BSN Students Present Capstone Projects

AVON PARK, Fla.–April 29, 2016–Before South Florida State College’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program students can don their caps for the May 5 Commencement ceremony, they had to wrap up their capstone projects.

At lunchtime on April 28, the students who comprise the inaugural graduating class of the SFSC BSN program presented their capstone projects to fellow students, faculty, and most important, a team of graders.

SFSC BSN students must complete a project-based learning assignment in their final semester —or capstone— that draws on nursing research to demonstrate their mastery of the curriculum.

“We were absolutely amazed and so proud of what our first class of BSN students have accomplished, especially here with their capstone projects,” said Dr. Michele Heston, director, Nursing Education.

The nursing students are in the last week of a two-year program that awards BSN degrees to registered nurses who have completed an associate degree nursing program.

As the noon-hour start of the presentations drew near, the students were getting into their white lab coats and making sure the poster boards holding their presentations were set just right.

Dr. Heston led a three-member team of graders that approached students standing by their posters to pepper them with questions. Also, grading the students were Dr. Lisa McConnell and Kathleen Cappo, and instructor and professor of nursing respectively.

The first student coming under the microscope was Argelis Buck, whose project centered on improving the quality of care for dialysis patients through better training of hospital staff.

Buck was at the ready, reeling off details of how she conceived the project, placed it through a test run, and measured the outcomes she had achieved.

Over the course of the next three hours, Dr. Heston and her team made their way through 27 presentations. From preventing falls among the elderly to medication compliance to improving vascular access among dialysis patients, the presentations cut across the broad scope of patient care.

“Our students, through these presentations, demonstrated that nursing is all about taking care of patients and their families,” Dr. Heston said. “We are thrilled over the impact that our bachelor-level nurses are going to have on our community, and the patients and families they will serve.”

SFSC launched its BSN program in the fall of 2014. The two-year program gives registered nurses who have already earned an associate degree the opportunity to earn a BSN.

Dr. Heston said SFSC designed the curriculum so that students would have on-campus classes only one each week, giving them time to work at their profession.

After her turn at presenting her capstone to the graders came to end, Jessica Current breathed a sigh of relief. “We have only one week to go before walking across the stage with our caps and gowns, so we are both excited and ready for a break.”

Current earned her Associate in Science (AS) degree in nursing from SFSC in 2008. She has worked as a registered nurse in Highlands County since graduating and seized the chance to earn her BSN when the inaugural class opened for enrollment.

“Of course, I’ve been a working RN for nearly eight years now,” Current said. “But having a bachelor’s degree now opens the door for me to advance my career by earning a master’s degree, something I couldn’t do with just an associate degree.”

The capstone project is the students’ final hurdle on the path to attaining their BSN degrees. Current, whose project dealt with a procedure to better diagnose urinary incontinence, is already eyeing a master’s degree program that starts this fall.

First, though, she plans to relax once she has her degree in hand. “I think I am going to take a week off and watch TV,” Current said. “It’s been a busy two years.”

To learn more about the BSN, occupational certificate practical nursing, and nursing associate degree, including a transition program from practical nursing to registered nursing, contact the SFSC Advising and Counseling Center at 863-784-7131. Or visit the SFSC website at www.southflorida.edu.

AVON PARK, Fla.–April 29, 2016–The Highlands Soil and Water Conservation District has given a financial boost to students seeking degrees in agriculture-related programs at South Florida State College.

On April 27, representatives of the conservation district presented the SFSC Foundation, Inc., with two $1,000 awards, which will be available to students this fall. The district also pledged a donation of $2,000 a year for the next five years for the purpose of helping the college’s agriculture students complete their education.

Jackie Bailey, vice-chair of the district’s five-member board of supervisors, said the scholarship donations was placed in the district’s five-year plan because supporting education is part of its mission. “We want people to become better stewards of our natural resources,” Bailey said. “We hope this scholarship will encourage students to go into fields like natural resources or agriculture. When you think about it, the first conservationist was an agriculture person. They live off the land, so they have to treat the land right.”­

“We are grateful to receive this donation from the Highlands Soil and Water Conservation District,” said Jamie Bateman, SFSC’s executive director for institutional advancement. “This contribution is valuable to our students who are seeking a degree in agriculture, the citrus industry, or natural resources. The district’s partnership with us is a perfect example as to how we can work together to ensure that the future generations of students are able to earn degrees and get the higher level of education here in their hometown.”

Generous patrons provide funding for nearly 100 scholarships through the SFSC Foundation, furthering SFSC’s mission of putting a college education within reach of residents of DeSoto, Hardee, and Highlands counties. To learn how you can support the foundation, visit its website or call 453-3133.

For more information about SFSC programs and finding financial assistance for college, call 453-6661, 494-7500, 773-2252, or 465-5300.­

AVON PARK, Fla.–April 28, 2016–South Florida State College’s (SFSC) Take Stock in Children (TSIC) program recently awarded 15 new scholarships to middle school and high school students in Highlands County at a contract signing on April 26 at the Hotel Jacaranda, Avon Park.

Students who received scholarships were: Genesis Shannon, Rorie Bean, Dalila Eugenio-Badillo, Nyla Wrightsman, Jocelyn Hernandez, Sole Knorr-Lavatte, Colby Whitt, Anthony Adhin, Donald Wylie, Aiden Beasley, Kevin Lopez, Brittany Castillo, Makenzie Thomas, Adrianne Silva, Gianna Saccente.

Take Stock in Children (TSIC) is a statewide program that provides at-risk children with a mentor and a college scholarship. In return, TSIC scholar’s sign contracts in which they promise to remain drug-free, to avoid behavior that would get them into trouble with law enforcement, to attend school regularly, and to earn satisfactory grades. The students’ parents also sign the contracts and agree to provide home environments conducive to education and to participate in.

“When we awarded these 15 scholarships throughout DeSoto, Hardee, and Highlands school districts, it was phenomenal,” said Irene Castanon, TSIC program coordinator. “There were so many students, who were really nervous and excited at this year’s contract signings. More importantly, their hope of going to college has now become a reality.”

The SFSC Foundation, Inc. is the lead agency for TSIC within the college’s service district of DeSoto, Hardee, and Highlands counties. The program has been in place for 20 years and has awarded scholarships to over 500 local students.

For information about Take Stock in Children, call Irene Castanon, program coordinator, at 863-453-3133 or visit http://www.southflorida.edu/giving/take-stock-children.

AVON PARK, Fla.–April 28, 2016–On April 26, South Florida State College celebrated the academic and athletic achievements of its Panther student-athletes at an afternoon ceremony and reception.

The athletes, their families, and well-wishers gathered in the SFSC University Center Auditorium on the Highlands Campus to watch the baseball and women’s softball, volleyball, and cross country coaches hand out awards.

“This afternoon is a great opportunity to recognize the student athletes for their efforts throughout the year,” said Rick Hitt, SFSC athletic director and head baseball coach. “Most important, we do this with their families and their entire support network joining them here.”

Dr. Thomas C. Leitzel, SFSC’s president, followed Hitt to the lectern to welcome everyone who had come out to support the players and coaches. “I don’t recognize any of you out there in the seats,” Dr. Leitzel said to the laughs from the audience. “None of you are in uniform and wearing your numbers.”

Starting out the recognitions, Krista Schult, women’s cross country coach, spoke of her five-member team coming together during the inaugural season of the sport at SFSC. “The ladies arrived on campus already a team,” Schult said. “I saw them slowly come together also as friends, and ending the season as a family.”

Schult handed awards to Alexis Armstead, Most Improved Runner; Grace Miller, Most Valuable Runner; Savannah Walter, Cross Country Academic Excellence

The Lady Panther Volleyball team members crowded in front of the auditorium stage to watch coach Kim Crawford honor the achievements of her players. “Every year as a coach, I look for ways to improve on something with the ladies,” Crawford said. “But this year, I had a really good team that kept me on my toes the entire season.”

Volleyball players earning recognition were Baylee Gunter, Leah Sywanyk, and Brooke Westphal for the Academic and Athletic Excellence Award. The Lady Panthers’ coach made note that Westphal, and sophomores Kelsey Sanders and Elle Barnett, were named as Suncoast Conference Players of the Year.

Carlos Falla, the women’s softball coach, next presented his team their awards: Amanda Ross, Best Offensive Player; Rachael Reinbott, Shelby Press, Cristina Colli, Best Defensive Players; Haley Pinterich, Most Valuable Player; and Kassidy Stawicki and Rachel White Coach’s Award.

Hitt, stepping out the role of SFSC’s athletic director, put on his figurative baseball cap to recognize the play of the squad he coaches, the Panther baseball team.

Hitt honored two players for their achievements throughout the season: John Tatum, Most Improved Player, and J.D. Terron, 2016 Top Gun Award for his pitching.

Dr. Leitzel returned to the lectern to present two final awards: Female and Male Scholastic Athlete of the Year. He called up baseball player John Tatum and softball player Kassidy Stawicki to the stage to accept their awards.

“You are ambassadors for SFSC,” Leitzel told the players. “You represent SFSC on the field, on campus, and in the community. I know your coaches are proud of everything you do.”

From left: Rick Hitt, SFSC athletic director and head baseball coach, Panther baseball player John Tatum, and SFSC President Dr. Thomas C. Leitzel. Tatum was named Male Scholastic Athlete of the Year.

From left: Rick Hitt, SFSC athletic director and head baseball coach, Panther softball player Kassidy Stawicki, and SFSC President Dr. Thomas C. Leitzel. Stawicki was named Female Scholastic Athlete of the Year.

 

 

 

 

 

AVON PARK, Fla.–April 27, 2016–This year, South Florida State College celebrates spring Commencement in two ceremonies on Thursday, May 5–at 4:45 p.m. and at 7:45 p.m.–in the Alan Jay Wildstein Center for the Performing Arts, Highlands Campus, Avon Park.  

“We had a large number of graduates this year, so we decided to have two Commencement ceremonies to provide students with the maximum number of seats for their guests in the performing arts center,” said Dr. Timothy Wise, dean, Student Services. 

This is the inaugural Commencement for students in the Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education (BSEE) and Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (BSN) programs. The BSEE and BSN programs were launched in fall 2014. 

During the 4:45 p.m. ceremony, students earning their Associate in Arts (AA) and BSEE degrees will march across the stage for their diplomas. The Commencement speaker will be Audrey May, who earns her AA degree. 

The 7:45 p.m. ceremony features students who are earning their Bachelor of Applied Science degrees in Supervision and Management (BAS-SM), BSN, and Associate in Science (AS) degrees, and occupational and college credit certificates, and those who will receive their State of Florida High School diplomas. The Commencement speaker will be Sharmin Jones, who earns her BSN degree. 

Some 459 students will have met the SFSC graduation requirements for the spring Commencement. Of these, 210 receive their AA, 55 receive their AS, 119 receive occupational certificates or college credit certificates, 14 receive their State of Florida High School diplomas, and 22 will receive a BAS. The BSN program will graduate 27 students, and the BSEE program will graduate 12 students. Participating in the two Commencement ceremonies will be 285 students. 

Receptions will be held in the Catherine P. Cornelius Student Services and Classroom Complex (Building B) immediately following each of the Commencement ceremonies. 

Live online streaming, accessed by clicking a website banner at www.southflorida.edu, will allow friends and relatives to see everything from the processional to the last graduate crossing the stage. The stream begins on May 5 at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. EDT. 

Mace bearer and chief marshal for this year’s ceremony is Elizabeth Andrews, and marshals are Davida Austin, Thomas Bush, Kathleen Cappo, Dr. Cate Cover, Robert Hampton, Dr. Theresa James, Melanie Jackson, Michelle MacBeth, Claire Miller, Ricardo Pantoja, and Lena Phelps. 

The Commencement rehearsal takes place Thursday, May 5, at 10 a.m., in the Wildstein Center for the Performing Arts.

AVON PARK, Fla.–April 27, 2016–Audrey May, who is set to graduate from South Florida State College on May 5, doesn’t like statistics. More to the point, mathematics was her weakest subject.

But May knows enough about probability to realize hers was a longshot chance at picking up her Associate in Arts degree at SFSC’s spring 4:45 p.m. Commencement ceremony.

But not only will May mount the stage at SFSC’s afternoon ceremony for arts and sciences graduates to get her diploma, she will also take to the lectern to deliver the student commencement address.

May’s journey to selection as the speaker starts in Philadelphia, moves to Okeechobee, takes a harrowing detour to Central America, before ending in Sebring, with stops in Miami and Houston along the way.

“I beat the odds to get to SFSC and finish up my associate degree,” May said, while on SFSC’s Highlands Campus after a day of classes. “Statistically speaking, people who started out where I started out don’t end up where I am at now.”

May was born in Philadelphia. Her parents had moved to the mainland from Puerto Rico in search of better jobs. But when she was 3 years old, her parents moved their six children to Okeechobee, Fl.

“We were a family of extremely modest means with my parents raising six children in a small house,” May said.

As the youngest child, May was at the bottom of the pecking order, and worse she said, the object of abuse from an older sibling. In a fit of desperation and seeking safety, at age 13 she ran away from home. In search of a haven, May slept in the dugout at the local baseball field. She helped herself to outfits drying on clotheslines to maintain an appearance of normality.

“As bad as things were, I kept going to school,” May recounted, with tears welling up. “The other kids would make fun of me because of the way I dressed.”

Rescue from her miserable straits came in the form of a man. May met an agricultural worker who offered her a measure of hope she could find love and safety.

The two moved to California to live with his family and had a child. Though life was often hand to mouth for the young couple, their child gave May a sense she had made the right move.

May went with the child’s father to his ancestral village in El Salvador to visit his family and settle some business affecting his immigration status.

“It was all a trick,” said May. “After three months, I said we had to go back for the baby’s sake, but he ripped up my and the baby’s passports.”

May found herself trapped in the hinterland of El Salvador. Now the object of her husband’s every whim. Her family grew.

“I became a campesina,” May explained, using the Spanish word for a rural peasant. “I joined the village women beating clothes on rocks in the river. The same river from which we drew our water. The same river that collected the sewage.”

With her children’s bellies bloated from chronic intestinal infections brought on by the river’s water, May was ecstatic when a band of Mormon missionaries swept into the village with medicine.

“As the missionaries were talking among themselves about how to treat the children, they noticed I understood what they were saying to each other,” May said. “They were blown away to discover that I was an American.”

After hearing of May’s travails, they hatched a plot to bring her home. They agreed to meet by the river the next day, pretending they were reading the Bible so that they could plan May’s escape without raising any suspicions among her husband’s family.

The missionaries got May to the American embassy, where she was met with a frosty reception. Without any documentation from May, they weren’t convinced she was an American.

“Not knowing what to do, I started reciting the pledge of allegiance and singing the Star Spangled Banner,” May said with her first sign of glee recounting her days of captivity. “That worked like magic.”

The embassy arranged for May and her four children to exit El Salvador and resettle in Miami, where she had to readjust to life in a county she had not seen in nearly 10 years.

“Wow, it was both wonderful and crazy to be back home,” May said. “From Miami I went to Houston, where family lived.”

May’s family in Houston could not cope with the young children. Her only option was a shelter. She took it.

The shelter proved a boon for May. The staff arranged for childcare, helped May land a part-time job bagging groceries, and got her enrolled in high school classes.

“My life was work, school, off to the childcare, then back to the shelter, May said. “But it was a stable environment and, after finishing high school, they helped me enroll in the local community college and graduate from a study medical assisting program.”

After working full-time at a hospital, May saved enough money to move to Highlands County, a community she said she knew was a great place to raise a family.

“My first priority was to get a job,” May said. “I got hired on at Florida Hospital in their lab because of my hospital experience in Texas.” She found an apartment, and she started taking classes at SFSC.

May had set her sights on starting the nursing program at SFSC. She knew she had to make her way through a bevy of science and general education courses with good grades to gain a spot in the program.

May experienced ups and downs. “I really enjoyed the science classes and the engagement with the faculty, who really cared if their students succeeded,” she said. “But I had one problem: math.”

May had to pass college algebra. She signed up for the section taught by James McBride, an instructor who has taught the class to hundreds of SFSC students. She failed. May signed up again with the same instructor. She failed. May signed up again and chose McBride for a third time. She failed.

“I kept getting closer each time but I just couldn’t break through the point where I would pass,” May said. “So, I went back to McBride and my guidance counselor, Kim Hemler, for a solution.”

McBride said he recommended May take the course as independent study class so that she could work at her own pace. “She kept coming back and back—she was bent on passing that course,” McBride said of May’s determination to earn the credits for mathematics. “I typically don’t recommend independent study but May worked with me one-on-one over many sessions and in the end she passed the course.”

While May was working her way through SFSC’s Associate in Arts degree program, she continued at her lab job at Florida Hospital and caring for her children at an apartment in Avon Park. “There was this guy who worked in the emergency room who was keeping tabs on me,” May said. “I thought he was spooky because he kept showering me with attention.”

After six months avoiding him, May agreed to go out on a date. “I thought this guy is going to run once he finds out I am single mom with a whole brood of kids,” May said. “During our dinner date, I laid it out for him. He said ‘that’s OK’ and I am like stunned.”

Brandon May, whose mother, Eileen May, heads up the Lake Placid Chamber of Commerce, married Audrey in a ceremony she never dreamed would happen. Pulling up a Facebook picture of herself at the altar, May said, “This is something I thought was just not possible. Brandon was a gift from God.” May has forged a close bond with her father in law, Buddy, finally finding a father figure.

They soon added children to the ‘brood.” Working, married, and a mother to a growing family, May kept plugging away at earning the credits toward her associate degree at SFSC. “After a few years of working with my amazing supervisor and the lab director at Florida Hospital, they helped me decide to move away from nursing toward biomedical sciences,” May said. With college algebra out of the way, May picked up the pace, taking more classes in order to clinch her associate degree this spring.

“My focus at SFSC centered on my two-year degree so that I could enter Adventist Health Sciences University biomedical sciences bachelor’s degree program this fall,” May said. A degree in biomedical sciences will build on May’s work experience in the lab, giving her an opportunity to increase her earnings working in a hospital-based lab.

“Without the extra help from the dedicated instructors like Mr. McBride, the tutors like Enrique Ramos in SFSC’s Learning Resources Center, and all the support I got from Kim Hemler in the Advising and Counseling Center, I likely would never have kept at it,” May said, as she pondered what might have been.

With that thought in mind, May nominated herself as Commencement speaker. She said she had a story to tell, one that touched both on her personal triumph and the part SFSC played in her success. But there’s a third reason May has for using her life’s story as the basis for the commencement address.

“Yes, I want the audience to hear that statistically speaking I should have been a woman who never would have made it this far,” May said. “But my most important audience will be my children on that night.”

“I want my kids to know I dedicate my degree to them,” May said. “If Mom can get her education after all that she has been through, then they can do it too.”

SFSC’s will hold two Commencement ceremonies this spring. An afternoon ceremony for art and sciences graduates at 4:45 p.m. and a 7:45 p.m. ceremony for applied sciences and technologies, health sciences, and high school diploma graduates. Both ceremonies will take place in the Wildstein Center for the Performing Arts on SFSC’s Highlands Campus, 600 W. College Dr., Avon Park.

AVON PARK, Fla.–April 22, 2016–South Florida State College (SFSC) students were honored for academic excellence and community service during the college’s recent annual Awards Day ceremony in the SFSC University Center, Highlands Campus in Avon Park. Each year, faculty honor students who exhibit talent and exemplary qualities that go beyond academic standards.

SFSC student Maria Zamora was honored with the Joseph E. Johnston/Bette L. McDearman Student Services Award for exceptional academic achievement, and outstanding involvement in professional, social, and cultural activities and programs.

According to Dr. Cate Cover, SFSC biology instructor, who nominated Zamora for the award, “She is a pleasure to work with. She is richly deserving of this award and recognition.”

Zamora served as vice president of the DeSoto (Campus) Ambassadors and participated in the development of a subcommittee of the Ambassadors for Fine Arts. She designed and made angels for an angel tree to enhance Christmas for clients of Arc-DeSoto, which aids intellectually and developmentally disabled teens and adults. She volunteered at DeSoto Memorial Hospital, and created materials for the SFSC DeSoto Campus Relay for Life team, helping it to expand SFSC awareness throughout DeSoto County.

Students presented 2015-16 Outstanding Instructor Awards to Stacy Sharp, Arts and Sciences, full time; Dr. Kimberly Batty-Herbert, Arts and Sciences, full time; Adam Martin, Applied Sciences, full time; and Rebecca Schumacher, Division of Health Services, Adjunct.

Students who received special honors for participation in the following academic programs are:

Makayla Chancy, General Business Studies
Harrison McClure, Introduction to Leadership
Stephen Wynn, Principles of Management
Carlynn Harris, Principles of Marketing
Alexis Drzewucki , Drawing 1
Victoria Roman, Figure Drawing
Marissa Simpson, Figure Drawing
Taylor Nicole Webb, Painting
Ian Mack, Pottery II
Garrett Edenfield, Brain Bowl Team
Christian Pena, Brain Bowl Team
George Perez Gomez, Brain Bowl Team
Ashleigh Prieto, Brain Bowl Team
Christian Reitnauer, Brain Bowl Team
Jose Sanchez, Brain Bowl Team
Summer Xiong, Brain Bowl Team
Daniela Ferra-Hernandez, Medical Billing and Insurance
Alexis Armstead, Freshman English I
Michael Oftedahl, Anatomy and Physiology I
Santos Aguilar, Anatomy and Physiology II
Hunter Altman, Anatomy and Physiology II
Miranda Corbin, Anatomy and Physiology II
Alyssa McEwen, Anatomy and Physiology II
Katherine Perez, Anatomy and Physiology II
Miranda Corbin, Microbiology
Alyssa McEwen, Microbiology
Katherine Perez, Microbiology
Amy Heffner, Human Anatomy and Physiology II
Michael Oftedahl, Human Anatomy and Physiology II
Zully Beck, Microbiology
Dulce Hernandez, General Chemistry
Robert Ward, General Chemistry
Lindsay Moon, Organic Chemistry
Christian Manresa, Abnormal Psychology
Candice Rosenbaum, Abnormal Psychology
Megan Darr, Human Development
Lauren Dutcher, Human Development
Tatiana Sullivan, Human Development
Brandon Rosenbaum, Introduction to Psychology
Jamicia Gilmore, General Sociology
Mishel Mandujano, General Sociology
Julie Swift, General Sociology
Alexis Drzewucki, Honors General Sociology
Christian Reitnauer, Honors General Sociology
Stephen Wynn, Organizational Behavior
Lindsay Moon, General Biology II
Carmen Lybarger, Freshman English I
Fachon Binns, Freshman English I
Rosaro Marin, Freshman English I
Francesca Pemble, Freshman English I
Steven Sanchez, Freshman English I
Julie Swift, Freshman English I
Megan Custode, Freshman English I
Richard Alvarez, Freshman English II
Eliany Cabrera, Freshman English II
Thomas Cook, Freshman English II
Sharmin Jones, Freshman English II
Israel Ayala-Rivera, Freshman English II
Mary Patterson, Descriptive Astronomy
Lacey Watson, Descriptive Astronomy
Joy Derrick, General Physics I and II
Carlos Negron, General Physics I and II
Brandon Bowyer, General Physics with Calculus I and II
William, Sager, General Business with Calculus I and II
Makayla Chancey, American Literature
Mathew Estima, 2016 All-Florida Academic Team
Roxanne Guerndt, 2016 All-Florida Academic Team
Celina Nuevo, 2016 All-Florida Academic Team
Christian Reitnauer, 2016 All-Florida Academic Team
Erica Roberts, 2016 All-Florida Academic Team
Shaquanya Allen, Business English and Keyboarding
Aaron Lakus, Fundamentals of Speech Communication
Cesar Orduna, Fundamentals of Speech Communication
Kevin Webb, Medical Assisting
Richard Flores, Financial Accounting II
Donna Wall-Vanatta, Financial Accounting II
Jason Plyn, Managerial Accounting
Leighton Skipper, Introduction to Computer Graphics
Shayne Fassler, Differential Equations
William Sagar, Differential Equations
Stephen Jackson, Computer Programming
Joshua Roe, Computer Science Graphic and Introduction to Microcomputers
Guillermo Aguilar, Food Production Management
Rebekah Tyson, Introduction to Supply Chain
Audrey May, Fundamentals of Speech Communication
Sharmin Jones, Fundamentals of Speech Communication
Daniel Witt, Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education
Alyssa Pauley, Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education
Christian Pena, Biology I

Honors Program

Hannah Cribbs, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
Nicole Darder, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
Alexis Drzewucki, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
Mathew Estima, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
Ricky Jefferies, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
Carlos Negron, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
Luis Ortegon, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
Heather Oyola, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
Katherine Oyola, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
Christian Reitnauer, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
William Sager, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
Tyler Whalen, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors
Dylan Whiteman, Undergraduate Research Presentation Florida Collegiate Honors

Alexis Drzewucki, Introduction to Astro Biology Honors Seminar Fall 2015
Carlos Negron, Introduction to Astro Biology Honors Seminar Fall 2015
Christian Reitnauer, Introduction to Astro Biology Honors Seminar Fall 2015

Christian Reitnauer, Florida Collegiate Honors Conference Spring 2016, Astronaut Farmers: Growing Food in Space
Dylan Whiteman, Florida Collegiate Honors Conference Spring 2016, Faking Gravity
Alexis Drzewucki, Florida Collegiate Honors Conference Spring 2016, The Science Behind Science Fiction
Heather Oyola, Florida Collegiate Honors Conference Spring 2016, The Science Behind Science Fiction
Katherine Oyola, Florida Collegiate Honors Conference Spring 2016, The Science Behind Science Fiction

Annsley Bohlman, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Hannah Cribbs, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Alexis Drzewucki, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Nicole Darder, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Mathew Estima, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Katie LaDue, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Carlos Negron, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Heather Oyola, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Katherine Oyola, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
James Pinkney, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Christian Reitnauer, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
William Sager, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Tyler Whalen, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Dylan Whiteman, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016
Rachel Wolf, SFSC Honors Program, Spring 2016

Phi Theta Kappa

Ashley Acosta, PTK Enhanced Membership
Hanna Belcher, PTK Enhanced Membership
Nicole Darder, PTK Enhanced Membership
Christopher Davies, PTK Enhanced Membership
Alexis Drzewucki, PTK Enhanced Membership
Treson Francis, PTK Enhanced Membership
Maribel Garza, PTK Enhanced Membership
Donnie Mullins, PTK Enhanced Membership
Melisa Mullins, PTK Enhanced Membership
Araceli Navaro, PTK Enhanced Membership
Selina Olguin, PTK Enhanced Membership
Selena Olmos, PTK Enhanced Membership
Heather Oyola, PTK Enhanced Membership
Katherine Oyola PTK Enhanced Membership
Francis Perez, PTK Enhanced Membership
Christian Reitnauer, Enhanced Membership
Victoria Sawicki, PTK Enhanced Membership
Mary Stacy, PTK Enhanced Membership

Student Government Officers

Baylee Gunter, SGA Historian
Rebecca McKenzie, SGA President
Emily Swenson, SGA Public Relations
Ferdinand Cortez-Rios, SGA Secretary
Maxwell Boling, SGA Treasurer
Hernando Sierra, SGA Vice President External Operations
Samantha Vance, SGA Vice President Internal Operations

AVON PARK, Fla.–April 22, 2016–The Florida College System (FCS) has named five South Florida State College students to the 2016 All-Florida Academic Team.

Each year, the Florida College System names an All-Florida Academic Team to honor the most outstanding students for their academic achievement, leadership, and service to the community.

The five students were recognized at an awards ceremony on April 21 in Tampa. The SFSC students earning the recognition were Mathew Estima, Roxanne Guerndt, Celina Nuevo, Christian Reitnauer, and Erica Roberts. They joined 122 of their peers from 26 colleges of state’s 28-member FCS in being named to the academic team.

“I am proud of these students for their academic achievements that led to being named to the All-Florida Academic Team,” said Florida Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart. “Florida colleges are known throughout the nation for their educational excellence, and I am pleased they have prepared these students for success now and in the future.”

The students attended a luncheon where they were presented with a medallion recognizing their achievements. SFSC President Dr. Thomas C. Leitzel, and Kimberly Hemler, the college’s Honors Program advisor, were on hand to watch the students receive their awards.

Students named to the All-Florida Academic Team were drawn from SFSC’s Honors Program and the college’s Tau Epsilon chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an international academic honor society.

In nominating students for the All-Florida Academic Team, colleges consider participation in academic honors programs, membership in and awards from collegiate societies, and academic enrichment gained from internships and special projects.

Recently, Gov. Rick Scott proclaimed April as Florida College System Month. The 2016 All-Florida Academic Team is sponsored by the Florida Lottery.

“We are proud of the outstanding achievement of our Honors Program and Phi Theta Kappa members and glad to see them honored in this way,” said Hemler, whose main role at SFSC is adviser to students at the Advising and Counseling Center on the Highlands Campus.

For more information about SFSC’s Honors Program, contact Dr. Charlotte Pressler, director, SFSC Honors Program, and professor, English and humanities, at 863-784-7247 or Hemler at 863-784-7331.

AVON PARK, Fla.–April 22, 2016–South Florida State College’s Museum of Florida Art and Culture (MOFAC) honored the winners of its “Steam Powered Innovation” juried student art exhibition during a reception on April 21.

The awards ceremony recognized drawings, paintings, sculpture, and a range of other artwork students created during their studies in SFSC’s Art Department. The students’ art is on display in MOFAC’s gallery through April 28.

“This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity for our students to show their art in a professional museum and to receive recognition for their fine work,” said Mollie Doctrow, the museum’s curator.

Missy Simpson walked away with the Max Gooding Best in Show Purchase Award for her pencil drawing titled “Kail.” She received $200 for the imaginary rendering of a zebra-like animal with horns in mid-gallop.

Simpson said the students came up with the show’s title, “Steam Powered Innovation,” to capture the theme of advancements in technology as seen through a Victorian-era viewpoint.

Max Gooding, an alumnus of SFSC’s art department, provided $1,000 for 17 awards to students. Gooding, who went on to earn a degree in landscape architecture at the University of Florida, owns a landscape architecture consultancy, the Max Gooding Company, in Naples.

Leighton Skipper won the Max Gooding Purchase Award of Excellence for his watercolor titled “Me Again.”

The Max Gooding Award of Excellence went to A. Juarez for her color pencil drawing, “My Children.”

Four students received the Max Gooding Purchase Award, a monetary award used to purchase exceptional student art pieces for the SFSC Student Art Collection. The winners were Taylor Webb for her acrylic painting “Toucan;” Alexis Drzewucki, for her illustration titled “Forward Movement;” Dylan Whiteman for his graphic design “Self-portrait;” and Andres Armengol rounded out the winners with his poster “Jacaranda”.

Max Gooding Awards of Merit were presented to E. Georgeanne Paris, photography; Janelle Donglasan, and Whitney Williams, pottery; Angelise Reyes, 2-D design; Liz Carroll, acrylic painting; Molly Haney, drawing; A. Juarez and Jose Lopez, graphic design; Taylor Webb, sculpture; Destinee Ellis, printmaking and Destinee Ellis, printmaking.

Cathy Futral, art professor, presented Outstanding Student Achievement Awards to Missy Simpson and Victoria “Tory” Roman, figure drawing; Leighton Skipper, computer graphics; Alexis Drzewucki, drawing; Ian Mack, pottery.

Members of the Tanglewood Art League were on hand to present their fifth annual scholarship award to A. Juarez, for her outstanding range of drawings. Norma Evans, president of the group of retirees with a passion for art, presented Juarez with a $300 check. “We look forward to getting to know you better as you move forward with her art education,” Evans said.

Max Gooding stood by as Doctrow and Futral presented the awards. “I owe a great deal of my success to three amazing women at SFSC,” said Gooding, who presented Doctrow and Futral with plaques, he said, expressed his appreciation for their dedication to teaching. He gave a third plaque to SFSC employee Mary Wolf, who served as a mother-figure to Gooding when he ran up against hurdles on way to earning his Associate in Arts degree at SFSC.

A $50 SFSC Art Alumni Award went to four students: Missy Simpson, Leighton Skipper, A. Juarez, and Taylor Webb.

This year five students were chosen to receive the MOFAC Docent Award, a $50 award that recognizes outstanding service to the SFSC, its Art Department, and MOFAC. The awards went to Leighton Skipper, Missy Simpson, Liz Carroll, A. Juarez, and Ann Louise Abbott.

SFSC’s art students developed the title of the show, promotional graphics, assisted with matting and framing the artwork, and helped install the pieces, Doctrow said.

The 2016 Student Art Exhibit sponsors are Joe and Suzanne Wright, Charles and Anne Reynolds, and the SFSC Foundation.

The show was juried by Joey Sacco, a local artist, former SFSC adjunct art instructor, and a member of MOFAC’s Advisory Committee.

The exhibition will be on view at SFSC MOFAC through April 28. The museum is open to the public on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m., or by appointment for group tours. Patrons of the Wildstein Center may visit the museum one hour prior to matinee and evening performances. For more information, call Doctrow at 863-784-7240.

 

 

 

 

AVON PARK, Fla.–April 21, 2016–New doors opened for the nine cadets in South Florida State College’s Basic Corrections Class 16-189 as they accepted occupational certificates during a graduation ceremony held Wednesday evening in the SFSC University Center Auditorium, Highlands Campus.

Eddie Aguilar, David Breau Jr., Alfredo Flores, Rebecca Hall, Catessa Holt, Jamila Richards, Bobby Ridley, and Megan White completed 420 hours of correctional officer training since Feb. 1, according to Michael Austin, coordinator, SFSC Criminal Justice Academy. They took 11 exams in as many weeks, while mastering skills in first aid, self-defense, and firearms and maintaining a class grade point average (GPA) of 92.5.

Thigpen received a special award for serving as class leader. Ridley received the award for top firearms score – a notable accomplishment, Austin pointed out, considering that he had never handled a weapon before entering SFSC’s basic corrections training course. White received the award for the top academic score, earning 454 points out of a potential 482.

 In the keynote address, Wauchula police officer Jesse Poole recalled that, even as a child, his heart was set on a career in law enforcement, and he always pursued that path. Having a purpose and goals inspired him and kept him on track. “You only get one life to live,” Poole told the new graduates. “Locate the path you were meant to walk, and you will find goals along the way.”

By the time of graduation, seven of the new correctional officers were already employed in correctional positions.

For more information about SFSC’s Basic Corrections Officer Academy and other law enforcement training programs, call the Criminal Justice Academy at 453-6661, 494-7500, 773-2252, or 465-5300.