Have a Spooktacular Halloween at Broward College
You don’t have to wait until you get home to enjoy the thrill of Halloween. Come out with your friends to one of the many Student Life activities planned across the College’s main campuses. Display your scariest costume, and win a prize or two!
Hugh Adams Central Campus - Halloween Costume & Karaoke Party
Central Campus Student Life will be collecting non-perishable items as the entry fee for this Fangtastic party. Clubs can participate and win in the categories of highest attendance, donating the most non-perishable items, and club advisor with the funniest costume. All students (whether you participate with a club, or not) are eligible to win prizes for the most original costume, funniest costume, and scariest costume. Join the party in Building 19, room 106, from 2 to 4:30 p.m.
Judson a. Samuels South Campus - Howl-o-ween Spectacular
South Campus invites all students to have horrific fun at their Halloween bash from 12 to 2 p.m. in Building 68, room 191. Enjoy spooky food, drinks, and music with your peers. Feel free to wear your scariest costume!
North Campus - Pumpkin Carving and Costume Contest
What is Halloween without a good, old-fashioned pumpkin carving contest? North Campus Student Life will host not one, but two competitions. Clubs will participate in the pumpkin carving for a chance to win a pizza party and students can enter the costume contest for a chance to win bookstore vouchers. The prize for first place is $100, second place $75, and third place $50. Voting for the costume contest will be done through Facebook and Instagram @NorthBC. Contests will take place at Building 46, Student Life, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
SKD Literary Authors and Book Character Costume Contest
Are you a fan of literature? This costume contest encourages you to embrace your bookworm side by dressing up as your favorite author. You will be judged by a panel of your peers and the top three costumes will win special prizes. This competition will take place on North Campus at the Coffee House in Building 46, from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
We wish you all an eerie, spooky, hair-raising Halloween!
Broward College hosts 2018 Florida Gubernatorial Debate
Broward College will for the third-time partner with Leadership Florida to host a political debate on one of its main campuses. The College hosted the Florida Gubernatorial debate in 2014 and the U.S. Senate debate in 2016.
The hour-long Gubernatorial debate between Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis will take place on October 24, at the A. Hugh Adams Central Campus in Davie. The debate will be aired live on local, state, and some national television stations.
Although a poll conducted by Quinnipiac University concluded that the race is too close to call and that 94 percent of voters claim their mind is already made up; the debate still presents an opportunity for candidates to appeal to undecided voters two weeks before Election Day on Tuesday, November 6.
The College has used its partnership for these debates to improve its curriculum and several events have been organized since the start of the academic year to engage students. The hope is that the process will positively impact the student body and raise community participation and involvement in the electoral process and politics in general.
An educational opportunity
In the weeks leading up to the debate, students have participated in a series of events organized by Social and Behavioral Science professors college-wide. These include the Student Village Square series and politically themed lectures and symposia.
Among the topics explored were:
- The Citizenship Question: The U.S. Census and the Effect on Redistricting
- DACA & the Current Political Climate
- Voter Rights, Voter Suppression: On the Politics & Ethics of Democratic Election
- The Politics of Immigration: Ethics, Rights, and Responsibilities
This year, the College also hosted weekly Civic Spaces organized by student clubs.
Selected students will participate in the production setup for the debate; as stand-ins for the candidates, moderators, and panelists. More than a hundred Broward College students will attend the debate while others will participate through watch parties on the three main campuses. Students from the College’s international centers in Brazil, Ecuador and Peru will also join the watch parties by Skype.
Students who attend the debate will have an enriched classroom experience and instruction. Teachers often complement their lesson plans by including the pressing political, ethical, and religious topics that candidates are addressing,” says Henry Mack, associate dean for Academic Affairs.
On debate night, students will participate in a Global Circle, which will have five discussion groups on Immigration, Gun Control, Truth in Media, Ethics, and Education.
“I hope that students are inspired to become more involved in their community and in the political process,” says Dr. Lulrick Balzora, interim dean of Academic Affairs for the Social Behavioral Sciences & Human Services (SBSHS) pathway. “We also expect students to experience the atmosphere of the debate live, unmediated by technology and bias of the media.”
Visit beforeyouvote.org for a full list of networks streaming the debate.
See other events planned for the Broward College Village Square 2018-19 series at broward.villagesquare.us
Learn more about pursuing a career in Political or Behavioral Science at Broward College here.
From adjuncts to full time faculty – Growing at Broward College
At Broward College, we value our faculty and provide them with the opportunity to grow and expand their careers. Francesca Marinaro and Lucas Harriman, two English professors at the A. Hugh Adams Central Campus, started their career at the College as adjuncts, now, they are full-time faculty. They were eager to share their story with us.
Francesca Marinaro
Francesca joined the Broward College family as an adjunct in 2015, and two years ago she was hired as a full-time assistant professor in the English Department.
“I spent a lot of time teaching when I was in graduate school at the University of Florida, and the more time I spent at a large institution, the more I realized that I wanted my teaching focus to be more on students and the teaching environment rather than the research environment,” she says.
Francesca found at Broward College a group of compassionate colleagues, a diverse student body and the opportunity to have a lot of interaction with her students, which she says were the reason behind her decision to stay at the College.
“I think that what I enjoy the most is the fact that it’s always so clear that the College really cares about the students, that our focus is on making sure that they are successful in their communities and their careers,” she says. “I have always found it wonderful that the College is so focused on making sure that students always have access to the resources that they need.”
As full-time faculty, Francesca enjoys the opportunity to build a closer relationship with her students and learning about the difficulties and challenges they face outside the classroom so she can help them as much as possible inside of it.
Lucas Harriman
Lucas’ love for reading eventually led him away from engineering, the major he first pursued in College, to his true passion of English. That led him to teach at the College level.
“I never saw myself as a teacher before as I was going through my degrees,” he says. “I just loved to read and that’s how I ended up in English. Once I went back to graduate school, I started teaching my first class back in 2003 at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and I just loved the energy.”
He first taught at Broward College back in 2006 as a part time, he came back to stay in 2016. He started off againas an adjunct teaching four classes, and after a year he was hired as a full-time temp. As a temporary full-time, he applied to become permanent and ended up being selected for the position in 2017.
“All across the board in my classes I see a drive to succeed, they really see this educational step as an important step in their forward mobility,” he says. And that, Lucas says, is his favorite thing about Broward College. “Students want what the school has to offer them, they have the desire to learn and that makes it encouraging for me because it makes me feel the job of teaching is actually fulfilling and necessary.”
Francesca and Lucas have joined a group of outstanding full-time and part-time faculty at Broward College that serves a diverse group of over 60,000 students.
While their desire to teach is driven by their passion to see students succeed, both agree that Broward College has excellent career opportunities. We know there are many more success stories from our faculty and we want to hear from you.
Learn more about job opportunities at Broward College.
Virginia Tech survivor Lisa Hamp shares story of recovery
Eleven years after the Virginia Tech shooting that left 32 people dead, survivor Lisa Hamp is sharing her long journey to recovery. It took her almost ten years to realize that she had not dealt with the trauma of that horrifying day.
And while her real journey to recovery started only two years ago, today Lisa is a married and a mother of two young girls. She speaks about her experience at workplace violence prevention training events, conferences, and schools.
Recently, she was a guest speaker at Broward College during Campus Safety Awareness Month in September.
An uninjured survivor
On April 16, 2007, Lisa Hamp was in classroom 205 of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech with eight other students and a teaching assistant. While that room was targeted by the shooter, no one was physically hurt because they managed to successfully block him from entering.
Although there were resources available to them as survivors, they soon realized they would not be treated the same. According to Lisa, the university didn't acknowledge their traumatic experience because they were not physically hurt. When the school organized a ceremony to mark the tenth-year anniversary of the shooting, Lisa learned that they would only accommodate injured survivors at the event. She penned an open letter to the school hoping they would change their position but that didn't work.
From finding financial solutions for her and other classmates in 205 who wanted to attend the event, Lisa soon became an advocate for uninjured survivors. She shares her ordeal of masking the pain and how the experience changed the way she saw the world. For her and many others, the emotional consequences of the event are as harmful as physical injuries.
How can we prepare ourselves?
Lisa says communities, schools, and workplaces should have a comprehensive plan that includes training, education, and infrastructure in the event of an active shooter. She explains that when the shooting at Virginia Tech happened, there was no plan of action to deal with the emergency or its aftermath. The classrooms had no locks, there was no emergency plan or any additional measure that could have helped victims. A few years after the incident, in 2011, the university was fined by the U.S. Department of Education for failing to issue a prompt emergency warning after the first shooting in the apartment building.
But, the institution’s preparedness is one thing, Lisa believes every person should also have a plan of action.
“As individuals, the best way to prepare ourselves in case of an emergency is when you’re getting safety training in any situation, whether it be on a plane, at school, that you are aware and pay attention to what they are teaching you,” says Lisa.
Journey to recovery
After almost a decade of denial and three different counselors, Lisa realized that she needed to deal with the emotional scars of the shooting to be able to begin her healing process.
Talking from her own experience she shares that “if there’s a little voice inside your head or somewhere deep down in your gut that is telling you ‘something is wrong’ or ‘I should talk to someone’, listen to it because the sooner, the better.”
“Injured or not, recognize that you need resources and you were impacted by what happened to you, that it was traumatic, don’t minimize it,” she adds.
Broward College will conduct a self-led drill for the college community to practice how to shelter in place on October 15 at 11 a.m.
Read more about preparedness training and what to do in case of an active shooter situation here.
Three Outstanding Nursing Students Named as Siemens Technical Scholars
Three Broward College students have been named 2018-2019 Siemens Technical Scholars by the Aspen Institute and Siemens Foundation. They are among 44 students nationwide who are preparing for high-demand jobs in Advanced Manufacturing, Energy, Healthcare, and Information Technology and will serve as ambassadors for their programs and respective fields.
The Technical Scholars are pursuing a degree in high-demand fields from colleges across the nation with exceptional programs. Broward College was one of eight institutions from across the nation to win the award for its Nursing program. The scholars, who are all pursuing nursing will share a $25,000 prize to assist with tuition and other expenses.
We caught up with our Siemens Technical Scholars at a special reception held in their honor on Monday, October 1 at the A. Hugh Adams Central Campus. They were all eager to share their rewarding journey at Broward College.
Karine Augustin
In 2015, Karine graduated with her A.S. in Nursing from Broward College and is now completing her final semester for her Bachelor’s in Nursing at the College. Karine is a member of the Broward College Nursing Honor Society and for her, Broward College was an easy choice to pursue further studies. She stopped between congratulatory handshakes to explain. “Choosing a community college felt more personable, it allowed me to build a close relationship with my instructors,” she explains. “I believe that Broward College gave me the opportunity to do that and it is also an excellent school with a great reputation.”
Karine hopes to specialize in women’s health and continue to further her education and career opportunities. “Ever since I became a nurse, it’s been such a reward being able to help others and this was just the right choice and path for me,” she said.
Receiving the award was just another confirmation that she had made the right decision.
“This tells me that my dedication and commitment is recognized. Working and going to school full-time has not been easy but this award means that I didn’t only ‘do it’ but that I was successful at it. It gives me a push to continue to help others and striving to make a difference day by day.”
Edj Cadet
Edj was just a ten-year-old when she arrived in the United States with her mom, who decided to leave Haiti to provide Edj with better educational and career opportunities. Her journey has been faced with several challenges. In May 2016, the day after graduating with her AA from Broward College, Edj was involved in a horrific car accident. It took her several months to recover, but the accident inspired Edj to pursue a career in Nursing.
“I chose Broward College because it is affordable and although it is a demanding program, I knew I could do it. I knew that if that accident didn’t kill me, then I would be able to succeed in that program,” she said with a smile.
And with laser-like focus Edj, who is a first-generation college student, will graduate in December (2018) with her A.S. in Nursing with a specialization in Anesthesia.
“This Siemens Technical Scholar recognition inspires me to continue to be great at whatever I do to show that just because you chose a community college as your route doesn’t mean that you’re not going to be successful,” says Edj. “I’m happy I chose Broward College because the class sizes are small and the professors really care about you and want to help you.”
You can learn more about Edj’s story by watching her
Joel Zisholtz
Joel is a first-generation college student whose parents emigrated from Russia. Nursing is his second career, having earned a bachelor’s degree in Marketing a few years ago. He worked in medical sales for five years until he realized he was passionate about nursing and decided to apply for the program.
“My wife actually pursued her nursing degree at Broward College before I did, and she told me that even though it was challenging, once you’re done, you’re truly ready to go out on the field because you learn everything you need and more,” said Joel.
During his time at Broward College, Joel said he’s interacted with extraordinary faculty and describes his fellow students as driven. He explains that Broward College was an excellent choice because he didn’t only learn everything he needed but thanks to the excellence of the Nursing program he received the Siemens Technical Scholar recognition.
“This means a lot to me because I know that when I’m ready to go back to school I will have this award to help me financially.” Joel plans to go back to school to do the Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) program.
Congratulations to our exceptional students for their commitment and dedication to their chosen field!
Do you have a passion for nursing? Learn more about Nursing and other careers in Health Sciences.
View the calendar of upcoming information sessions.