Dr. Jonathan Gueverra, President and CEO of the College of the Florida Keys, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about the college.
The 14th annual Seaside Soiree was held in Islamorada last week.
Dr. Gueverra said, “It was a very successful event, and it finished with our silent auction that is held as a part of that celebration. Both the auction and then the anniversary efforts are fundraising efforts and it was a lot of fun. It was incredible to see the amount of support that was there for the college and for its students. We had testimonials from two of our students. Academically, we have one of the best nursing programs in the state, if not in the country, and that shows itself in so many ways. Right now there are about six colleges in our system that are on probation for the low pass rate. I want to thank all who attended, listened to our students, bid on our items, and to remind folks that the anniversary is continuing. We still have a couple of big events. We have the Gala in March, which will be on March 27 at Fort East Martello and March is the College of the Florida Keys month in the city of Key West. Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez presented the proclamation in November. I want folks to come out to see the 60th Gala, buy tickets, buy tables. We’ll have our historical exhibit. We’ll do live music. Of course, we’ll dance, a champagne toast to the legacy that we’ve created here together. There are still tables, 10 sponsorship packages, and of course, everything that we raise will go towards support for the college and continue fueling the workforce. I want to reach out to our alums from the 60s and 70s. There are quite a few of them around, and those individuals who have been chairs of our boards, and even if they are not with us today, if their families who know these individuals, please get in touch with us, because we want to honor these individuals at the anniversary celebration.”
Now is the time to prepare for the summer semesters.
Dr. Gueverra said, “In this island where we celebrate endless summer, we will be taking in new students for May, and we ask folks to get your applications in order. Now is the time to be doing that. If you need any sort of guidance, you can contact anyone at the college, but in particular, our manager of recruitment, Marissa Owens, who is literally everywhere, and she can help you with anything from selecting a program to completing the application, and once you get in, you will be eligible to apply for scholarships. And the scholarships are now open. We have thousands of dollars available to support our students in all manner of programs, academic as well as apprenticeships. If you want to look at what those scholarship descriptions are, go to our website, and go to the link that says, paying for college. The deadline for more scholarships is a couple of days after the Gala, which is March 29 so please get out there and apply. When people are applying for scholarships, they need to remember, you don’t just have to apply for one. You can apply for as many as you might be eligible.”
The National Junior College Athletic Association swimming and diving championships in Fort Pierce is coming up.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We had a lone swimmer, Lucas Montiel de la Nuez and he’s been working all season to achieve his good times. He had some injuries that he had to work through, and Coach Bosco has been very, very supportive of him and helped him to develop his skill and speed. He started yesterday. They had a banquet, and the first events are this morning. In fact, one is within an hour the 50 yard breaststroke. Then he goes to the 50 freestyle, and then on Thursday, he does a 200 freestyle at 10:15, and then Friday, 100 breaststroke. If he makes it to the finals, he will then compete in races that are held in the evening. Many of our students will leave and they go on to also compete at Baccalaureate institutions. And if they just finish with us, they’ll go on and we’re watching that as we see how this goes. And so this is not just an end for them when they finish the first couple of years competing with us. Many of them go on and compete in other places.”
There is a new continuing education course at the college called Rock Through the Ages, the history of rock and roll.
Dr. Gueverra said, “This six week class highlights a journey through time as they explore the evolution of rock and roll from the 50s to today, and they’ll have the music. They’ll talk about what sets rock and roll apart from other musical genres, discuss how rock influenced society and where it is today. The first class is this evening. It runs through April 15, and if you want to learn more, sign up, visit our website and look for continuing education under the academic section. It should be a very, very fun class between, I mean, who doesn’t want to listen to rock and roll and learn while they’re doing that?”
Graduation is also coming up.
Dr. Gueverra said, “From all indications, this year promises to be a year when we will graduate probably our most students. In fact, our biggest issue we’re looking at is, where do we house all of these in a single graduation? And this may come as a shock to some of our employees, because we haven’t really talked about this yet, but we may have to split graduation this year into two if we’re going to fit it into Tennessee Williams.”
Housing is also a discussion point for both students and employees.
Dr. Gueverra said, “It’s pointless having all the students and not being able to house and support the individuals who are going to support those students. We are going to make sure we can support students, but also we need the employees to support them, so we need to make sure we can support our employees.”
For more information, click here: https://www.cfk.edu/