I am pleased, ladies and gentlemen, to welcome you to this momentous activity in which we celebrate the entry of our students into a new stage of life. The graduation ceremony is a testimony that they have the knowledge, values ​​and attitudes necessary for a productive life, after an intense process of learning and teaching.

My main mission, therefore, is to congratulate the graduates for their achievement, and extend my congratulations to their families and relatives, who provided the indispensable support throughout the journey. I recognize in their faces a feeling of pride, with which I fully identify, derived from the sweet sensation of duty accomplished.

This graduation coincides with an event of great relevance in the life of the university, because this year INTEC celebrates its 40th anniversary. Throughout four decades, his contributions to Dominican society have been enormous and a description of his achievements would go beyond the brief space of my intervention. Therefore, when someone closes their eyes and imagines for a moment what our country would be like in the absence of this study center, the feeling is overwhelming.

If INTEC had not existed, the country would not have today around 25,000 professionals, who are an example of leadership in various areas, in various entities and in various countries. If INTEC had not existed, the country would not have the enormous amount of research and innovations that have emerged from our campus, and that have paved the way that connects the rural society of the seventies with the globalized society in which we currently live.

If INTEC had not existed, perhaps no Dominican would have climbed Mount Everest and perhaps no Dominican would have challenged the Mediterranean Sea, because it was in our classrooms where young visionaries like Iván Gomez and Marcos Diaz solidified the vision, discipline and passion with which they could perform such feats.

And if INTEC had not existed, perhaps many of you would not have found a way to live the exciting adventure of a quality university education, and a significant part of the human talent present here would be sadly lost. It is that institutions like INTEC, ladies and gentlemen, are greatly lacking when they do not exist, because when they exist they make a great difference.

This event also coincides with a moment of special interest to the world. In the technological field, society observes a dizzying sequence of innovations that will end up redefining our way of life. In the economic sphere, several years of global financial crisis have triggered a process of reflection on the need to change the prevailing paradigms for social organization.

In the environmental field, nature seems to rebel in different ways, after several centuries of aggression by human beings.

This world to come presents an unusual combination of challenges and opportunities, and increasingly demands innovation capacity from universities. That is why our institution is currently focused on exploring new ways to achieve academic excellence, aware of the need to help our country finally find a form of economic growth that is compatible with social justice.

The effort to attract a growing percentage of doctors to our faculty, the development of international programs, the strengthening of ties with the productive sector and with social organizations, and the carrying out of research and projects with world-class universities are part of our strategy. Our immediate objective is that our graduates are not only the academic cream of our country, but also compete successfully anywhere in the world.

You, male and female graduates, have a stellar role in this process of strengthening INTEC for the future. The institution is counting on you to provide essential support, ideas and resources. Graduation does not mean the end of your relationship with the hive, but a new form of relationship, and this event has not been designed to say "goodbye", but to say "see you later."

With that end in mind, we will soon be launching a contribution program with the PIES program, through which each graduate, through small sums, will be able to contribute to the best of their ability so that other talented students can travel the path of improvement. staff that you have traveled. I hope that in a few months, the names of many of you (hopefully all) appear on the list of contributors.

In closing, ladies and gentlemen, let me now introduce our guest speaker. Mrs. Fabiola Medina Garnes is Past President of the Board of Regents of INTEC in the period 2007-2009, after having been a member of the organization since 2001. The invitation to this event, however, does not obey that condition, but rather the example that Mrs. Medina represents for those of us who identify with the search for excellence in professional life, and with a responsible attitude in social participation.

Mrs. Medina graduated from Law Summa Cum Laude, in 1977, at the Pedro Henríquez Ureña University, and was awarded as the most
outstanding of its promotion. Subsequently, he received honors of Grande Distinction at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, where he completed his Master's studies in International Law. The presentation of his work "Public Policy in Private International Law", for the candidacy for a doctorate at the same Belgian university, deserved the mention of La Plus Grande Distinction.

Already in her first years of professional practice, she was designated, by Presidential Decree, as Assistant to the Legal Consultant of the Executive Power, in the period 1982-1986, and in 1996 she was selected "Outstanding Young Person" by the Dominican Jaycees'72 Chapter. In 2008 she received the “Medal of Merit” awarded by the Executive Power and the Ministry of Women.

Dra. Fabiola Medina is the founder of the firm Medina & Rizek, Abogados. Previously, from 1996 to 2004, he held the position of Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Affairs of Verizon Dominicana, SA And before joining that company, he worked in prestigious law firms.
She has extensive teaching experience as a Professor in Private International Law, Public International Law and Analysis and Translation of Legal Texts at various universities in the country. He is fluent in English, French and Portuguese, in addition to having knowledge of the Italian language.
Mrs. Medina has combined her professional practice with an active participation in professional organizations and associations and voluntary civil work. Among other positions, he has been President of the Disciplinary Court of the Dominican Bar Association, President of the Business Lawyers Association, President of the Institutionality and Justice Foundation, Inc. (FINJUS), Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce and Production of Santo Domingo and President of the Executive Office of the Center for Alternative Conflict Resolution of the Chamber of Commerce and Production of Santo Domingo. Since 2005, he has also been a member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, in Paris.

On a personal level, Fabiola Medina is married and the mother of six children, one of whom, by a happy coincidence, today receives her diploma as an Engineer. Ladies and gentlemen, male and female graduates, without further ado, let us welcome Dr. Fabiola Medina.