Dr. Jonathan Gueverra, the president and CEO of the College of the Florida Keys, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on at the college.
The college has an amazing group of employees.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We have a great, great team of employees who, day in, day out, go above and beyond the call of duty. It’s interesting that some of these men and women have had careers in other areas, and they either move to the Keys from someplace else or they’ve been here all this time, and they wanted to switch gears and rolls. Every year we hold an employee appreciation luncheon, and we say thank you to our employees. This year we did one in Key West and one at the Upper Keys Center. We presented awards to employees of the year in several categories, and we will award tomorrow the faculty member, the Professor of the Year. This individual is selected by our students, and I’m just grateful that we have people who show up to work every day to do the work that we’re continuing to do, because our enrollment continues to grow, and in order to keep servicing our community, we need both capable and dedicated people to do that. So thank you to all of our CFK employees.”
Students awards were also given recently.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We gave awards for students, for their club activities, honor societies, our athletic team and, various and sundry other things because our students are not just academically performing, they are also out in the community, picking up trash, volunteering to do a variety of things. They are on athletic teams and they keep doing what they do with their families and others. So for those who have done and gone way above and beyond, we have this special award ceremony for them.”
Seniors in the Bachelor of Science and Marine Resource Management and Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision and Management presented their capstone practicum to fellow students, family members and other supporters recently.
Dr. Gueverra explained, “The event is a showcase, and it operates sort of like a a conference with posters. We held it at Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Theater on our campus in Key West. Each student in the capstone course, in the marine resource and the business program, they had a major project to do that is sort of a culminating experience of their four years worth of education, and they worked at places like the Turtle Hospital. They did protecting paradise. They worked with solid waste management. Some of them went out to the Dry Tortugas. They did FWC. They did the Conch Republican Marine Army. The list just goes on and project at the college as well. Those who are on the business end, they did projects where they were planning to start their own businesses or work with First State Bank or other entities within the Keys to come up with ideas for things that could improve our community and our economy. So there were research projects, there were business ventures that were being launched, everything from social media website overhaul, helping with the affordable housing in Key West and the idea was to give our community a chance to see the work that they’ve contributed to and to give our students an opportunity to present these projects to their colleagues, to the rest of the college and to the community in a way that affords them the opportunity to, in some ways, like it says, it’s a showcase, show off what they know, what they do, how they plan to do it and maybe in so doing, somebody might say, you know what? I love this idea. We want to support this even more, but it gives them a chance at that.”
There’s also a strong partnership between the College of the Florida Keys and law enforcement.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We work very closely with all of our law enforcement agencies, in particular, the Monroe County Sheriff, Key West PD, Fish and Wildlife and we offer these academies for corrections and Basic Law Enforcement. This past week, we had Basic Law Enforcement number 92. We had nine cadets who went through the program, and not only did they graduate, but prior to graduation, each cadet, at the end of of the six month full time program, they have to take a state certification exam to become fully sworn and each cadet passed that exam, so at the end of the ceremony, the graduates were sworn in and inducted into Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, and as we speak today, they are on training with a training officer somewhere doing something to help them so that they can be one of the men and women that we see on the roads in the patrol cars helping our community. I asked, because there was only nine of them, I had a little bit of time, so in my remarks to them, I did not say much. I asked each of them to give me one sentence and say why they chose this profession. Each of them came back very, very loudly, resoundingly, saying it’s about community, it was really about serving and giving back to their community. So we want to congratulate them and thank our law enforcement partners for helping us to put on these academies.”
The CFK Academy is also having students present AI in the classroom.
Dr. Gueverra said, “It’s an immense topic. I approach it from Ai, using it as a tool. I know not everyone does, and there are varying opinions, and there are policies being devised every place we look. So rather than just let it be something that people have to figure out themselves, the the principal at the academy, she put on a small conference, and they took all of last Friday, they had a guest speaker, one of our own students, who was also had a showcase presentation, and he was a guest speaker. We figured that here is somebody who was closer in age to the students in the high school, talk about how and he has an extensive set of experiences with AI, talk about the values, the perspectives, the all of the pros, the cons. How to use it? Is it a tool? When do you use it as a tool? What are some of the ethical ways to do it? What are some of the not so ethical ways to use it? Each of them had a different piece that they did. So some did things related to art and gaming and ethics and legality. It was a great, great day for the for the high school students at the academy.”
The commencement ceremony for the spring class of 2025 will happen tomorrow.
Dr. Gueverra said, “We have 121 graduates who will cross the stage and get either their bachelor’s, associates or certificates. We are really looking forward to this group getting across and graduating with all of the challenges and changes we see around us. It’s important that we continue to have people who can get out there and fill the jobs that are out there. I’ve seen a lot of reports talking about a tough job market for graduates. I don’t understand those reports when in the Keys alone, we’re less than 4% unemployment, and nationally, we’re less than 5%, so there are jobs, and so we’re happy to see our students graduate, particularly with the kind of practical things that they’re learning.”
There is also a virtual info session about construction apprenticeships on May 14 at 5:30 p.m.
Dr. Gueverra said, “The program has come a long way since we got it going after Hurricane Irma, and we saw the need for people in the construction trades because we did not have them. We have electrical, we have carpentry, plumbing and HVAC. Employers out there, please. I know you’re always looking for people. This is a great way to either sponsor an apprentice directly by hiring them or working with us and our advisory board. The program costs nothing to the student. It’s tuition free, and you can start the program in Key West or in the Upper Keys. This model is great because students, they are employed. They work full time. They take courses, they develop skills. We start them off with the basic safety courses, and then they move on to the other things. They receive raises, just like any other employee working out there. In fact, one employer said to me, he said, look, I’ve got some apprentices, and even for the ones who come in knowing absolutely nothing, I don’t start them at my lowest wage level. I start them higher. So it’s a great opportunity. It’s an absolute godsend to our community to have men and women who are knowledgeable and can do work in the construction trades. So please come out and log on. You get an RSVP for the event but even if you don’t, get the information, so that we can give you more information about the event on May 14, so you can be part of our apprenticeship program.”
Tuga Clinic will close for the summer starting tomorrow and reopen on August 4.
Dr. Gueverra said, “Another important partnership that we have with the community, and we are going to halt operations for the summer months. We will have fewer students, fewer visitors, but we want to continue this. We will continue our partnership with the Monroe County Department of Health and the Rural Health Network. When we open, we will have immunizations, so flu shots and a variety of other shots, as well as the school physicals that are a part of every parent’s life, particularly when your your youngster is involved in athletic events. So if you need services during the time that we are closed, we are asking you to call the Department of Health or the Rural Health Network directly. There will be signs on the door so individuals who have visited the clinic, when they show up, there’ll be signs on the door with information for who they can call.”
Applications for the fall semester are available.
Dr. Gueverra said, “I’m going to encourage everyone sign up for classes now. If you are already a student, if you’re not, please complete your application. If you have not completed the application, look for our offers for information sessions, and when we have them, if you attend those sessions, the application fee of $30 is waived. We recently held some fast track where we waived application fees and we gave $100 kick start scholarships. So there’s always opportunity to do that. We encourage you to go to our website and look for scholarships. The deadline for most of our scholarships is June 1. It doesn’t matter whether you apply for one or you apply for seven. Anything that’s on there, if you believe you qualify, submit an application. Let us tell you, no, you don’t qualify, but do not assume that you don’t. Remember tomorrow’s commencement, and if you have a friend, a neighbor or somebody and you want to come out and support them. We will provide space at the college where it can be viewed, and for those of you who cannot come out, it will also be live streamed. So take a moment to look at recognize and congratulate your neighbors, your friends, whomever that you want to support for graduation. Thank you very much.”
For more information, click here: https://cfk.edu/