People

Palm Beach State College alumnus Travis Dietz, the senior service delivery analyst at The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, gave the commencement address at PBSC President Ava. L. Parker’s first graduation ceremony when he graduated in 2016.

At the time, he was the vice president of Phi Theta Kappa, earned the Honors College Gold Track distinction and served as the Honors College Student Advisory president. Dietz went on to the University of Florida, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

But Dietz’s educational journey started with challenges, as he was a student who had a hard time sitting still, focusing and making friends. He questioned this, worried why this was happening to him and why he had to be different.

By the time he was a senior at Seminole Ridge High School, Dietz found himself in AP psychology class. “The unit on mental illness and learning disabilities was like reading about myself,” Dietz recalls.

With treatment, Dietz was, as he says, “brand new.” He came to love learning, going from an average student to a high achiever who earned the Green and Gold Scholarship to Palm Beach State. “I became a machine, earning every scholarship I could and working two jobs, and it was then that I learned a tremendous lesson: think about the future value of your current decisions.”

Dietz questioned himself, his choices and his own mental state, enduring all these as he says. Needing to retake certain finance classes at the University of Florida, he found himself struggling, trying to live on little funds yet with lots of grit, something he discovered during this challenging time.

“The way we frame things in life is extremely important. Look at life through a lens that sees adversity as an opportunity to grow. Change is constant but growth is optional.”

Shifting his major to Information Systems, Dietz found his niche, eventually pursuing his master’s degree. Serving as the president for information systems, he grew the organization tremendously, referring to himself as a “servant leader.” Dietz then landed a position with a well-known financial tech company, reminding himself that failing business finance was the best thing that could have happened. Hope, perseverance and grit have driven Dietz, a message he shares with others.

Today, Dietz and fellow PBSC alumnus and close friend Nick Buompadre are paying forward with their own scholarship for PBSC students. Scholarships forged a path for both of them, making PBSC’s Honors College possible. The Dietz-Briolini Grit Scholarship for Honors College students is bringing recipients of the scholarship hope through the opportunity of higher education.

In recognition of Palm Beach State College’s 90th anniversary, the weekly Alumni Spotlight Series showcases the College’s role in preparing generations of graduates to achieve success in myriad careers and give back to their local communities.