INTEC awards Outstanding Graduate Award to seven professionals with extensive experience

SANTO DOMINGO. - Doctors Elianny Lantigua and Abel Cassó, psychologists Raquel Ovalle and Yamaya Sosa; economist Shirley Santana, and engineers Miguel Aybar and Bernardo Castellanos were recognized as Outstanding Graduates of Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC).

With this award, which has been given since 2007, the university recognizes INTEC students whose professional careers have generated a significant impact on their communities and on the development of the country, standing out in the areas of health, engineering, economics, social sciences and humanities.

The ceremony, held at a hotel in the capital, was led by interim rector Alliet Ortega, who emphasized the honorees' value to the university's institutional mission. “Our graduates fill us with pride, as they exemplify the impact INTEC has on society. Their careers demonstrate that we train professionals capable of transforming realities, driving social and economic development, and elevating the Dominican Republic's standing on national and international stages.”

Since its creation, the Outstanding Graduate Award has honored 102 professionals who represent the values ​​of excellence, social commitment, innovation and leadership promoted by INTEC.

Selection process and community participation

For this edition, INTEC received 55 nominations, of which 30 were accepted and submitted for evaluation. The nominations came from students, professors, alumni, authorities, and external organizations.

The selection process included an electronic vote open to the alumni community, the results of which were incorporated into the deliberations of a jury chaired by the interim rector, Alliet Ortega, and composed of Rosario Aróstegui, Vice-Rector of Research and Outreach; Luis Enrique Rodríguez, Dean of the Area of ​​Basic and Environmental Sciences; representing the Academic Vice-Rector, Engineer Arturo del Villar; Jesús Bastardo, Interim Vice-Rector of Administration and Finance; Julio Valeiron, Full Professor; Rosalina Perdomo, President of the Board of Regents of INTEC and graduate;  Altagracia López, Past Rector; Francina Hungría, President of ADE-INTEC, and  Manuel Colomé, Outstanding Graduate recognized in a previous edition.

PED 2025 Award Winners

From the Health Sciences Area, Dr. Elianny Aimee Lantigua Guichardo (Medicine, 2018) and Abel Antonio Cassó Domínguez (Medicine, 2010) were awarded.

Lantigua Guichardo, a pediatrician who graduated from INTEC, became the first Dominican to join the Department of Pediatrics at Yale in more than one hundred years and directs the Global Health Initiatives in the Dominican Republic for that institution.

She studied medicine thanks to an excellence scholarship from the Central Bank, and distinguished herself from her university years as a student leader and founder of AMSA-INTEC. After graduating, she created Health Come True FoundationDedicated to providing healthcare and education to vulnerable communities, she has received numerous awards, including the Bayer Ve+Allá Award and the Marjorie Rosenthal Award, and has championed diversity and inclusion initiatives during her residency at Yale.

Dr. Cassó Domínguez, an interventional cardiologist and Summa Cum Laude graduate of INTEC, is today an international leader in structural cardiology. He trained at Mount Sinai, where he was Chief Resident and then Chief Fellow, with advanced training at Harvard and NYU. Since 2022, he has directed the Structural Cardiology Program at Mount Sinai Morningside and is Associate Program Director of the General Cardiology Fellowship.

From the Social Sciences and Humanities Area, Yamaya Sosa Machado (Psychology, 1998) and Raquel Ovalle Romero (Psychology, 2004) received the PED 2025.

Sosa Machado is the director of the Department of Postgraduate and Extended Education at Minnesota State Moorhead. Previously, she served as an advisor at the Permanent Mission of the Dominican Republic to the OAS, where she advanced the national agenda for access to higher education scholarships.

She has received numerous awards, including a Fulbright scholarship, Supervisor of the Year at Minnesota State University, and top marks for faculty engagement and inclusive teaching. She has published neuroscience research in high-impact journals and presented at conferences in the United States and Europe.

Ovalle Romero graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from INTEC and holds a Master's degree in Systemic Intervention and Family Therapy through an agreement with the Catholic University of Louvain. With over twenty years of experience, she has led projects in education, public health, violence prevention, migration, and gender in Latin America and the Caribbean, managing more than two hundred and fifty million dollars in international cooperation through USAID, the CDC, and PAHO.

From the Economics and Business Area, the award winner is Shirley Jesaira Santana Herrera (Economics, 2021), a graduate of the Bachelor of Economics program, a career she pursued with a scholarship from the INTEC Program with Outstanding Students (PIES).  She graduated with honors from a Master's degree in Governance, Development, and Public Policy at the University of Sussex thanks to a Chevening Scholarship from the UK. Forbes included her on its list 30 Under 30 Latin America, being the first Dominican to appear in that ranking.

In 2022, she founded Excelsior Academy, a social enterprise that has supported more than 3,000 young people through scholarship programs valued at over $250,000. She has worked as a consultant for UNFPA and the Ministry of Economy and has been selected by McKinsey & Company and Google for professional acceleration programs.

From the Engineering Area, Dr. Miguel Aybar (Electrical Engineering, 2006) and Dr. Bernardo Castellanos (Civil Engineering, 2007) were recognized. Dr. Aybar has over twenty years of contributions to the Dominican and regional energy sector. A graduate of INTEC, where he completed two master's degrees and a doctorate in energy management, he has combined his academic work as a professor and researcher with a solid professional career in institutions such as Siemens, SENASA, and projects funded by the IDB and CDEEE.

As an independent consultant, he promotes innovative and energy-efficient solutions and has led studies on microgrids, decarbonization, and community energy resilience. With over 40 international publications, he is a leading figure in the development of sustainable energy solutions for the region.

Castellanos is a civil engineer specializing in geotechnical engineering and a Magna Cum Laude graduate of INTEC. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering and an MBA from Virginia Tech, as well as a master's degree from Utah State University. He currently serves as Assistant Research Professor and Operations Manager at the Virginia Tech Geotechnical Research Laboratory, one of the largest in the world.

He has worked at CH2M HILL and EPSA-LABCO in the Dominican Republic, with experience in deep foundations and infrastructure design. His research focuses on soil shear strength, slope stabilization, and practical methodologies, with over 20 technical publications. He was part of the team that updated the U.S. Navy's Soil Mechanics Manual, now UFC 3-220-10, a global reference.

Giving Day Bee Part

During the event, Rector Ortega called on the entire audience to become recurring donors to INTEC and participate in the Giving Day Bee PartThis Friday, November 21, 2025, a day of solidarity and social commitment invites the university community, alumni, strategic partners, and Dominican society to unite in support of the PIES Scholarship Fund, created so that talented young people with limited resources can access a quality higher education.