The latest graduates of Florida State University’s Republic of Panama campus were urged to meet a rapidly changing world with resilience, clarity and unwavering hope during a commencement ceremony Dec. 3 at the City of Knowledge Convention Center in Panama City, Panama.
FSU Panama awarded 11 degrees during the ceremony, which was slightly smaller than the tri-annual pomp and circumstance that takes place on FSU’s main campus, where 2,982 students graduated this fall.
Rector Carlos Langoni presided over the ceremony, accompanied by vice rectors, members of the FSU Panama Board of Directors and faculty members. Suvranu De, dean of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, delivered the keynote speech to FSU Panama’s Class of 2025.
Born and raised in India, De has three degrees in mechanical engineering and has served as dean of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering since 2022. Prior to joining FSU, he served as a distinguished professor of engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, the country’s oldest technological research university.
In his remarks, De reflected on the transformative impact of past innovations and outlined how emerging technologies could shape the next half century.
“The world you enter is changing quickly, but your education has prepared you to meet complexity with insight and resilience,” he said.
De also emphasized that as technological change accelerates, graduates’ humanity and the support systems that helped them reach this milestone will remain essential anchors.
“In an era of constant transformation, it is the strength of your character and the support of those who guided you that will steady your course,” he said.
FSU has operated a campus in the Republic of Panama since 1957, when it was contracted by the U.S. government to establish an education center in the former Panama Canal Zone. The campus falls under the purview of FSU’s International Programs, which provides quality international learning environments and opportunities for students.
Louisa Blenman, who was recently appointed executive director of International Programs, also attended the ceremony. In her remarks, Blenman reaffirmed FSU’s strong ties to the country, noting that FSU has more Panamanian alumni than any other U.S. university.
“There’s significant interest across the university to explore ways that we can better serve this beautiful country while expanding our presence here through teaching, research and community-based projects,” said Blenman, who also serves as president of the FSU Panama Board of Directors.
The ceremony underscored FSU’s longstanding commitment to global education, with FSU Panama’s campus community comprising students from more than 30 countries and six nations represented among the graduates participating in this year’s commencement.
“These graduates today are joining the select group of individuals who have earned an FSU degree,” Langoni said.
Ana Cristina Domingos Rodríguez, valedictorian of the FSU Panama Class of 2025, also shared remarks with graduates and guests. Reflecting on her own academic journey, she urged fellow graduates to take inspiration from the resilience of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and to meet their own challenges with courage, gratitude and unwavering hope.
“If we can learn something about the Seminoles, it is to never lose hope during the difficult times, and most definitely to never stop fighting,” Domingos Rodríguez said.
Many students from FSU Panama participate in commencement ceremonies in Tallahassee as recipients of the 2+2 scholarship, which allows them to complete up to two years of undergraduate studies at the Tallahassee campus while paying in-state tuition.
FSU Panama also offers four undergraduate degree programs (computer science, international affairs, interdisciplinary social science, and environment and society) and a master’s degree program in international affairs. A commencement ceremony is held each year in December to celebrate those graduates.
While some of these graduates may have never set foot in Tallahassee, they are now members of the FSU Alumni Association and part of the larger FSU family.
“Your judgment, your integrity, your curiosity and your ability to be flexible and adaptable — those will be your anchors,” De said.
The graduates, along with their awarded degrees, are:
Laura Angélica Nouvet Arauz, Master of Science in International Affairs
José Daniel Blanco Del Río, Bachelor of Science in International Affairs
Lucía Patricia Dillon Correa, Bachelor of Science in International Affairs
Ana Cristina Domingos Rodríguez, Bachelor of Science in International Affairs
María Paula Gutiérrez González, Bachelor of Science in International Affairs
Clara Honoré, Bachelor of Science in International Affairs
Luis Enrique Mata Rivas, Bachelor of Science in International Affairs
D’Andre Knight, Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science
Isaías Josué Quintero Argeñal, Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science
Hussein Farhat, Bachelor of Arts in Computer Programming and Applications
Stefano Buglione, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
For more information about FSU Panama, visit panama.fsu.edu. To learn more about International Programs, visit international.fsu.edu.