Best of Florida Schools 2002
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Best Disease of the Month
Have you been diagnosed with a terminal case of never having the latest health news? Miami-Dade Community College may have the vaccine for you with their “Disease of the Month” program. Each month, nursing students from the college’s Medical Center Campus spread disease awareness and offer screenings to the students at all six M-DCC campuses. “A very large part of nursing practice is providing preventive or health-promoting activities,” says Dr. Frances Aronovitz, director of nursing. “There’s more that nurses learn to do beyond that which takes place in a hospital. Students learn to provide health education [with the Disease of the Month program].”

Nursing students pass out information on topics ranging from heart disease to STDs, and screening is done for blood pressure, choelesterol, and glucose levels. With the largest associate degree nursing program in the country—with an average of 850 students—the Medical Center focuses not only on training its students but also on informing the community. The “Disease of the Month” program is just one way for the college to reach out to its students. “We have a natural population with all of our campuses of people who probably are not getting the information that they need to maintain their health,” Aronovitz says. “The information may be central to the school of nursing, but the faculty take their activities out into the community to try and reach people who might benefit.” JL

Contact Aronovitz at (305) 237-4039.

Best Spring Break
At St. Thomas University, spring break meant a missions trip to Trinidad. To raise the funds for this alternative spring break, student worker Marcia Guerrero helped the students put on a Trinadadian dinner. "Since I'm Trinadadian, it made sense to use that angle," Guerrero says. The students put together a menu of curry chicken, chick peas, choka (roasted tomatoes with garlic and onion), salad, rice, and roti (flatbread like pita.)

The highlight of the meal? " You mean besides the fire in the kitchen?" Guerrero says. Beyond that, it was making enough money to make the trip possible. Students visited villages and evaluated first-hand which programs to get involved in. They spent time in the isolated village of Masak,  high in the island's hills. "We were so welcomed by the people there, who don't receive many visitors, who don't even have shoes mostly," Guerrero says. " The children sang to us, and we were able to sing together with them in Creole. To hear the priest explaining to them that they are important enough for visitors to care about them, it was amazing." SRR

Contact Campus Ministries at (305) 628-6525.

Best Learning Communities
How do you make 4,000 freshman at the University of South Florida feel like part of a group? You start "learning communities."

Each community of around 150 self-selected freshman gives students the opportunity to have classes team-taught by five or six instructors from multiple disciplines. Students get together several times a week within their communities, and some have formed study groups and just friendships from the close association. "We're trying to reduce the psychological size of the institution," says Dr. Bruce Cochrane, associate dean for graduate and undergraduate studies for the College of Arts and Sciences.

One learning community is residential, with all the members living in the same dorm and holding their community meetings in a classroom in the dorm building. "We've even had people occasionally come to the session in their pajamas," Cochrane says. SRR

Contact Cochrane at coch@chuma1.cas.usf.edu.

Best Baby Lawyers
Ever wish someone would explain exactly what to do to get ready for law school? Pre-law students at University of Miami have that advantage. The National Academic Advising Association honored UM's program for several of its strengths. First, students receive the Pre-Law Manual which details everything students need to consider in years one through four to be prepared. In addition to the manual, counselors meet with students individually to make sure they stay on track to meet goals. The bi-annual pre-law newsletter keeps participants abreast of events like Law Day, which this year drew more than 65 law schools to Miami. "We strive to be very well-rounded," says Dr. Elisah B. Lewis, director of undergraduate career options counseling. Hearing presentations like the one from The University of Miami School of Law Center for Ethics and Public Service and asking questions at Career Day when UM law program alums come to speak give students the chance to enter law school with the best preparation possible. In addition, the pre-law fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta, is growing at a great rate under the leadership of president Virginia King. SRR

Contact Dr. Lewis at (305) 284-4052.

Best Dive-in Movie
You’re surrounded by sharks and the sound of people thrashing, splashing, and screaming, but you’re laughing?  Sure, if the sharks are inflatable and the screams are on a big-screen TV.  As a part of Welcome Week at Rollins College, the SGA and All Campus Events, the student event programming board, invite the students out to the pool to watch a water-filled flick and meet new people.  Last year’s movie was Jaws, says Stewart Parker, SGA president.  This year, the pool was surrounded by the sounds of thunder and crashing hurricane waves in The Perfect Storm.

“It’s lots of fun and the pool is full of rafts in the shape of sharks, alligators, whales, and other aquatic animals,” Parker says.  “It’s interesting watching Jaws attack while sitting in water. Everyone should try it.” RG

Contact Parker at sparker@rollins.edu.

Best Apprentices
At Palm Beach Atlantic College, students can apprentice to get financial aid by applying for the Apprentice Christian Experience Scholarship Program. The students apprentice themselves to one of the five departments at PBAC: athletics, student development, student activities, campus recreation, campus ministries, and Workship, the campus outreach program. They serve 10 hours a week in the department they choose in return for a $10,000 scholarship over the course of their four years.

"Since there are 40 apprentices per year, the applicants go through extensive elimination," says Dawn Jaremko, a student development apprentice. "The college looks for all-around good people who get good grades, were student leaders in high school, and are involved in their churches and communities." SRR

Contact Jaremko at jaremkdl@pbac.edu.

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