A moment of silence will be held at the beginning of each graduation ceremony to honor Nahida and Zamil.
TAMPA, Fla. — The University of South Florida is awarding posthumous doctoral degrees to Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, two 27-year-old doctoral students who were killed in April.
They will be among 8,000 students receiving degrees during the spring 2026 graduation ceremonies, which will take place between Thursday and Sunday.
A moment of silence will be held at the beginning of each ceremony to honor Nahida and Zamil.
During the doctoral degree ceremony on Friday morning, two empty chairs with regalia will be placed on the arena floor in their honor.
Nahida and Zamil are among the 353 doctoral degrees being awarded this year.
The two students were last seen alive on April 16 and were reported missing over the next two days.
Zamil’s body was recovered roughly a week later in “heavy-duty utility trash bags” on the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa, Florida.
Two days later, a kayaker found human remains in an extensive state of decomposition among the mangroves near the same area. The remains found were later confirmed to be Nahida.
The suspect, 26-year-old Hisham Abugharbieh, faces two counts of premeditated murder.
He is being held without bond.