Mr. Vice Minister Rafael Gonzalez, representative of the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Alejandrina German
Mrs. President of the Board of Regents, Mrs. Mary Fernandez, and other members of the Board of Regents and the Academic Council of INTEC,
Directors, teachers and collaborators and students of our institution,
Mrs. Glenda Umaña, Guest Speaker,
Graduates and graduates, relatives and related
Ladies and Gentlemen
I have the honor to address you at the most important formal event of this university, which is the graduation ceremony. It is a solemn act that brings us great joy, because it symbolizes the transition of loved ones to professional life (in the case of undergraduate students) or to a new stage of it (in the case of graduate students). As on every occasion, my main objective is to congratulate the male and female graduates, express my respect for the family members and associates who supported them during the journey and thank the work of the professors who contributed their effort to help them achieve a quality education.
I know well, graduates and graduates, this graduation will live forever in the memory of each one of you, and I assure you that, from now on, when you find out that INTEC is conducting a new graduation, you will say to yourself : "I know what it feels like ... because I was there." This is a defining moment that marks a before and after in your life trajectories, and it is natural that you have a healthy sense of pride and an expectation of great achievements that we hope will be largely fulfilled. For the short term, for example, I hope that graduate Aleida Sanchez Lopez has fulfilled her goal of doing a Ph.D. and that graduate Santa Garcia Feliz realizes her aspiration to have a Master's degree. Likewise, we hope that in the near future the graduate Rafael Armando Ciprian and the graduate Albania Duarte will have set up their own companies and the graduate Nicole Merejo will have launched the clothing brand that she has conceived in her head.
Similarly, at some point in the near future Vikeisy Mercado will have made her intention to buy an Audi come true, and I will personally lend all my support so that graduate Suzanne Brady can become a professor at INTEC. On the other hand, I hope I will not commit an indiscretion if I ask the graduate Gisel Maria Lozada to let us know when she achieves her aspiration to become Operations Manager of the National Brewery. And finally, we wish Persio Reynoso luck so that he can change his car soon, because we know that this is one of his goals for 2017.
As we can see, ladies and gentlemen, each of our graduates has personal aspirations and life projects that motivate them, and this graduation is the public testimony that they have acquired the necessary skills for a bright future. At the center of this room are many who in the long run will be renowned scientists, prominent business and social leaders, renowned engineers, doctors and administrators, and I even dare to predict with absolute certainty that among the graduates there is some future President (or any future President) of our country.
However, graduates and graduates, I want to remind you that personal success is only part of the challenges that lie ahead. In a country like ours, burdened by great needs and inequalities, it is also important to ask ourselves in what ways you can contribute to improving the living conditions of other Dominicans. Remember that the inteciano spirit is distinguished not only by its scientific or technical capabilities, but also by the spirit of solidarity and commitment. In that sense, you have a large share of responsibility, as professionals and as citizens.

Being a graduate of INTEC morally obliges to contribute, with ideas and knowledge, to improve the living conditions of the entire society, and we hope that you will take on this challenge with the talent, creativity, responsibility and commitment that characterize our Hive. On our part, we will remain attentive to the trajectory of each one of you, and we hope to count on your support for our institutional challenge, which consists of being recognized, nationally and internationally, as a model of university, for our academic excellence, the quality of our processes and our contribution to the development of society.
In closing, let me now introduce our guest speaker. Glenda Umaña is a journalist and television presenter born in San José, Costa Rica, noted for her journalistic work of more than 26 years for various television networks including CNN en Español. He graduated in Collective Communication with an emphasis in Journalism from the University of Costa Rica, and obtained a master's degree in Communication from Florida International University in Miami.
He was part of the team of five journalists that launched the CNN en Español network in March 1997, along with Daniel Viotto, Patricia Janiot, Jorge Gestoso and Susana Roza. There she worked as a reporter, presenter and host of various spaces, where she was able to show different journalistic and professional facets. Some of the programs where Glenda Umaña was the headline during her career at CNN en Español were: Medical Consultation, World Viewpoint, Nuestro Mundo, Notimujer, Actualidad en Vivo and Café CNN, among others.
In addition to specials and live coverage from different areas of the world. As such, he covered the arrest of Saddam Hussein and the developments of the War in Iraq, the attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the impeachment of then President of the United States, Bill Clinton, and the presidential elections of several Latin American countries. He has also participated from Atlanta in conducting live coverage of news of international relevance, such as the visits of Pope John Paul II to Latin America, the tragedy of the tsunami in Thailand, the rescue of hostages from the FARC in Colombia, the political crisis in Egypt and the earthquake in Japan.
He has interviewed important Latin American leaders, including Presidents Hugo Chávez, from Venezuela, Óscar Arias, from Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, from Costa Rica, and Vicente Fox, from Mexico. Currently, Ms. Umaña is the founder and president of “Glenda Umaña Communications”, an entity whose objective is to help promote Latin American journalistic professionalism and bring information of authentic relevance to different audiences. She has been the recipient of several international awards, including an Emmy Award nomination for Best Morning Show.
It is no less important to note that Glenda has been a collaborator of INTEC in the design of a new degree program in Digital Media and Social Communication, which will be starting in the near future. In the family sphere, she is the mother of four daughters. Let's welcome her, please, with a loud applause.