Note: Tristyn Rampersad is part of a small group of high-achieving seniors who are being highlighted in our 2025 Hatter Headliners series.

Tristyn Rampersad wasted no time making an impact on the Stetson campus. In fact, he made his presence felt even before officially arriving as a first-year student in fall 2022 at age 16.

Earlier that year, as Rampersad was exploring college options, he met with Sven Smith, PhD JD, then-Stetson associate professor of sociology. As they discussed the prospects of Rampersad choosing Stetson, Smith was asked about starting a moot court team. His response to Rampersad: “I will create a moot court team if you come here. We will start it together.”  

As a first-year student, Rampersad founded Stetson’s first undergraduate Moot Court team alongside Smith. Since then, the team has qualified for the American Moot Court Association’s national tournament series each year, advancing to the final national tournament twice. Rampersad wound up being president of Stetson’s Moot Court Board.

There’s more. While majoring in Philosophy (on a Prelaw track with a minor in Political Science), Rampersad dabbled in a bit of everything. He also competed in Mock Trial events, was a member of Stetson’s Model Senate and Ethics Bowl team, and served as vice president of Omicron Delta Kappa (Honor Society). Graduating in three years, he received the Ronald L. and Margaret Smith Hall Philosophy Award. Ultimately, in May, Rampersad represented the College of Arts and Sciences as a 2025 Commencement student speaker. (See video below.)

‘Best Way to Grow Myself’

Not too bad for a homeschooler from Mount Dora, about a 45-minute drive from Stetson, who chose to be a Hatter over being a Gator at the University of Florida.

“It was really a question of do I want to go for that apparent prestige with a public university, or do I want to go the private route? And I figured that I valued smaller class sizes and relationships with professors,” Rampersad explained. “Then there was also the fact that I was homeschooled throughout high school, middle school and elementary school, and I was trying to figure out what’s the best way to grow myself personally without trying to step into an area where I would be unfamiliar and potentially drown in the deep end.”

Further, the personal attention he received from Smith was a difference-maker. “The fact that a professor would take so much time to talk to me to help me; he went beyond the period of time he was supposed to speak,” commented Rampersad, whose paternal roots are from Trinidad and Tobago.

Rampersad was given a need-based William M. and Nina B. Hollis Scholarship, available to Stetson students who also demonstrate academic achievement and leadership. And he made the university’s belief in him pay off — despite, as he described, an initial “adjustment period” and a “little bit of homesickness for the first few weeks.”

“I think my mindset was that I wanted to make the absolute most of whatever length of time I spent here at Stetson,” he said. “I decided that I just wanted to take as much of my free time as possible and use that to further my personal growth, further my career. There certainly was this idea of ‘Is this going to be too much? Is this going to be too stressful?’ But it wasn’t really a fear; it was more of just a little bit of apprehension. But I recognized that as I got into it, as I saw the length of time that I was spending, that I was able to carve out time for both myself and for success in these academic activities.”

Ample Opportunities

Indeed, there was success, particularly as it related to Stetson’s Hatter Ready initiative, rolled out during the past academic year. Rampersad made the most of the ample opportunities.

“I think the Hatter Ready program is definitely a great step for the university. … I think what happens without those programs is students learn all of this theoretical textbook information, and then they go out into the real world and they’re confused about how they apply it,” said Rampersad. “The Hatter Ready program is really allowing students to take those skills and apply them while you’re still here in the university. So, once you get into the real world of looking for a job, trying to figure out what your place is in the world, you have the application figured out and you can take that to further yourself.”

Although not turning 20 until January 2026, Rampersad already has figured much out. By virtue of diligence on campus, as well as Advanced Placement classes through Florida Virtual School, he needed only three years to complete his studies at Stetson and begin his “next.”

This summer, he is preparing for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), with plans to apply to law schools in the fall. His long-term goal is to use the law as a “tool for change, guided by a commitment to justice, empathy and reasoned action.”

As Rampersad departed the campus, he expressed deep gratefulness to the community that “made Stetson feel like home,” and especially to the professors who “challenged” his thinking.

“The professors really went the extra mile to make sure that I was prepared for everything,” Rampersad concluded. “They were always available anytime I had questions, even outside of office hours. Some of them gave me their phone number to ask them questions when it came to certain things. They were just incredibly accessible all the time, which really helped me be motivated to succeed in the classes. When you have someone who cares about you, who’s actively pushing you to be better, you want to work better, to be the best that you can in that subject, in that class or in that field.”

-Michael Candelaria