Student Profile: Ante Fistonic Pitti

Students from the English Language Center are going on to pursue higher education this fall at universities across the United States. Ante “Niko” Fistonic Pitti, who just finished his third semester at the ELC, will be starting as a first-year undergraduate at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, in August.

Niko plans to major in agricultural business with a possible concentration in food industry management.“My family is dedicated to agriculture back in Panama,” he says. “That’s why I decided to do something related. I have always been involved back home.”

Although Niko was not able to visit LSU due to COVID-19, he is excited to start in the fall and looks forward to getting involved in campus groups and making new friends.“It was very difficult to decide because I applied to many schools,” he says. “I visited some of them, but then I decided I would like to go down south.”

While he prepares for classes this fall, he has also been learning more about the university and different student organizations.“They have one club that I have been reading about for all of the agricultural business majors so maybe I will join that,” he says. “Maybe I will join a fraternity.” 

Niko will be living on campus for at least his first semester, and is looking forward to the experience, as well as the chance to get off campus and explore other parts of the South. Long-term, Niko hopes to gain some work experience while at LSU and potentially pursue a master’s degree. After he completes his studies, he plans to return to Panama. “I would say [after LSU], go back home, work with the family business, and if I have the opportunity to open a new company, I will definitely do that,” he says.

As he begins his next chapter, Niko also reflects on his positive experiences at the ELC, which he says has helped him become more confident in his English speaking and writing.

“It is pretty diverse [at the ELC], so there are people from all over the world, and I have made a lot of friends,” he says. “I have been taking classes at other smaller schools, but it’s not the same … here at Georgetown, it doesn’t feel like you are in a certificate program, it feels like you are part of the university.”

Best of luck to Niko and our other alumni as they start university this fall!

Author Meena Raman (’20) is a recent graduate of Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business.