FAU to Celebrate Fall 2019 Commencement
Boca Raton, FL – Florida Atlantic University will confer more than 2,600 degrees on Thursday, Dec. 12 and Friday, Dec. 13 during five commencement ceremonies held in the Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium, FAU’s Student Union, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus.
The ceremonies are scheduled for 9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m. on Thursday, and 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday. These students will join more than 175,100 alumni who have graduated from FAU since the University opened its doors in 1964.
FAU President John Kelly will present Carly Asher Yoost, ‘09, founder and chief executive officer of Child Rescue Coalition, with the President’s Distinguished Service Medallion on Friday at 9 a.m. Child Rescue Coalition is a partnership of child exploitation investigators, police officers, digital forensic experts, prosecutors, child welfare agencies, and corporate and private philanthropy.
This fall’s commencement also includes two interesting graduate profiles.
For more information about FAU’s commencement ceremonies, contact Brittany Sylvestri at 561-297-2676 or bsulli15@fau.edu.
Fall 2019 Commencement Profile
+ Jessica Baran
Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Behavior
FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
At just 18 years old, Jessica Baran is the first person in her family to be born in the United States and will be the first to earn a college degree. These two major milestones will be celebrated as she walks across the stage on Friday, Dec. 12 at 5 p.m. to receive a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and behavior with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
Baran’s parents emigrated from Poland more than 30 years ago to pursue the American dream, along the way overcoming challenges and making sacrifices in order to ensure that their daughter could successfully attend college.
“I made sure not to waste the opportunity my parents provided for me by working relentlessly and performing my best,” said Baran.
Baran graduated from FAU High School and was named valedictorian of her class just seven months ago from FAU’s University Honors Program, a program designed to provide students with exceptional and rewarding learning opportunities through special honors courses.
Unlike most 18 year olds, Baran will be of one of the first students to graduate from the Max Planck Honors Program through the Max Planck Institute at FAU – the only place of its kind in the country. The program provides select honors students with exclusive enrichment opportunities, including courses taught or co-taught with Max Planck Society scientists.
Baran’s research focuses on the effects of a dopamine agonist on cued feared memory, something she one day hopes will lead to breakthroughs in Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases.
“Jessica is a remarkable student on a number of levels,” said Robert W. Stackman, Jr., Ph.D., dean of FAU’s graduate college and FAU psychology professor. “She arrived in my lab with an exquisite array of skills she received at FAU High School, which enabled her to quickly transition into an independent research program. She quickly reached a level of performance in the lab akin to that of a high performing graduate student.”
In Baran’s spare time when she is not volunteering in the emergency room at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, she enjoys painting and needlepointing. She is also the president of FAU’s Blood Pressure Screening Association, an organization that provides free blood pressure screenings to underserved communities in South Florida.
For Baran, the dedication and drive she has to fulfill her aspirational goals is endless. Next on her list is to become the first person in her family to attend medical school and become a doctor.
“I believe that anything is attainable for anyone, if one is willing to seize their chances and work hard in everything they are given,” said Baran. “I know my journey doesn’t end here, this is just the starting point for a much bigger dream, and I can’t wait for what’s next.”
+ Carlos Leon
Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science
For Carlos Leon, life has been filled with the unexpected. From serving for the military in Iraq to a traumatic accident that left him quadriplegic, he has faced adversity time after time and powered through these major challenges only to meet success. That drive will carry him across the stage on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 1 p.m., when he will receive his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
Leon, 35, signed up for the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from Coconut Creek High School. A parachute rigger in the third radio battalion, he was responsible for packing and maintaining personal parachutes and jumping out of military planes. His service brought him to Iraq in 2004, where he served for one year in the radio reconnaissance platoon.
After returning home in May 2005, his journey took him to his next station in Hawaii. It was then the unthinkable happened. On June 18, 2005, a traumatic swimming accident in the ocean left Leon paralyzed from the neck down. Diagnosed with quadriplegia, doctors told him he would never walk again.
This life altering incident did not hinder Leon’s motivation. Just one year after his accident, Leon attended a sports summit in 2006 hosted by the U.S. Department of Defense in San Diego, where he decided he wanted to compete in the Paralympic Games one day. He immediately started training relentlessly, rebuilding his strength and working to regain movement in his arms in order to compete. His dedication paid off, even enabling him the ability to walk short distances.
“If something is easy, I don’t want to do it,” said Leon. “I want to do things that challenge me. All decisions in life come down to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. People become paralyzed by that question and their current situation. For me, I said ‘yes, I want to try.’”
Leon achieved his goal in the summer of 2007, competing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in track and field at the Parapan American Games where he won a silver medal in discus and a bronze medal in shot put. He went on to compete in his first Paralympics in 2008 in Beijing, China, in shot put and also competed in the 2011 Parapan American Games in Mexico.
Leon received the highest honor when he was asked to attend the 2012 Paralympics in London as the USA athlete ambassador. He met dignitaries from all over the world – an experience he says he will never forget.
After retiring from a successful athletic career, Leon set his sights on a major educational goal. He found his next challenge at FAU in spring 2017 after earning an associate degree at Palm Beach State College, where he also fulfilled the role of president of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society.
“When I first came to FAU I was intimidated. I never wanted to be treated differently because I was in a wheelchair or had a physical disability,” said Leon. “From the moment I stepped on campus no one ever treated me differently. If anything my professors pushed me further and helped me achieve more. They fully accepted me for who I am.”
Following graduation, Leon’s dream is to work for Disney World as an engineer with the ultimate goal of making people happy.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
