INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DE SANTO DOMINGO (INTEC) 

HIGHLIGHTED GRADUATE AWARD
24th October 2019

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 outstanding and related graduates
Ladies and Gentlemen:

I have recently heard that a speech has two extreme parts - that is, a beginning and an end - and that it becomes better as these parts get closer. In view of that wise principle, I begin these words with the firm promise that, at least according to that criterion, this will be a good speech. Actually, my purpose is simple. On the one hand, I want to thank the presence of each one of you, because it is really a pleasure to know to be accompanied by so many friends on such a special night. And, on the other hand, I want to briefly ponder the meaning of this ceremony, which for INTEC represents a successful public expression in its institutional mission. 

For 13 years, the Outstanding Graduate Award has recognized international talent in its various manifestations. In activities like this, we have honored scientists and athletes, community activists and business leaders, opposition politicians and government officials with equal enthusiasm. Two years ago, to top it all, we dared to recognize the professional career of a Director General of Internal Revenue, and last year we were even more daring and we recognized a poet, who took the opportunity to tell us maliciously some stories from his life of student that I prefer or remember. 

Actually, looking back, I notice that each ceremony has been a unique experience, in which many awardees have expressed their feelings crying with emotion, others have been left speechless and at least one outstanding graduate thanked her parents for their support singing for us the song of the pio pio that they sang to her when she was a child. I don't remember any of them who have sung operas or danced bachata, although I don't rule out the possibility that that will happen tonight. 

In sum, ladies and gentlemen, the outstanding graduates of INTEC are diverse beings, of multiple talents and varied orientations, nevertheless united by a common trait, which is the commitment of all to institutional values. That makes them a vital force not only in our country but throughout the world. As an illustration, I would like to tell you that a few days ago I agreed with the General Manager of a multinational emporium that operates in several countries, and as a way to break the ice, I felt compelled to give a brief description of our university. "Mr. Rector - my interlocutor told me then - I know INTEC well. I am graduated from the ´94 graduation ”. It goes without saying that the conversation then became a sequence of common references, as happens every time two bees discover that they are part of the same hive.  

In conclusion, let me imagine with you the future of this award and, through it, the future of our institution. At present, INTEC is implementing a broad reform agenda that is taking its capacities to an increasingly higher level, in the areas of research, connection with society, innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as in the development of an offer curriculum so novel that it has no precedent in the local environment. 

It is easy to anticipate that the recognition of our institution will be increasing and the impact of our graduates will be felt increasingly in spaces as different as cinema, biotechnology or communication, just to mention a few. And it is exciting to think that at that time, the Intecians / Dominicans? Tomorrow they will remember tonight and give us a wink of complicity, thanking us for being part of this endless history of institutional commitment. Goodnight.