INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DE SANTO DOMINGO (INTEC) 

HIGHLIGHTED GRADUATE AWARD
November 29th 2018

Rector's words
Rolando M. Guzmán

Ladies and gentlemen, members of the General Assembly and the Board of Regents of INTEC
Ladies and gentlemen, members of the Academic Council
Executives, teachers, collaborators and friends of INTEC
Appreciated graduates and related
Ladies and Gentlemen:

I want to begin my words with a sincere gratitude to each of you for honoring us with your presence at this ceremony, which is extremely important for INTEC for various reasons. The Outstanding Graduate Award represents a tribute to life trajectories that notably illustrate the spirit of our institution, but it is also a way of rendering public accounts of the truly exceptional human capacities that are formed in our hive. In short, for INTEC it is certainly a source of pride that society recognizes it through such valuable and professional people as the honorees tonight.

On the other hand, this ceremony is also a good reminder of the enormous possibilities of the generations of students who pass through our classrooms today and whose future trajectories can be glimpsed through those who preceded them. Because it is good to know that a few years ago, Tirso Alvarez and Claudia Franchesca de los Santos were just two teenagers who entered the fascinating world of engineering with astonished eyes; that Jorys Martínez Jorge and José Willis Mejía were two curious boys who dreamed of being surgeons; and that no one, perhaps absolutely no one, had discovered the exceptional managerial skills that Augusto Ramírez now recognize.

The stories of all of them should let us know that each graduate of our institution has infinite possibilities with them and that under the skin of each one there is a distinguished doctor like Dr. Pedro Ureña, a successful engineer like Luis Abott, an enterprising filmmaker like Elsa Turull, an exceptional athlete like Marcos Diaz, a Grammy-winning singer like Vicente Garcia, a committed social leader like Father Mario Serrano… or a future President of the Republic like Danilo Medina. And so that no one is confused about the breadth of our versatility, at tonight's awards it will be formally established that INTEC graduates are good even in the most difficult of disciplines, such as poetry, and here is graduate Frank Baez to prove it reliably.  

However, it is always necessary to emphasize that the Outstanding Alumni Award does not represent a contest of popularity or fame, nor is it limited to recognizing strictly technical or professional merits. Consequently, our award does not necessarily correlate closely with the number of times an alumnus appears on the front page of newspapers or with the number of times their name becomes a trending topic on social media. Our intention is to recognize our graduates and graduates in their integrality, valuing in a particular way the vocation of leadership, the ethical sense, the capacity for work and social responsibility.

As you will understand, it could not be otherwise in an institution whose statutory mission is to contribute to the social transformation of the country and the continuous promotion of the quality of life of its inhabitants, and whose strategic vision establishes the intention of being a space that inspire innovation and knowledge creation. It is no exaggeration to say that the aspiration for excellence is in our DNA, and that tonight's outstanding graduates are proof of that. Therefore, on behalf of INTEC, I congratulate them once again on their achievements, both them and their associates, while I ask those present to enjoy a beautiful ceremony.

Thank you very much.