Eastern Oregon University alum and At-Large State of Pohnpei Representative to the Twentieth Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia David W. Panuelo will take the stage Saturday at EOU’s Commencement ceremony to speak to the graduating class of 2017.

Born and raised in Micronesia, which is located in the Pacific Ocean north of Papua New Guinea, Panuelo was graduated from EOU in 1987 with a B.S. in political science.

Panuelo’s Facebook page posted that the politician was “honored and humbled” to accept the invitation to speak.

Since 1970, EOU and the Federated States of Micronesia have had a close relationship when federal grants were awarded to the school to expand educational opportunities for students, said Tim Seydel, vice president for university advancement at EOU.

In the late 1980s and early ’90s, the program declined. It wasn’t until four years ago that EOU began reassessing its relationship with Micronesia and increased its recruitment efforts among Micronesian students.

Bennie Moses-Mesubed, the director of EOU’s Multicultural Center, has traveled from EOU’s campus to Micronesia to recruit students.

“It was apparent people missed La Grande,” said Moses-Mesubed, who is an alum of EOU and originally from the Pacific Islands. “When I talked about La Grande, people would just light up. They had great memories of what it was like here, even with the homesickness and cultural shock. They were so excited to talk to young people about it.”

According to Moses-Mesubed, EOU is an attractive option for students from Micronesia because of La Grande’s size.