MFESTS Delivers Keynote at Urban League Twin Cities Technology Graduation

On July 31, 2026, MFESTS joined Urban League Twin Cities to celebrate the graduates of its Technology program. Representing MFESTS, Board Director and Past President Antonio Sacin delivered the keynote address, “The journey is the path — from submarines to AI agents.”

Start the quest

Antonio’s central message was a call to bold decisions. He invoked Don Quixote, who set out on his quest with an aging horse, makeshift armor and little more than conviction. Quixote did not wait until he had every resource in hand; he started anyway, and the journey itself shaped who he became. Antonio urged the graduates to do the same: to step forward before conditions are perfect, trust the skills they have just earned, and let the path reveal itself as they walk it.

From submarines to AI agents

He illustrated the point with his own trajectory. Trained in physics, Antonio began his career in defense engineering at BAE Systems, working on systems for submarines, and went on to lead enterprise architecture at organizations including Old Republic Title, U.S. Bank and Ameriprise Financial. Most recently he has worked at the frontier of AI, designing platforms built around AI agents. None of it followed a straight line, he told the graduates: each role opened the door to the next, and the willingness to take the leap mattered more than having a perfect map.

Giving back through community

Antonio also spoke about the role of community in a technical career, and about his long commitment to MFESTS, the Minnesota Federation of Engineering, Science and Technology Societies. He served as MFESTS President from 2018 to 2020, a period in which the federation brought together its member societies, sustained its Annual Awards Dinner tradition (held since 1973) and championed engineering and science across Minnesota. Today he continues to serve on the MFESTS Board of Directors, representing the Engineers’ Club of Minneapolis, where he is also Vice President. He encouraged the graduates to find their own professional communities early, because the connections they build there will carry them through every stage of the journey.

Congratulations to this year’s graduates! MFESTS thanks Urban League Twin Cities for the invitation and for its work opening doors to technology careers in our community.

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Links to Other Resources

Professional Licensure

Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience and Interior Design (AELSLAGID) at https://mn.gov/aelslagid/index.html

Community & Youth Outreach Opportunities in Minnesota

• Discover Engineering
• Future City Competition (Minnesota)
• Future City Competition (National)
• MATHCOUNTS (National)
• Minnesota Academy of Science
• Minnesota STEM Network
• Place.org – St. Louis Park
• The WORKS: A Technology Discovery Center
• Tronix Team
• Hack the Gap
• High Tech Kids (Inspiring kids to BUILD confidence, CREATE opportunities and THRIVE in the 21st Century) 
• FIRST LEGO League

Museums

• Bakken Museum
• Science Museum of Minnesota