Congratulations Fall 2020 Graduates

Please join us in congratulating 127 of our international students who are graduating from Florida State University this fall, of whom 49 earned bachelor's degrees, 40 earned master's degrees, and 38 earned doctoral degrees.

International students make significant contributions to FSU by sharing their unique perspectives in and out of the classroom; striving for academic excellence as students, graduate assistants, and teaching assistants; and contributing to FSU's ranking as a top 20 public university. We would like to thank our international students for being a part of our CGE's family. Your presence here will be missed, and our staff wishes each of you the best as you go on to bigger and brighter adventures in your future career.

We are pleased to share information about some of our outstanding graduating students this semester in this article.
 

Idris Demirsoy
International Student from Turkey
Ph.D. in Statistics

Idris Demirsoy, international student from Turkey, earned his doctorate in statistics this fall. His primary research focused on estimating the intensity of point processes on linear networks. He won a competitive scholarship from the Turkish government to study in the U.S. In 2017, Idris earned a master’s degree in biostatistics from FSU. During his time at FSU, he was nominated for the best teaching assistant award twice and received an award from his department last fall for his excellence in teaching and dedication to student success. He has enhanced student life at FSU through his leadership in multiple ways. He served as a representative for the College of Art & Sciences with the Congress of Graduate Students, served as president of the Turkish Student Organization for two years, and contributed to many of the CGE’s intercultural programs and initiatives.

“After graduation I look forward to practicing the skills I have developed during my time at FSU,” Demirsoy said. “The ultimate plan is to go back to Turkey to teach in a university. I love teaching and according to my previous students, I am good at it. Furthermore, I was fortunate to work for two amazing pharmaceutical companies as an intern over the last two summers. After graduation, I want to gain experience in an industry job as a full-time employee so I can not only practice the knowledge I’ve gained but also can fully guide my future students about what is waiting for them outside. I’m proud of the work I’ve done here at FSU, and I am thankful to people who have helped me out and supported me in this journey.”

Christian Wireko
International Student from Ghana
Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering

"Hello everybody, my name is Christian and I’m originally from Ghana in West Africa, and I joined Florida State University to study my Ph.D. in Civil Engineering in the fall of 2017, and I’m graduating this year, fall 2020.

My experience at Tallahassee, at Florida State University a campus sunrise is where it all started, that’s the first day I arrived at Tallahassee airport. I arrived in the middle of the night at 1 or 2 a.m. and my friend picked me up from the airport. To be frank with you, I was quite disappointed in how small the city was given that it’s the capital of Florida but I found myself here. Because I lived in a big city in China and also I lived in a fairly bigger city when I was in Ghana, I’m a big city guy so I was kind of disappointed this place was really small.

But that all changed when my friend told me about International Coffee Hour the same afternoon of the day that I arrived here. And he told me ‘Christian, I have seen your personality and I think you are going to love this event.’ So during my first day in Tallahassee, I decided to attend International Coffee Hour, and boy, was he right! I fell in love with the event and the rest, they say, is history. Apart from my academic training during my doctoral study here at Florida State University, I think I’ve grown and learned so much because of the opportunity the CGE offered through International Coffee Hour. I got the chance to interact and make friends with wonderful and intelligent people from all walks of life, and I have had the chance to have really insightful conversations that have really made me a better human. So I would say I’m very grateful to the staff of the CGE for making International Coffee Hour possible. It made my study here at FSU really memorable.

And also to all graduating students at FSU, I would like to take this opportunity to say congratulations for staying strong. It has been a very difficult time for everyone, and I’m glad that together we’ve all made it through.

All the best, stay strong, and stay safe. Go Noles!"

Jesper Aaberg
International Student from Sweden
Bachelor's Degree in Business Management

"Hi everyone, my name is Jesper Aaberg – not Jasper, not Casper, nor Jesse – it’s yes sir with a B, ‘yesber’. I am from Sweden and I’m studying business management here at FSU.

I usually refer to my stay here in the U.S. as my great American adventure and what an adventure it has been! I have been traveling around … a lot of the states to experience as much as I can during my years here in America, and it has been a blast. I have enjoyed every single bit of the time spent here and I am truly grateful for being a guest here in your great country and experiencing your interesting culture.

Especially the time here at FSU has been quite spectacular indeed. My experience at FSU began positively with lovely professors and friendly students who made the transition quite enjoyable. It then came to an abrupt and tragic end amidst the coronavirus crisis in the spring of 2020, which forced me to go home to Sweden instead of staying in the U.S. However, I found a wonderful girl in Sweden during my time there this summer, so my post-graduation plans consist of finding a suitable job in Sweden and settling down with my girlfriend.

That being said, I would like to say thank you and good night, or tack för tiden god natt as we would say in Swedish. Thank you and bye!"

Mike Destin
International Student from St. Maarten
Bachelor's Degree in Theater

“Before I knew what the state of Florida was, I knew I wanted to attend Florida State University,” said Mike Destin, from St. Maarten graduating with his bachelor’s degree in theater. “At that time it was in the top 15 best acting schools in the world.”

Destin shared that at first it was challenging to make the transition into the program and life at FSU, as his cohort had shared experiences and were classmates in high school. But his friendly disposition and tenacity helped him break through and make friends with students, faculty and mentors, and ultimately helped him find his best friend and fiancée.

“After graduation I have plans to get married and move to California where I’ll continue my acting and writing career,” Destin said. “Being a Seminole changed my life. As a first-generation graduate, I hope the rest of my family follow my steps to a better life. Go Noles!”

Angel Wang
International Student from Panama
Bachelor's Degree in Management Information Systems

Angel Wang, international student from Panama majoring in Management Information Systems and minoring in Business Analytics, expressed bittersweet feelings about graduating this fall in the midst of the global pandemic. "As the semester is coming to an end, I'm starting to feel both, happiness and sadness," Wang said. "Studying at FSU has been the best experience I could have ever chosen, and I'm sad that I could only enjoy so little of it. Being part of the FSU family has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and I will forever be grateful. Go, Noles!"