BlueWave News

November 2022

November 29 is #GivingTuesday! FSCJ will once again come together to raise funds and collect donations for the FSCJ H.O.P.E. Food Pantry. There are three ways you can make a difference: donate food, give online (a donor will match gifts up to $25,000), or volunteer your time with the mobile food pantry.

We raised enough to provide 219,084 meals and served 207 households through last year's mobile food giveaway. With your help this year, we can do even more so we hope you'll join us. The volunteer sign up and donation links will be shared soon!

FinTech Lab Ribbon Cutting

The FinTech Lab ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Wednesday, October 19 at Kent Campus. The lab is one of two, with the other being located in the Advanced Technology Center. Both were made possible through the Florida Jobs Growth Grant and the Northeast Florida FinTech Initiative.

The dedicated spaces will provide students access to innovative resources and experiential learning that will help them be successful in the FinTech industry.

New Website Launch Update

The all-new FSCJ.edu is on schedule to launch very soon. Content is still being updated and a Collegewide review process is planned for early December. The goal is to offer a more dynamic, but streamlined, experience for site visitors, helping them find what they are looking for quickly and easily and ensuring information is presented consistently across the site, College Catalog, etc.

Executive Director of Project Development Dr. Kip Strasma and Web Communications Manager Michael Ahmed shared information on the Redesign Six Sigma project during a recent OnPoint call.

Thanks to everyone who helped our sister institutions who were affected by Hurricane Ian. As a College and in conjunction with the Association of Florida Colleges, we collected food, water and personal hygiene items to assist students, faculty and staff. We are also donating more than 130 laptops and other critical IT equipment to help their students.

The FSCJ Foundation supported South Florida State College in Avon Park, Florida Southwestern State College in Fort Myers, and State College of Florida in Bradenton by making $2,500 donations to each institution. Additional monetary donations can be made directly to their foundations.

Cortney Bellande started her journey at FSCJ as a participant in the Vision Education & Rehabilitation Center (VERC), our community-based rehabilitation program for adults and high school students with blindness or visual impairments. VERC provides specialized training to help individuals learn the necessary skills to gain independence in the home, workplace and community.

After completing the program, she decided to stay at FSCJ to use the skills she developed while also exploring her passion for cooking. Cortney is on track to earn her Culinary Management Associate in Science degree this May!

The FSCJ Foundation hosted its donor appreciation and scholarship dinner, The Power of Possible, on October 20 at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. Funds raised will support the Power of Possible Scholarship Fund.

The event was presented by Florida Blue and featured Best-Selling Author and Motivational Speaker Jon Gordon as the keynote speaker. Two students, April Peterson and Marjan Ahmadzada, also spoke to the attendees, sharing their inspirational stories and appreciation for our donors.

Athletes from 18 teams competed in the recent FCSSA/NJCAA Region 8 Cross-Country Championships held at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee.

Sophomore Brennan Popik led the men's team and achieved a new personal record of 27:27 in the 8,000m, earning him All-Region 8 honors. Adrian Figueroa was 33 seconds back with a personal record of 28:00.1 and only 18 seconds ahead of Freshman Luke Williams who sliced 1:30 off his previous best to cross the line at 28:18. Jaxon McKim (28:33) and Noe Benitez (29:29, another personal record) completed the Top 5 scoring positions and an average time of 28:21, which placed the team at 4th.

The women's team was led by Freshman Zandi Pienaar with a time of 21:11, also capturing the 4th spot. Lynn Winkler and Meghan Bonser were next at 21:52 and 21:54, with Kayleigh McWatters just 22 seconds back at 22:16. All four posted new personal records. Rounding out the top five was Whitney Mathis in a season's best of 23:12. Sophomore Abigail Gray cut over a minute from her previous best with a 25:46.

FSCJ women's basketball participated in the 20th Annual Down Syndrome Association of Jacksonville's Buddy Walk on Saturday, October 15.

The team took a break from practice and traveled to the Jacksonville Beach Seawalk Pavilion to volunteer their time with this year's walk. The ladies walked around the event with signs they had made in support of the cause, played games, passed the basketball around, took pictures and even danced with many of the participants and families.

Have you seen the FSCJ Quick Tips video series yet? We've launched a video project featuring our own faculty and staff who are sharing their best tips and tricks. The videos cover a variety of topics from changing the battery on your vehicle to carving the perfect pumpkin. More Quick Tips will be added soon, but you can check out the first set here.

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported our recent Imagine Your Future events. We had more than 160 students attend across the four days. This was a great opportunity for future students to learn more about our programs and receive hands-on assistance with our application, FAFSA and scholarships. We look forward to hosting more events soon!

Kent Campus Imagine Your Future

In October, we also hosted our first in-person orientation since 2019! This select group of students had the opportunity to learn more about our student support services, tour South Campus and register for classes. We are excited to host our next in-person orientation later this month at North Campus.

Faculty and Staff Accomplishments

Academic and Career Coordinator for ESOL Martin Reyes (pictured at right) was named the winner of the Outstanding Member in the Community Award at this year's Ford Cuban Sandwich and Taste of Latino Festival. Congratulations, Martin!

Congratulations to the following employees for completing FSCJ Certificate programs!

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Certificate

Diversity at FSCJ Certificate

Facilities Updates

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

Projects in progress

Ongoing Collegewide:

Cecil Center:

Deerwood Center:

Downtown Campus:

Nassau Center:

North Campus:

South Campus:

Projects in planning

Collegewide:

Cecil Center:

Deerwood Center:

Downtown Campus:

Kent Campus:

Nassau Center:

North Campus:

South Campus:

Get to Know Your A&P Colleagues: Aaron Hanlin

November's Administrative & Professional Collaborative (APC) spotlight shines on Director of the Honors Program Aaron Hanlin. In this role, he provides strategic vision and instructional leadership as well as administrative supervision and day-to-day management of the program, while overseeing honors curriculum, instruction, outcomes assessment, co-curricular learning, admissions and recruitment.

FSCJ's Legal Studies Association (LSA) had 52 students present at their last meeting where they collected items for the FSCJ H.O.P.E. Food Pantry.

The attending officers are pictured here with the donations: (from left to right) Connie Stumph, Treasurer, Leona Hoehn, Secretary, Roxane Shaw, President, Faculty Advisor and Professor of Paralegal Studies Faith Litvack, JD.

Training & Organizational Development offers a wide variety of professional development courses and self-enrichment opportunities such as tai chi. Faculty and staff recently participated in this noncompetitive, self-paced system of gentle physical exercise and stretching at South Campus. Check the Thursday emails and myLearning for a full list of courses offered.

Through a partnership with FSCJ's Center for Civic Engagement, students in our Dental Hygiene program recently participated in an academic service-learning event at The Bethel Church’s Fall Family Fest Downtown. Throughout the day, they educated children and families on the importance of dental care and shared techniques for good oral hygiene. They also gave attendees free toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss.

Review the highlights of the November 8, 2022, meeting of the FSCJ District Board of Trustees:

You can find more information on the Board of Trustees meeting on our website.

Who's New

This list includes those individuals who are filling the newly appointed Faculty full-time positions, full-time A&P positions and full-time Career Employee positions.

Faculty Full-Time

A&P Full-Time

Career Full-Time

Who's Retiring?

The following employees have recently retired, or will soon be retiring, from FSCJ:

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) What award did Martin Reyes win at the Ford Cuban Sandwich and Taste of Latino Festival?

    a. Outstanding Member in the Community Award

    b. Outstanding Community Service Award

    c. Outstanding Leadership Award

    d. Educator of the Year Award

2) What is FSCJ raising funds for through Giving Tuesday?

    a. Emergency Assistance Fund

    b. Power of Possible Scholarship

    c. H.O.P.E. Food Pantry

    d. Jacksonville Humane Society

3) What event did FSCJ women's basketball participate in on October 15?

    a. October 11

    b. River Run

    c. Heart Walk

    d. Buddy Walk

4) There are two FSCJ FinTech Labs. Where was the ribbon cutting held?

    a. Advanced Technology Center

    b. Kent Campus

    c. North Campus

    d. Deerwood Center

5) What program first led Cortney Bellande to FSCJ?

    a. Business

    b. Culinary Arts and Hospitality

    c. VERC

    d. Stepping Stones

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