Dr. Jonathan Gueverra, president and CEO of the College of the Florida Keys, joined Good Morning Keys this morning to talk about the college.
The College of the Florida Keys was a proud sponsor of the Southernmost Air Spectacular this weekend in Key West.
Dr. Gueverra said, “I have to tell you, you were a witness. I was not there. A friend of mine said, you didn’t come. You knew it was going to rain. And I said, no, it was my grandkids who didn’t show up, and therefore I decided not to go. I gave my passes to someone else, but I had the distinct pleasure, probably back in 2012 or 2013 of riding with the Blue Angels. It’s quite the thrill, not for the faint of heart, but it is quite an experience. I did 7.3 G’s. I was awake and alive and conscious through the whole thing, and I still have my hour and 10 minute or so video is evidence of my experience. We continue to be a sponsor for that show. This year in particular, it was also great for us, because we use it as an opportunity for our swim team to be out there and they were out there. They sold beverages to support the Blue Angels, but also they raised money for their competition to support their expenses when they go away from meets and for national competitions. That’s a great show.”
The Lower Keys Medical Center has recently donated $100,000 to the College of the Florida Keys Foundation for nursing scholarships.
Dr. Gueverra said, “The Lower Keys Medical Center, they’re right across the street from us, they will have donated, I believe, a total of $260,000 when all is said and done. This started with the state’s desire and quest to increase the number of nurses who are qualified to practice. As you know, we’ve had a nursing shortage for as long as I can remember, and the legislature decided that they’re going to incentivize colleges and universities to offer these programs and to get more people through and by providing these funds, we are able to provide scholarships. We are able to use some of the money to support the programs. We use some of those dollars to buy new simulated pieces that, look and sound. I can take you into one of the labs and use your voice short recording, and then be able to use that as a real patient. So Lower Keys has been great in supporting us and supporting our nursing program. It makes sense for us to have this partnership and our students use Lower Keys Medical Center as one of their primary clinical sites. Our faculty often work there as well in the spare time that they have, and so many of our students go on to be full time employees or part time employees once they receive their licensure. Some even work in administrative areas, but primarily this was for nursing, and so we thank Lower Keys Medical Center and all that they do for us to support our programs and our students.”
A dual enrollment virtual information event is coming up next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Dr. Gueverra said, “Let me just back up a little bit here. One of the things that we’re also doing with some of the money we’re receiving through the state and Lower Keys Medical Center and other healthcare providers is, we’re going to have these open houses that will allow people to come into our nursing simulation labs and experience what it’s like to be a nurse, because for so many people, they think they know what they want, and then they get there and realize, oh, this is not what I want, or they have some other idea of what it means to be in a program like that. So taking that to the dual enrollment students is very, very helpful to them to be dually enrolled, because they get to experience college while they’re still in high school, but the great thing is that it doesn’t cost them a penny and for many of those students I know, for example, at our CFK Academy, we have a number of students who will graduate, I think maybe close to more than 50% of the graduating class will have either a college degree, close to a college degree, or industry certifications as a result of doing dual enrollment. Because the program is a head start, and because you’re able to do so many of these credits when you go on to college, particularly here in Florida, those credits transfer to any other state college or university, and it saves you thousands of dollars. It gives you a head start. When they come to the session, we discuss all the benefits, but we also talk about the preparation that they need, what classes they’re eligible to take, the application process and we sign them up so that they can be successful.”
The dual enrollment program is actually available for grades 5 through 12.
Dr. Gueverra said, “As a result of dual enrollment, we had a 13 year old and a 15 or 16 year old graduate last year. They were homeschooled, and even they are eligible, by the way, Home School students are also eligible to take dual enrollment, and so a 13 and a 16 year old graduated with their associate’s degree last year.”
The president’s award was given last week at the CFK Academy.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We do this thing called the Academy Awards for the CFK Academy, and they provide the principal and her staff provide academic awards and a variety of other awards to the students at the end of every grading period. As I was sitting through one of these, I thought this is great, but you’re also part of the college. We should have a president’s award and they thought about it, and we said, okay, let’s come up with the criteria. We were looking for an extraordinary person in the senior class, who uses all opportunities, participates in the community, is involved with the college as well as the high school. So we came up with the criteria, and Lela Griffin came out as the recipient, and she is a member of CFK’s Interact Club. She’s on the academic challenge team that has done so well, Music Club, founding president of the National Honor Society for the academy and she’s a duly enrolled student. So at the college, she’s also a member of the college’s Honor Society, the Gay Straight Alliance, creative expression club and the crochet club. She also sings and acts. So she performs at local theaters and she’s also a member of the Keys Choral Arts and founder of the Keys Choral Arts Junior. So you talk about somebody who deserves an award, it’s Lela. We were just excited and enthusiastic and happy to have given her this award that will go along with all of her other accomplishments.”
A fundraiser to benefit the CFK Academy is being held on April 18. It’s a Roaring Good Time Speakeasy.
Dr. Gueverra said, “This is the second annual event. We’ll be at Tennessee Williams theater, Friday, April 18, starting at six. It’s a fun evening. I can say that because I’ve been there, I’ve seen what the students have done. They’ve put together entertainment, auctions, food, a cash bar. There’s just so much to be done, dress up in your roaring good times outfit and come on out. Last year, they did a silent movie, among other things. They performed their own individual talents. They had some piano and vocals that they did. It’s just a wonderful, wonderful opportunity, and the students take you through the 1920s themed event. It’s part of what we do with them through their project based learning. So this is also part of what they do with their entrepreneurship class, and they learn how to put events together, what makes good marketing, and it becomes a real life project for them. So this is not just a let’s do this for the sake of raising money. This is also about, how can we demonstrate to them that these are real life skills that they learn every day?”
There are scholarships available for the summer and fall semesters coming up.
Dr. Gueverra said, “Anyone who’s listening, and if you’re not, tell somebody who is not listening, April 6, June 1 are the two dates to remember. April 6 is the deadline for summer scholarships, and June 1 for the fall semester. The criteria range widely, and we try to accommodate as many students as possible. When students and their families go online, submit applications, we have a variety of scholarships. Don’t simply apply for one and say, okay, one and done. Because sometimes, believe it or not, in spite of all the need that is out there, we have scholarships where no one will apply, and the money might sit. This is not why we raise the money, to have it sit in an account and draw the interest. It’s nice that we get the extra interest on it through our foundation, but our goal is to make sure that we can provide assistance, financial and otherwise, to every person who desires to get a college education. You can find all those details, you can get the applications for the scholarships at CFK’s website under paying for college. You have to be accepted to the college prior to applying for the scholarship, because what’s the point in getting a scholarship and you’re not accepted? So we ask you to get on there, put in your application, and if you come to one of our open houses, you don’t even have to pay for the application fee. We will waive the application fee. So there’s not even a burden for you to put in that application if you attend one of our open house sessions that will prepare you for how you get to make the next step. Summer is coming, and I know that there are many of us who are thinking about extra hours, upskilling and doing a variety of things to get us a step ahead. I will say to the students who are currently there, please take even if it’s one class during the summer, and continue that momentum. Because the minute you stop, life gets in the way and it becomes so much more difficult to continue further. I’m a living example of that, so please take that advice and just keep going, even if it’s one class and apply for those scholarships.”
The VIP series of speakers also helps the community. The final event of the series is on Thursday, April 17, at the Tennessee Williams theater. Dr. Douglas Mader will present Invasive Species in the Florida Keys.
Dr. Gueverra said, “If you have not heard Dr. Mader, you are missing out. He has done a piece before, and he did one on iguanas. I grew up in the Caribbean, and growing up in Trinidad and Tobago, we hunted the green iguana and cooked it, as people do in so many other countries and watching the iguanas here, even as we interacted with them, I did not know all the things that he talked about, not half of it related to the species and what they do. He does an excellent presentation, and he embeds humor and the kind of detail that the average person can take something away with them. So if you have not had a chance to hear Dr. Mader, you really are missing out. I encourage you to show up on the 17th, and the tickets are $5 you can buy them online or you can just pay $5 at the door. If you are one of our students at the academy, at the CFK College or in Monroe County high schools, anywhere, home schooled, it’s free to the students. Any student in the county, show up. It’s a great, great lecture.”
The College of the Florida Keys attended Florida Keys Day in Tallahassee recently.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We had a great visit. We’re hoping that our visit results in the funding that we have asked for and if anyone from the Keys is talking with legislators and they want to speak on behalf of the college, our two primary asks, one is to get enough money out of the legislature from their Public Education Capital outlay fund to replace the lines in our chiller. Those lines, the chiller is more than 50 years old, and it’s the only source of cooling for the entire Key West campus. To some in the legislature, it may sound like a lot, $7 million to replace those lines, but it’s a big project that requires ground penetrating radar as well as the actual work to run the lines, and that’s one of our asks. The second major ask that we had is for funding to take our marine programs to become a true center of excellence in terms of funding, so that we can do all the additional things that we’ve been trying to do to support the Keys and that continues to be work for us. We won’t know much about that until the legislature has done all of their deliberations, and the governor has signed the budget, and in this year of cost cutting, it’s going to be a miracle if we can pull that off. I thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak about the college and to highlight some of the things that are available to our community.”
For more information, click here: https://cfk.edu/