At this year’s May 20 ceremonies, the more than 2,400 participating Business Titan graduates will hear from two of their fellow grads. Accounting and finance undergrad Tiffany Vo will address the morning gathering, while MBA-organizational leadership graduate Anthony Gomez will speak at the evening event.  

Tiffany Vo: A Second-Generation Titan Exhorts Us All to Follow Through 

A second-generation Vietnamese and Chinese American, Tiffany Vo ’25 is also a second-generation business Titan, as her mother earned her business degree at Cal State Fullerton in 1995. Looking at her accomplishment, Tiffany Vo recognizes that the supportive faculty and programs of the College of Business and Economics combined with her parents’ loving guidance and input were crucial.  

“It is because of the academic rigor facilitated by top-notch professors, the supportive programs that have forever changed the trajectory of my career, and the beautiful and welcoming culture created by you, the students, that I have been able to find fulfillment and success at Cal State Fullerton,” she says. “However, this success is not mine alone. I believe my success is a testament to my parents’ sacrifice. It’s an echo of my parents’ courage, of two people who left behind everything in Vietnam and risked their lives to build one full of security and opportunity for my sister and myself. Their sacrifice, their resilience, and their belief in something better are what got me here today. This degree is as much theirs as it is mine. Cảm ơn Ba Mẹ vì tất cả. English translation: ‘Thank you, mom and dad for everything.’” 

During her journey at Cal State Fullerton, Vo served as president of the CSUF chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, multiple leadership roles with Business Honors, and two summer internships with Big Four accounting firm KPMG.  

Whether learning how to kick a soccer ball for the first time as a little girl or mastering a new piano piece, Vo recalls that her parents always encouraged her to follow through. It’s an admonition she has come to understand in a new light as a Titan.  

“I used to think ‘follow through’ just meant finishing what you started. But over time, I realized it’s not just about completion, it’s about commitment,” she explains. “Commitment to yourself, to your work, and to your community. It’s about showing up when life gets hard, staying focused when things fall apart, and pushing forward through the uncertainty. The universe will hand us detours. We will make mistakes, we will fail, it’s inevitable. And that’s not a tragedy, it’s just a part of our journey. What matters is how we respond and how we follow through. Because failure paves the way to success.” 

Anthony Gomez: Living Out the Titan Vision 

Like many Business Titans, Anthony Gomez is celebrating his second business graduation at Cal State Fullerton. In 2019, he earned his business administration undergraduate degree. This month, he is celebrating his MBA achievement.  

Along the way, Gomez has held a number of management and marketing roles at Irvine companies, including adQuadrant and Metric Theory. Today, he is a project manager at Wpromote, an El Segundo-based digital marketing agency. And on campus, he has been involved in entrepreneurship fraternity Sigma Upsilon Mu and Gamma Iota Sigma, helping both organizations expand their membership and better serve students for professional development. He was also coach for CSUF Archers, the on-campus archery team.  

Gomez summarizes the incredible impact that college life at Cal State Fullerton provides. “Our school has instilled a vision into every student. To become transformational leaders in an ever-changing digital world. We were taught theories, embraced creativity, learned collaboration, and fostered critical thinking. These aren’t just words in our mission statement, but the foundation of the impact we will have on future learners,” he says.  

For More on Commencement and Speakers 

For more on commencement 2025, visit the university’s commencement website. 

To read more of our articles about student commencement speakers for each year since 2015, read more of our commencement speaker articles.