honors Award for maintaining a 4.0 (perfect) grade point average. They are Jason Gilmore, a molecular biology major, and Ann Wassick, a marine biology major.

Additionally, four U.S. Army cadets will be commissioned in ceremonies in the afternoon of the day before. They will become second lieutenants, entering various areas of the Army, including Military Intelligence, the Signal Corps and Quartermaster branches. They are: Damion Bailey of Pembroke Pines, with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies; Nicholas Deschenes, of Nashua, N.H. with a degree in Astrophysics; Joshua Fristron of Palm Bay, Fla., with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies; and Deborah Subocz of Waldorf, Md., with a degree in Civil Engineering.