BlueWave News

March 2022

FSCJ's 2022 Commencement will be held on Thursday, May 12, in-person at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. We are still in need of volunteers to help with different tasks throughout the day, such as setting up the arena, signing in graduates, helping guests to their seats, assisting with student line-up and cleaning up after the ceremony. If you are interested, talk with your supervisor and contact Bryan Stewart at bstewart@fscj.edu.

In addition to the in-person ceremony, Grad Fest events will be held at

each location beginning this month:

Join us to help make these events memorable for our graduates! After the past couple of years, they deserve a celebration.

I'm In! Ends Tomorrow

“I’M IN!," the FSCJ Employee Giving Campaign ends tomorrow, March 11. Over the past several weeks, the Foundation has been sharing information, holding fun contests, asking for your support and sharing the amazing impact we make possible when we give to FSCJ. There's still time for you to be a part of this wonderful initiative!

Watch the introduction video from Dr. A above and click on the button below to learn how you can join us and make a donation. If you have any questions, you can email danielle.thompson@fscj.edu or call ext. 5955.

Student Awards Nominations

Deadlines are approaching for Celebration of Student Success nominations. Faculty and staff are invited to nominate one to three students from your respective courses, academic programs, student organizations or workplace for recognition of their excellence. Students may be selected from the Summer 2021, Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Terms for recognition in the following categories:

Academic Achievement, Inspirational Achievement, Outstanding Student Worker, Outstanding Student Leadership. Nominations may be submitted via the online form.

Dental Clinic Ribbon Cutting

The new dental clinic at North Campus officially opened on February 25 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. This state-of-the-art facility will help expand student capacity for learning and ensure essential dental services continue for those in our community who are in need.

Also included with the ceremony was the unveiling of the donor wall, which highlights prominent donors who have supported the project, and additional check presentations. Attendees included current and former students, faculty and staff, along with donors and honored guests.

Read the spotlight on the clinic in the American Dental Education Association bulletin.

Assigned Advising Has Launched

Select students have been paired with an academic advisor who will help them stay on track during their time at FSCJ. Each assigned advisor serves as a single point of contact who can review academic plans, make connections to resources and answer any questions students may have. Assignments were made based on each student's responses to a survey they completed in myFSCJ regarding their intended major.

The assigned advising program will expand to additional students in the coming terms, so be on the lookout for more information soon.

Aviation Program Receives FAA Grant

FSCJ was awarded more than $490,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to educate the next generation of pilots and aviation professionals. The Aircraft Pilots Aviation Workforce Development Grant was established to create and deliver curriculum designed to prepare students to become aircraft pilots, aerospace engineers or unmanned aircraft systems operators.

Our aviation program will use the award to create the Aviation Career Education for Students (ACES) program, to provide meaningful aviation education and exposure to the aviation field. It will also help to create a Drone Racing League and professional development workshops for high school teachers throughout Florida and Georgia.

Quality Enhancement Plan Participation

The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is a five-year plan that focuses on improving student learning outcomes and/or student success. It is also a required element of our SACSCOC reaccreditation process. Through data-informed conversations, we will be able to focus on an area we believe will best support our students and improve opportunities for success.

Join us as we work to identify a topic. In an effort to include as many voices as possible, forums have been scheduled at all campuses and centers. Click here to learn more and select the date you wish to attend.

Our goal is to have a topic selected by May 2022 and begin developing the full plan in July 2022. This document shares a high-level overview of the QEP development and implementation plan.

There will be additional opportunities to participate. We look forward to your active engagement in this process. Email deborah.fontaine@fscj.edu with questions.

FSCJ Foundation Awards Scholarships to Cooking Contest Winners

THE PLAYERS Championship (TPC) and TPC Sawgrass recently hosted “Cooking with Champions," a cooking competition between culinary students from area high schools within Duval County Public Schools.

Each team was given a recipe to prepare and serve to the judges, which included the executive chef and members of the TPC Sawgrass team.

The winning chefs will cook alongside other chefs during this year's TPC event. The FSCJ Foundation also awarded scholarships to the winning team.

Facilities Update

The Facilities Team has been hard at work, updating and upgrading spaces across the College. Check out some highlights below:

Recently completed projects

Projects in progress

Projects getting started

The Florida College System (FCS) recently announced the 2022 All-Florida Academic Team. One of FSCJ's Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) students, Lysandra Haidinger, was selected for academic achievement, leadership and service to the community. The FCS will honor Lysandra and all 144 student team members on April 1, 2022, during an in-person celebratory lunch and recognition event.

The Florida awards are part of the All-USA Academic Team competition sponsored by the PTK International Honor Society.

The FSCJ Women's Basketball team would like you to meet Guard Jayde Johnson. She is a sophomore majoring in biochemistry and plans to become a veterinarian one day. Jayde is a graduate of Tampa Tech High School.

She was selected 2nd team All-Central Conference, #1 in conference in 3-point shooting, #4 in the region in 3-point shooting, 31st in the nation in 3-point shooting and is the second leading scorer on the team.

The FSCJ-SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) Student Organization recently participated in the SHRM Regional Business Meeting panel discussion at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island. Former FSCJ-SHRM Student Organization President Romina Muhametaj joined the "Student and Emerging Professional Engagement" panel discussion, which focused on growing student chapters, developing strategies for student chapters, sharing how HR professionals grow their careers and connections once they participate in a student chapter and more.

The panel was hosted by Vernon Williams, Ed.D., and Kevin Abbed, who is a Specialist on Membership Engagement - Emerging Professionals with SHRM National.

In case you missed it, this year's FSCJ Author Series virtually welcomed Tembi Locke on March 1 and 2. She shared how she discovered resiliency and strength during her personal journey of love, caregiving and loss.

Our students adopted this year's book, "From Scratch" in various classes and showcased their work during the Art Gallery event.

Student essays, Italian pottery and art pieces were on display for everyone to enjoy. A print from the students that contains elements of Tembi's journey can be seen above.

A panel of FSCJ faculty selected finalists for the arts, digital arts and essay contests. Winners were recognized during the event reception.

Contest Winners:

Art - 1st prize: Brandi Moore, 2nd prize: Kaylee Estanislao, 3rd prize: Taryn Towsley

Digital Arts - 1st prize: Aisha McBurnie, 2nd prize: Joshua Brooks

Essay - 1st prize: Jamiah Johnson, 2nd prize: Sarah Gonzales, 3rd prize: Gabrielle Dybalski

The FSCJ Author Series would like to thank all who participated in and supported this year's activities.

The Recruitment and Admissions team has been hard at work with daily events around the community. A couple of the most notable events have been the High School Principals and Counselors Workshop as well as the Form Your Future event.

The High School Principals and Counselors Workshop was held at the Advanced Technology Center and Downtown Campus on February 4.

We welcomed more than 50 principals and counselors from Duval and Nassau county high schools. The educators were able to tour several programs, attend breakout sessions on important topics such as Dual Enrollment and workforce programs, and hear from President Avendano on the importance of our partnerships. Each representative walked away with a packet of information on grants, resources and advising opportunities, as well as a data booklet about each high school’s statistics on last year’s graduates.

Form Your Future was held February 26 at the Advanced Technology Center. More than 125 students and their families attended this community-based, FAFSA completion event. Attendees gained financial aid knowledge through roundtable discussions with UNF Soar graduate students and attended presentations by City Year and FSCJ Recruitment. They also attended FAFSA and FSCJ application labs to complete the requirements, as well as a Scholarship Essay Writing lab.

Form Your Future is a collaboration of many partners including Earn Up, UNF, DCPS, NCSD, City Year and FSCJ.

Faculty and Staff Accomplishments

Professor Dustin Harewood, Malcolm Jackson, Jordan Walter (FSCJ alumni) and Toni Smailagic recently presented "Soul Circuit," an exhibition of the legacy of the True American Cowboy, during Art Walk at The Lark Performance & Event Venue.

The exhibition also featured other works, with contributions from CJ Wenninger (FSCJ alumni) and FSCJ Professor Patrick Miko.

Congratulations to the following employees on completing FSCJ Certificate programs!

Diversity Certificate

Managing at FSCJ Certificate

March's Administrative & Professional Collaborative (APC) spotlight shines on the new Director for Career Services for the Student Support Division Heather Engelking. She encourages collaboration at all levels and concentrates on partnerships with local, state and national employers to recruit at FSCJ and helps prepare students to successfully transition from an academic environment to the world of work.

FSCJ's faculty, staff, students, programs and leadership are often highlighted by local and regional media outlets - online, on air and in print. Read articles featuring important updates and activities happening within the College by clicking here.

Upcoming Events

Test your knowledge. To ensure all faculty and staff have an opportunity to submit answers, the quiz winners will be selected at random from entries with all questions answered correctly. You have until 6 p.m. on the day the newsletter is distributed to email your answers to bluewavenews@fscj.edu. The three winners will receive a BlueWave prize pack! Please note: Previous quiz winners, while eligible to submit answers, are not eligible for additional prizes for six months.

1) When is the 2022 Commencement Ceremony?

    a. March 28

    b. May 12

    c. April 4

    d. May 3

2) For which of our athletics teams does Jayde Johnson play?

    a. Softball

    b. Cross Country

    c. Basketball

    d. Volleyball

3) Where was the new dental clinic opened?

    a. South Campus

    b. Nassau Center

    c. Downtown Campus

    d. North Campus

4) When does the I'M IN! Employee Giving Campaign end?

    a. March 11

    b. March 31

    c. May 12

    d. April 1

5) What does QEP stand for?

    a. Quiz Education Preparation

    b. Quality Enhancement Plan

    c. Qualified Enrollment Proposal

    d. Quiet Enrollment Phase

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