SFSC Apprentices Receive Certificate of Completion from AdventHealth Sebring

Oct. 28, 2022 – South Florida State College (SFSC) and AdventHealth Sebring celebrated four students for completing the Advanced Patient Care Technician (APCT) Apprentice program in a ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 27 in the AdventHealth Sebring Center for Nursing Excellence on the Highlands Campus at SFSC in Avon Park.

The SFSC students who completed the AdventHealth Sebring APCT Apprentice program are Marnita Johnson, Deanne Rhyne, Jeremiah Sawyer, and Christinna Williams. Rhyne and Sawyer were in attendance to receive their completion certificates from Elsie Graves, vice president and chief nursing officer for AdventHealth Sebring.

Jason Dunkel, CEO and president for AdventHealth Sebring, gave the keynote address and inspired the students to, “Think about your why. The APCT job description is only 50% of your job. The other 50% is the heart and compassion that you will be bringing to work every single day for every single patient. You have the competency, but you need the compassion.” 

SFSC’s Dr. Michele Heston, interim vice president for academic affairs and student services, concluded the program by saying, “Don’t ever forget the reason you started this journey. In caring for others, you will receive so much more than you give.”

The APCT Apprentice program is 18 months of continuous on-the-job employment at AdventHealth Sebring with on-site and online instruction from qualified SFSC instructors. Students receive training in nursing, phlebotomy, EKG, and career transitions from SFSC while working with an experienced healthcare professional at AdventHealth Sebring. Upon completion, students are hired as APCTs and can transfer 8 credits toward the pursuit of a Nursing degree.

For information about the APCT Apprenticeship program, contact Danielle Ochoa, Health Sciences advisor, at 863-784-7027 or healthsciences@southflorida.edu.

 

Avon Park, Fla. – Oct. 27, 2022 – South Florida State College (SFSC) recently purchased a mini excavator for its Electrical Lineworker Program at its Hardee Campus in Bowling Green. The purchase came after the College received more than $82,000 in grant funding from the Duke Energy Foundation to enhance the program. Students in the Electrical Lineworker Program will learn to safely and efficiently use the mini excavator to install and maintain primary and secondary cables for Underground Residential Distribution (URD) systems.

AVON PARK, FL – Oct. 26, 2022 – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited South Florida State College’s (SFSC) Highlands Campus in Avon Park on Tuesday, Oct. 25 to present Dr. Thomas C. Leitzel, SFSC president, with a check in the amount of $2.8 million toward the development of critical workforce academies in the College’s service district of Highlands, Hardee, and DeSoto counties. Jackie Skryd, vice president for workforce development and corporate relations, from St. Petersburg College was presented with a check for $3.4 million and Colin Chesley, Ed.D., associate vice president for the School of Health and Public Services, and Evan Doyle, assistant chair for the Law Enforcement Academy, from Daytona State College were given a check for $2.8 million.

This initiative is funded by the Future Florida Critical Workforce Needs Grant through the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) and administered by St. Petersburg College. Subgrants were awarded to SFSC and Daytona State College.

“We want to make sure that we’re meeting the needs of critical areas of our workforce,” said Gov. DeSantis. “We are awarding $9 million to three state colleges to strengthen K-12 and college workforce education programs.

“What this funding is going to do is help these colleges establish regional partnerships with area school districts to develop career academies for in-demand occupations,” the governor said. “So, these academies will support workforce education programs for careers in emergency management, law enforcement, education, and more. These are important parts of our economy and our society. And we suspect that more than 2,000 students will graduate with credentials in these high demand fields as a result of this effort.”

The Florida Department of Education identified particular critical workforce needs within Florida’s Heartland. Through SFSC’s portion of this initiative, critical workforce academies will be established at all high schools in SFSC’s service district and focus on specific career pathways to address critical needs in the region. Those pathways are Automotive and Supply Chain Management in DeSoto County, Education and Healthcare in Highlands and Hardee counties, and Emergency/911 Telecommunications in Hardee County.

The Critical Workforce Academies will focus on providing dual-enrolled high school students with individual support, including academic and career advising, tutoring, and specialized high school-to-college transition support.

All funds for this initiative will be allocated equally among the three school districts, providing each with approximately $667,000. The funds will provide classroom technology, equipment, instructional resources, tutoring services, and transportation.

“This project starts in the high schools and builds pathways,” Dr. Leitzel said. “My friend, Dr. Brenda Longshore, superintendent of Highlands County Public Schools, is here today to share in this great announcement, because they will benefit in this as we get students in the pipeline that will graduate and fulfill the important jobs that the governor described.”

It is anticipated that the Critical Workforce Academies in Highlands, Hardee, and DeSoto counties will be in operation by January 2023.

“Workforce matters,” Dr. Leitzel said. “I’m glad I live and work in a state where the governor supports workforce education. The governor has an ambitious goal in mind: he wants Florida to be the No. 1 workforce state by 2030. The Florida College System is going to help get us there. We are supportive of that through projects like Accelerate Florida, which brings all of our colleges in the Florida College System together to get behind the efforts in workforce education. By 2030, our state will be the No. 10 economy in the world. Not in the nation, but in the world.”

AVON PARK, Fla. – Oct. 14, 2022 – Spooktacular, a family friendly cirque performance, is a high-flying circus of hilarity and scare scheduled to perform at the Alan Jay Wildstein Center for the Performing Arts on the Highlands Campus of South Florida State College (SFSC) on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 3 p.m.

Lobby activities for young people include free popcorn and apple juice, games, a photo booth, and giveaways. A costume contest for youth will be also be held. All youth wearing a costume will receive a raffle ticket. Costumed youth will be invited on stage at the end of the show. The winner will be selected by a raffle drawing and the winner receives $100.

Sponsored by Bill and Lisa Jarrett and Get Fish Slapped, a Sebring marketing company, the performance will raise funds for 12 Highlands and Hardee county nonprofit organizations.

Cirque-Tacular Productions, a New York City-based production company, is considered one of the premiere acrobatic companies in the world. “Millions of people in 70 countries have seen one of their cirque shows,” said Cindy Garren, SFSC director of Cultural Programs. “Cirque-tacular’s artists include world-record holders, grand champions, Olympians, circus legends, and veterans of Broadway and Las Vegas.”

Spooktacular features soaring vampires, skeletons, and ghosts in a performance of acrobatics and aerialists. The performance runs 60 minutes without an intermission. General admission tickets are $15.

To get a $5 discount on tickets, contact one of the following nonprofits to get a special code: AdventHealth Foundation, Children’s Museum of the Highlands, Highlands Art League, Habitat for Humanity, Hope Haven Transitional Housing, Lake Placid Historical Society, Mason Smoak Foundation, Ridge Area ARC, Rotary Club of Hardee, Sebring Band Boosters, Sebring Historical Society, and the United Way of Central Florida. Each nonprofit has a unique code that provides a $5-per-ticket discount while earning $10 for the organization. Tickets can be ordered online at sfscARTS.org. 

“This is something different and fun for families in our area,” Garren said. “Enjoy an amusing show with your kids and raise money for a good cause. And use that discount code so a nonprofit can earn the funds.”

SFSC presents a cultural arts program of 36 performances. Upcoming performances include: Tapestry: A Tribute to Carole King on Nov. 12; The Nutcracker Ballet on Dec. 4; and Darlene Love in “Love for the Holidays” on Dec. 13. For a complete schedule and to view videos of upcoming performances, visit sfscARTS.org.

Alan Jay Wildstein Center for the Performing Arts is located at 600 West College Drive in Avon Park. For more information, call the SFSC Box Office at 863-784-7178.

AVON PARK, Fla. – Oct. 12, 2022 – Attending college after having been out of school for several years can be intimidating. And beginning a new career with the understanding that more education is required can be daunting. But the lives of two people who faced such challenges intersected with positive results that will last a lifetime for each of them.

In the second term of her two-year Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program at South Florida State College (SFSC), Jennifer Allen was surprised to learn that she had been awarded a scholarship through the SFSC Foundation to cover her tuition and other college expenses for the entire two years. However, Allen may never have the chance to personally thank the woman who established the scholarship with the Foundation. The scholarship donor, who also became a nurse later in life, asked to remain anonymous.

At age 39, Allen is embarking on her second career as a registered nurse. She has been a practicing, licensed clinical social worker for the last 15 years, after earning her bachelor’s degree in Social Work from St. Leo University and a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Central Florida.

“I’ve always had a servant’s heart,” Allen said. “I’ve done everything you can possibly imagine in the field of social work. I’ve worked with children, adults, corrections, telehealth, in-home—you name it, I’ve done it. I reached a point where that wasn’t fulfilling for me anymore. I worked in a hospital setting five years ago as a social worker. That’s when the feeling, the itch, or the whisper said, ‘Maybe going into nursing would be a great transition.’”

Allen and her husband, Scott, have an 8-year-old son. “So, I have responsibilities at home to manage and juggle,” Allen said. “But I have a really wonderful, supportive husband who is a saint.”

In her endeavor to make the transition to nursing, Allen didn’t qualify for a federal Pell Grant because she had already earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Allen works from home as a licensed clinical social worker and her husband is a teacher. “We don’t make a ton of money, but our income combined exceeds the parameters of obtaining any type of assistance,” she said. “So, it is life-transforming to not have the financial challenge of paying for college. This scholarship covers tuition and what money is left goes toward books, study materials, and transportation. Because I live in Lakeland, it takes me an hour to get to the College and an hour to get home.”

The anonymous donor had applied and was accepted to SFSC’s Practical Nursing (PN) program at age 43, and became a licensed practical nurse. Early in life, she left high school, married, raised children, and worked in her family’s business. At age 39, she decided to take the General Educational Development (GED©) exams to earn her high school diploma. She passed the exams, received her diploma, and went on to take accounting courses. When the family moved to Florida, she worked in admissions in a hospital emergency room. Because of her intense interest in their work, nurses and doctors urged her to apply to a nursing program. When she was accepted to SFSC’s PN program, she worked 40-hour weekends so that she could attend classes. She was then awarded $1,000 and $200 scholarships.

“I knew that someday, I wanted to pay that forward,” the anonymous donor said. “I feel that everyone, especially women, have a need to feel self-worth and fulfillment. Education is important in helping us to reach that goal. I would not trade my family life for anything. I enjoyed being a mother and wife, but when your children are grown, it is time to take care of your own needs.”

Allen graduates from the ADN program in December 2023 and has left her career plans open for the time being. “I think I would thrive in an emergency room environment,” she said. “I like fast pace. Even in the social work realm, I’m a solution-focused, short-term therapist. Possibly, in future, I’ll get a master’s degree in Nursing. That would be ideal, but we’ll see. That’s way down the road.”

Allen said that she’d love the opportunity to meet the anonymous donor. “If I did,” she said, “I would wrap my arms around this individual and just sob. There are no words of gratitude to express how grateful I am that a perfect stranger would want to invest in me.”

Allen has expressed her desire to share stories about nursing school and the profession with the donor. “I feel like we’re kindred spirits. It’s like she’s a part of my life and my journey and I’m a part of hers on some level because she was generous to give this gift to me. Our lives are forever intertwined. Sometimes, one person can come into your life and change the trajectory of it. And this is that moment for me.”

To apply for scholarships made available through the SFSC Foundation, visit AwardSpring at: southflorida.awardspring.com. For more information about the SFSC Foundation or to make a donation, call 863-453-3133 or email foundation@southflorida.edu.

AVON PARK, Fla. – Oct. 11, 2022 – Residents of Florida’s Heartland have participated in the Heartland Games through South Florida State College (SFSC) since 2000. Although the Games have been postponed for 2022, they will return in 2023 and will be held in partnership with the Highlands County Family YMCA.

The Heartland Games are open to men and women 50 years and older to compete against others of the same gender and age group. Some of the activities available to competitors are bowling, pickle ball, tennis, swimming, golf, cycling, table tennis, shuffleboard, Mah Jong, Euchre, and Bridge. The Games are sanctioned by the Florida Sports Foundation and serve as qualifying events for the Florida Senior Games for residents of DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, and surrounding counties. The Heartland Games promote physical fitness, good health, and a competitive spirit among those seniors who live active lifestyles and inspire those who may not.

For more information about Heartland Games, call the Highlands County Family YMCA at 863-382-9622 or email michaelb@highlandsymca.org.