May 2017 in photos: Yoga turtle, commencement, study abroad


By Joel Delgado ’12, MS ’17

May marks the beginning of summer at FIU. We celebrated with the thousands of students who graduated during our Spring 2017 Commencement ceremonies and sent off hundreds of students to study abroad in exotic locations all over the globe. And for those who are still on campus, you may have even caught a glimpse of a turtle who seems to be taking up yoga as a hobby!

Before we head into June, enjoy some of our favorite images and moments from the past month, all captured by FIU photographers.


Meet our new yoga instructor. Whoever said yoga was just for humans? Photo by Eduardo Merille

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All smiles! During 11 commencement ceremonies over the course of five days, 5,099 students became FIU alumni this Spring. Photo by Carl-Frederick Francois

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The FIU Bike Shop partnered with the Office of Global Learning Initiatives and the Wellness and Recreation Center – MMC to form the Bikes for Refugees program, which takes donated bikes and gives them to refugees. Photo by Ben Guzman 

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Naye Campillo is studying abroad in the Cultural Communications in Thailand program, which offers students the opportunity to visit three distinct regions in Thailand. Photo by Erika Arribas

Gabriella Mutti is spending the summer in beautiful Granada, Spain, where she’s participating in the Communications + Media in Spain program.

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Batter up! Senior outfielder Kenny Meimerstorf steps up to the batter’s box during FIU baseball‘s final home series of the 2017 season against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers May 18. Photo by Maria Roman

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Graduate student John Cibotti is a participant in an FIU study assessing the dangers and impact hookah tobacco has on smokers. The research is being conducted in the first clinical research laboratory for tobacco smoking in South Florida. The Department of Epidemiology at FIU’s Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work recently unveiled the lab. Photo by Ben Guzman

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Paolo Benigni is part of the research team at FIU’s Center for Aquatic Chemistry and Environment that developed a new tool to assess oil spill damage. Photo by Carl-Frederick Francois

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Starting a business can get messy. Participants learned that and much more at Startup Weekend Education 2017, a three-day event at FIU’s Tech Station in PG-6 that allowed them to design solutions, tools and learning spaces to address education’s most pressing issues and turn an idea into a startup in just 54 hours. Photo by Ben Guzman

Participant and attorney Leo Sutkin jots down notes at Startup Weekend Education 2017. Photo by Ben Guzman

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A big deal in a small vial: A postage stamp-size piece of cotton cloth to which a chemical coating has been applied represents the next generation in chemical testing. The patented invention by FIU Provost and Executive Vice President Kenneth G. Furton and Abuzar Kabir of the chemistry department makes sample preparation faster, cheaper and more environmentally friendly. It will be featured at eMerge Americas and in the upcoming issue of FIU MagazinePhoto by Doug Garland


To view more of our favorite FIU images, visit our “Month in Photos” series page