Global Citizenship Certificate Celebrates 44 Spring 2026 Graduates

As employers increasingly seek candidates with intercultural competencies and global perspectives, Florida State University’s Global Citizenship Certificate (GCC) is helping students develop the skills and experiences needed to thrive. This past spring, 44 students completed the GCC and were recognized during a ceremony held April 24 in The Globe Auditorium.

“The students we recognize today have done the work of engaging across cultures, of asking difficult questions, and of developing a more informed and thoughtful understanding of the world around them.”, said Bryant Harden, instructional specialist and program director for the GCC, in his remarks at the GCC Spring 2026 graduation.

Student speakers Eryn Files and Lucas Gonzalez also shared reflections on their experiences in the program and the impact it had on their personal and academic development.

Eryn Files is set to graduate this summer, majoring in International Affairs. As part of her GCC Sustained Experience, she volunteered with After They Arrive, an organization that supports immigrants and refugees in the Tallahassee area, reinforcing her commitment to community engagement and global understanding at the local level. Reflecting on her experience, Files shared that “culture became something that is experienced uniquely, regardless of how uniformly we might try to project it. The GCC taught me to view people as living storybooks and approach foreign cultures with curiosity and humility, regardless of how many times I think I’ve come across the same ones.” Throughout her participation in the program, she attended events such as International Coffee Hour, engaged in collaborative international learning experiences, and explored topics related to human rights and global leadership. “Being a global citizen, to me, is to be one who adapts, empathizes, reflects and shares,” she said. “Ultimately, it is to become one who contributes to collective progress through genuine, shared understanding.”

For Lucas Gonzalez, who graduated from FSU in the spring with a degree in International Affairs, the program had a significant impact on his personal and professional development. For his sustained experience, Gonzalez spent 14 weeks in Germany conducting ethnographic research on how Venezuelan immigrants in Berlin maintain their cultural identity while adapting to life in Germany. The project was funded through the Tyler Center for Global Studies Research Award, an IDEA grant specifically for undergraduate student projects being conducted abroad. “One place I kept coming back to was Mauerpark,” Gonzalez said. “The GCC creates something that feels a lot like what I found in that park in Berlin — a space where the whole point is to be present with people you would not have otherwise stopped for.”

Faith Parkinson, the student assistant for the GCC, also earned her certificate during the Spring 2026 GCC Graduation Ceremony. In her closing remarks, she encouraged graduates to continue seeking opportunities for intercultural engagement. “What makes the Global Citizenship Certificate meaningful is that it gently pushes us to show up to something new, to listen a little more closely and to engage with perspectives we might not encounter otherwise,” Parkinson said. “Global citizenship isn’t just a certificate we completed one time at FSU; it’s something we practice for a lifetime.”

Administered by the Center for Global Engagement with academic oversight by the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, the GCC prepares students to succeed in an increasingly interconnected world through globally focused coursework, intercultural engagement and experiential learning. Open to students from a wide range of academic disciplines, the GCC provides opportunities for participants to apply global learning experiences to their personal, academic and professional goals. Since its founding in 2016, the program has grown from a small group of students to more than 300 active participants and more than 350 graduates.

Students are admitted to the GCC on a rolling basis and must attend an information session before enrolling. Information Sessions are held throughout the semester in the GCC Lounge (located on the first floor of The Globe). For more information, visit cge.fsu.edu/global-citizenship-certificate or email the GCC Team at globalcitizen@fsu.edu.

Spring 2026 GCC Graduates are listed by name and major(s):

Brooklyn Abrams, Computer Science

Maryia Amelchanka, International Affairs and Political Science

Daniel Arango, Political Science

Sam Jerrod Austin, Media/Communications Studies and International Affairs

Jordyn Bain, International Affairs and Economics

Niara Akili Becktemba, Japanese Language and Culture

Wyatt Bobbey, Finance and Accounting

Graham Conrad Calhoun, Professional Sales

Jean-Luc Cruz, International Affairs and Political Science

Sabrina Cueva, International Affairs

Kate St. Claire Deviney, Political Science

Flora Domitrovic, History

Eryn Files, International Affairs

Michaela Grace Galligan, Political Science and English

Jada Gaynair, Accounting

Jennifer Gheorghe, International Affairs and Psychology

Lucas Gonzalez, International Affairs

Aaliyah Hattach, Business Management

Jayne Antonica Joseph, Hospitality and Tourism Management

Aishat Lawal, English and Theatre

Amber Losciale, Cyber Criminology

Samantha Macarounis, Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences: Clinical Professions

Natalie McPherran, Psychology

Barbora Melichova, Management Information Systems and Finance

Mackenzie Mendenhall, Criminology

Samantha Montero, Finance

Vivian Natonio, International Affairs and Economics

Elliette Orr, Hospitality and Tourism Management and French

Faith Parkinson, International Affairs and Asian Studies

Mirra Patel, Human Resource Management

Mikayla Robinson, Economics

Faith Rupkalvis, Family Relationships and Human Development

Emma Jane Sag, Behavioral Neuroscience

Shovik Saha, Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Maria Clara Sandoval Durski, International Affairs and Economics

Mary Christine Sawyer, Editing, Writing, and Media and Russian and Eastern European Studies

Anne Caroline Gomes Silva, Psychology

Rocio Belen Sosa, Business Management

Madelyn Marie Stam, Political Science

Ethan Taylor, Commercial Entrepreneurship

Carson Ulgenalp, International Affairs and Chinese Language and Culture

Eloise Usher, Media and Communications

Raven Cecilia Watkins, Art and Anthropology

Howard Todd Willson, Sport Management