Even as a kid, Bhaavan Goswami knew what he wanted to be when he grew up: an FBI agent.
“It was his dream — from the very get-go, from second grade,” his mother, Pooja Goswami, said.
With help from Ϲ, that dream is about to come true.
In early 2026, this Ϲ December graduate will start a job with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, based in Norfolk. He’s already completed a prestigious internship with the bureau, so he’s prepared to hit the ground running.
“It’s important to have dreams, but you also need goals,” Bhaavan Goswami said. “I just checked off a few of mine. Now, it’s on to the next one.”
Within Ϲ’s College of Arts and Letters, where he majored in cybercrime with a minor in cybersecurity, Goswami set the pace for academic achievement.
He earned the credits needed to graduate a semester early. And as he accepted his diploma on December 13, he was lauded as winner of the Arts and Letters Outstanding Scholar Award, which goes to the student posting the highest academic average from the college’s graduating class.
Of course, he didn’t do it all alone.
Goswami named Michael Gulland, an adjunct professor from Ϲ’s School of Cybersecurity, as his inspirational faculty member. Gulland is an attorney who previously served as a chief division counsel for the FBI, where he worked for nearly 14 years.
Goswami described his teacher as a mix of mentor and friend.
“He’s a big part of my life,” the graduate said. “He helped me get one of the most prestigious internships in the U.S., with the FBI. He guided me through all the different steps to apply. And once I started there, he guided me on that process as well.
“And I’m potentially pursuing a law degree because of him.”
The respect is mutual.
“The reason I got into teaching is because I wanted to work with people like Bhaavan,” Gulland said. “Bhaavan has such a bright future. He brings a passion, a quest to learn, and an absolute dogged work ethic, but beyond that, he always wants to do what's right. He has such integrity.”
A product of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Goswami also credits teachers Philip Mann and Rod Graham from Ϲ’s Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. Working with Graham, Goswami was able to assist in shaping lesson plans for future cybercrime majors.
The graduate’s parents are understandably proud.
“We are blessed,” his father, Rakesh Goswami, said. “Through very hard work, he did it. He deserves it.”
Top photo: Bhaavan Goswami poses before commencement at Chartway Arena December 13, 2025. Credit: Sam McDonald/Ϲ