NYIT Old Westbury campus 2012 commencement

3,325, with 54 percent earning undergraduate degrees and 46 percent earning graduate, medical, professional or postgraduate degrees

"We are the ones who will shape the world for the coming generations, because we are the catalysts of the future," James Marsanico, 22, of Whitestone, Queens, told fellow graduates. "But we didn't get here alone," he said, thanking parents, faculty and friends. Marsanico received a bachelor's degree in electrical and computer engineering and will pursue a master's degree at Carnegie Mellon University.

NYIT president Edward Guiliano, PhD, emphasized the importance of collaboration in fostering innovation. "Nothing happens in a vacuum. Nobody, but nobody, does it alone. . . . Good ideas are far more likely to emerge gradually over time as part of a slow and cumulative process. And that process most often takes place in environments that promote collaboration."

Students' reactions

"I'm going to work to get real-life experience and then go to graduate school. I want to keep moving forward," said Pineda, of Yonkers, who is to intern with Nassau County's public works department.

He lauds "the interaction with professors" at NYIT, where he will return this fall to study for a master's in computer science. "You go from high school to college expecting not to have interaction in these big classes, but it's very hands-on."

She heads next to a residency in Albany, where she hails from. "I'll miss my friends, because they made me who I am."

"I'm already working in the field that I went to school for," said Briones, of Jersey City, a research analyst for Warner Bros. "All the cards worked in my favor. I was at the right place at the right time."

The Nanjing, China, native attended an international workshop with NYIT last March in Portugal. "It was 10 teams from different nations."

"It took a lot of hard work and wanting," he said of the dedication leading him to graduation. He next plans to seek a master's degree in information, network and computer security from NYIT.