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 what’s going on at the college.
There has been a resurgence of young people looking to go into teaching professions at the college.
Dr. Gueverra said, “In addition to that, we have had some substantial conversations with the school district and Superintendent Tierney and I meet at least once every month, and we have been working with them for some time now, because we are trying to find ways so that our young people in high school can benefit from the CTE programs that are available at the college. So this course came as a result of those joint conversations. There’s actually a committee with employees from the college and employees from the school district that have been looking at ways that we can better support our young people. And as a result of the amount of requests from potential teachers or students who want to be teachers, we’re going to offer this class this summer so that those individuals who are considering that can begin a path towards getting into the teaching profession.”
This is the 60th anniversary of the College of the Florida Keys.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We’ve been hosting a lot of activities around that. And this week we will have the seaside soiree. And the soiree event is sort of two parts. So we have the virtual auction, which we’ve been doing online since COVID, and then the actual party, the physical getting to see people and dance and putting on your costume will be at the Islander Resort in Islamorada, and we’ve been using that spot for the last number of years, and this will be, obviously, our 60th anniversary, and we will still keep the same theme of swords and tails. So we’re encouraging people to wear their pirate costumes, and of course, I’d love to see you in one. And for the ladies, their mermaid costumes. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a great evening. There’ll be music, there’ll be dancing, we’ll have food, we’ll have drinks. Tickets are still available. Sponsorships are still available for those individuals and organizations that want to support the college and the virtual auction, which is the other piece of this, will run through the evening of the soiree, and people can go online, use their smartphone, and you can bid, and you don’t have to be there to bid in the auction. There’s quite a variety. We have adventure packages, travel experiences, dining, catering, art, jewelry, a whole lot more. I’m doing a dinner, for example, with another chef, where we come to your home and we will cook for up to 12, including the wine and everything else. So get out on there and support the college. Buy something that appeals to you, and support our college, our students, our program, because all the proceeds will benefit the students and programs. There are tickets still available. They’re things that people will use, special occasion items. We tend to be fairly flexible when it comes to things like the experiences like the dinners and things like that. But there’s also items for people who may not be able to afford to spend $1,000 or $2,000, so there’s something there for everyone. And so I encourage people to go on and look at that.”
Essential Net Solutions are a major sponsor of the virtual auction.
Dr. Gueverra said, “They’ve been doing this for a number of years now, and we definitely thank them for their support. And of course, you also for giving us the opportunity to be able to broadcast that this is available. And so, thank you as well, Michael for the work that you do to help us.”
Michael Stapleford of Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM said, “We want to support the community at every opportunity and the College of the Florida Keys is such a valuable asset in our community, we hope that funding continues to come your way.”
The state board of education met in the Keys last Friday.
Dr. Gueverra said, “It’s always a delight to have our state level folks take time to come down and meet in our community. And as I said to them during my opening remarks, it took 10 years for me lobbying to get him here the first time, and then once they realized that we are such a wonderful community, I didn’t have to ask them the second time. But I also want to thank the folks who came out. Some people brought written remarks, and others spoke. Kerry Baker in particular, from the chamber, got up there and not only talked about the importance of our school district having the ability to determine what time our kids should be in school, but she also made the board very aware of the importance of the college in our community. And so I want to thank her and other folks.”
The college is continuing to expand opportunities in the Upper Keys.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We had our second annual community day up there, and we recognized the Ocean Reef Foundation for its stellar work in supporting the college. We went from 58 students up there now to 216, so we continue to expand throughout the Keys, and that benefit is seen by our community. And for those who aren’t aware, in the most recent update that the state submitted, our graduates are outpacing Florida College System college graduates at an annual salary of 57,000 per year, compared to 45 or 46 for the other colleges averages.”
For more information on the college, click here: https://www.cfk.edu/