INTEC calls on graduates to lead a culture of foresight and risk management.

SANTO DOMINGO. - The Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) graduated 911 professionals this Saturday at the undergraduate and graduate levels during its seventieth graduation ceremony. The ceremony encouraged the graduates to imprint the INTEC seal of ethical commitment on their professional practice, making them part of a larger movement toward changing practices and a culture of foresight, timely risk management, and compliance with associated responsibilities.

Acting Rector Alliet Ortega delivered the graduation welcome address on behalf of Rector Julio Sánchez Maríñez. She expressed the university's condolences over the Jet Set tragedy, which claimed the lives of 232 people, including students, alumni, and university associates.

The Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance also warned that "unless we fully address the culture of foresight, the ceilings will continue to fall, and we will continue to have tragedies."

INTEC's 70th Graduation Ceremony

During the ceremony, 37 scholarship recipients of the INTEC Program with Outstanding Students (PIES) received their degrees, of which 35 achieved academic honors, twenty-five (25) Summa Cum Laude; eight (8) Magna Cum Laude and two (2) Cum Laude.

The young people, born in Venezuela, the United States, and within the country in Santo Domingo, La Romana, La Vega, Bani, Santiago, Monte Plata, Bonao, and Haina, received scholarships sponsored by the Timeart Foundation, the Lennox company, a PIES graduate who chose to remain anonymous, and Mr. Eduardo Cruz.

The INTEC Outstanding Students (PIES) scholarship program is a pioneering initiative launched by the university in 1987 that has benefited more than three thousand outstanding young people from high schools and colleges in different provinces across the country.

Freddy Ginebra, guest speaker

Prominent cultural manager Freddy Ginebra was the guest speaker at the ceremony. During his address, he told the graduating class that the education they received at INTEC goes far beyond the classroom. “It's a way of looking at the world with a critical eye, it's a work ethic, it's a vision of the future, and, above all, it's a commitment to yourselves, to your country, and to a world that desperately needs good people, courageous people, and people with a purpose.”

He also said that the country not only needs brilliant professionals, but also committed, caring, and willing human beings to make a difference. "Be the leaders this country needs, be the spark of change in your communities. Never underestimate the power of your voice, your influence, your ability to transform the reality in which you live," emphasized the founder of Casa de Teatro and Honorary Professor at INTEC, who urged young people to make the Dominican Republic a more just place and not wait for someone else to do it for them.

Higher rates

For the first time in INTEC's history, three graduates gave the commencement speech together: Alejandro Paulino (PIES scholarship recipient), Allen Silverio (Pazzis), and Huan Hao Wu (Huan Hao Wu), who graduated as software engineers and earned the highest score of 4 points for their overall degree.

In a speech filled with longing, gratitude, and a vision for the future, Pazzis Paulino thanked his parents, as well as those of his two classmates and the rest of the graduating class for their constant support and the driving force that drove them to achieve their goal. He also thanked the university's faculty and staff "for providing us with an excellent education, for opening our minds to new ideas, and for preparing us to face the challenges of the present and those yet to come."

Meanwhile, Huan Hao Wu acknowledged all the lessons learned during his academic career at INTEC. “Here we learned that excellence is a daily experience. That knowledge is built, and that innovation is more than just a word: it is the principle that guides everything we do here.”

Wu said each of the graduates has their own stories of struggle, perseverance, late mornings, and restless days. “Stories that don't appear on report cards, but are etched in each person's memory and heart.”

Meanwhile, Allen Silverio asserted that college graduation isn't just about closing one stage, but also awakening to a new one. "A stage in which each of us has the opportunity and also the responsibility to use what we've learned to create a more conscious, more just, and more vibrant society."

The graduating class was sworn in by Emilie Soriano Lara, a graduate of the Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and Financial Analytics, who also earned a 4-point average.

Graduation Statistics

Of the 911 new INTEC professionals, 583 (64.07%) are undergraduates and 327 (35.93%) are postgraduate. Furthermore, 527 (57,91%) are women, while 383 (42.09%) are men.

Of the total number of graduates, 299 completed their academic programs with honors. Of that total, 154 earned Summa Cum Laude, 91 Magna Cum Laude, and 54 Cum Laude.

Based on the majors and master's programs completed, 26.92% of graduates are in Engineering; 25.49% in Health Sciences; 21.76% in Economics and Business; 20% in Social Sciences and Humanities; and 5.82% in Basic and Environmental Sciences.

Diversity of origins

The graduating class comes from 65 locations in the interior of the country and a total of 13 countries abroad.

Nationwide, the graduating class is from Santiago, Bonao, Santo Domingo, San Cristobal, La Romana, Santiago, La Vega, Barahona, Higuey, Duverge, San Francisco de Macoris, Los Llanos, Bani, Azua, Nagua, San Juan de la Maguana, Mao, Tamboril, Las Matas de Farfan, Cabral, Hato Mayor, Monte Plata, Moca, Gaspar Hernandez, Cotui, San Ignacio de Sabaneta, Samana, El Cercado, Fantino, Jarabacoa, Villa Gonzalez, Dajabon, Cabrera, San Jose de Ocoa, Tenares, Puerto Plata, Constanza, Villa Isabela, Paraiso, Pedro Santana, Villa Altagracia, Comendador, Esperanza, Arenoso, Maimon, Padre Las Casas, Haina, Vallejuelo, Sabana Grande de Boya, Castillo, Montecristi, Yamasa, Yaguate, Cambita Garabito, Altamira, Luperon, Villa Tapia, Imbert, San Jose de los Llanos, Pimentel, El Cercado, Salcedo, Juan de Herrera, The Cave, Pedernales, Jimani.

Likewise, those born in Argentina, the United States, Puerto Rico, Ukraine, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Great Britain, China, and Paraguay received their professional degrees.

At this graduation ceremony, seven members of the Apollo 27 team representing the country and the university in NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge competition received their degrees. Additionally, a total of 17 employees of the Ministry of Public Administration (MAP) received their master's degrees in Quality and Productivity Management, a postgraduate program offered by the Department of Economics and Business. A posthumous degree was also awarded to graduate Aida Nicole Reyes Gómez, who died after being struck by a car on Winston Churchill Avenue on February 26. She had completed a bachelor's degree in Marketing and Digital Business with summa cum laude honors.