Meet the Class of 2025 Speaker and Singer

Students, families, and friends, along with faculty and staff, will gather on the Long Island campus on Sunday, May 18, to celebrate New York Tech’s 64th Commencement. As is tradition, graduating students will deliver a speech and sing the national anthem.

Ryan Ahmed, a candidate to receive his B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies, and Raquel Ibarra, a candidate to receive her B.S. in Architectural Technology, will serve as the commencement speaker and singer, respectively. They will also assist in hooding the honorary degree recipients.

“I couldn’t have dreamed of the extensive assistance and support I’ve received from New York Tech staff and partners,” says Ahmed, an entrepreneur who founded a technology startup company, Niura, while in high school and has taken it to the next level during his time at the university.

As profiled in a recent story in New York Institute of Technology Magazine, after witnessing his father’s suffering from brain aneurysm recovery, Ahmed developed earbuds that can detect brainwaves and provide information on brain health. With silicone tip electrodes and rechargeable batteries that detect the brain’s electric signals, the earbuds interface seamlessly with the accompanying app.

Ahmed tested and refined his prototypes through the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC). With help from the New York Tech Business Incubator, he investigated opportunities for his company to grow.

After deciding to put Niura’s ability to prescreen medical issues on the backburner—expenses and Food and Drug Administration approvals abound—Ahmed has shifted to developing the earbuds for an entertaining general wellness app that solves users’ loss of focus. He’s been successful at competitions and securing venture capital but states he couldn’t have done any of it without the university’s help. “New York Tech is helping me make my dream a reality,” he says.

Read the magazine story.

Raising Her Voice

Ibarra dreams of becoming a production designer, bringing to life the sets and visuals that shape the film and television worlds. “The idea of building entire environments that not only support the story but become part of it, that live on in people’s imaginations, is incredibly exciting,” she muses.

She started her journey at New York Tech as a shy young adult. However, after getting involved with the Student Government Association and Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha sorority, Ibarra found her voice and discovered “how to use it to uplift and advocate for others.”

At commencement, she will use her voice to sing the national anthem—a nerve-wracking opportunity, but she is excited to rise to the occasion. Ibarra sang the national anthem at multiple sporting events during high school but has never performed for a crowd this large. Still, she is honored and grateful to have been selected.

Looking back on her time at the university, Ibarra remembers a standout moment—visiting the global architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group—the designer of The Spiral located in New York City—with her classmates. An “educational and eye-opening” experience, the day offered Ibarra a behind-the-scenes look at the collaboration it takes to bring skyscraper designs to life.

“When I chose to come to New York Tech for my higher education, I knew this was a place where I could build meaningful connections and take important steps toward my future,” she says. “This university is a wonderful place to go through the growing pains of young adulthood, and it’s a place of acceptance on all fronts.”

After graduating, she looks forward to studying for the Architect Registration Exam and earning her architect license in New York. But above all, she intends to keep believing in herself. “Your best is perfect,” she says. “Comparison is the thief of joy and creativity.”