Best of Florida Schools 2004
General Categories—Page 7

Best Service Project
Clean-Up Commandos
It’s like a dream—a busload of college students pulls up, unloads, cleans, landscapes, repairs, and zooms away, leaving a local business looking perfectly manicured. Southeastern College students spend one day going from business to business to make this dream a reality.

Business owners surrounding Southeastern complained that the neighborhood looked rundown and dirty. Neighborhood lenders asked for help, and the Student Life Center took notice. In an organized, massive community service project on the second day after registration, 500 freshmen boarded buses and traveled through the surrounding community offering any help they could. Organizers divided the students up into teams of 50 and sent them to specific problem areas.

“The service project aided the students in building unity and developing relationships with each other in the beginning of the year,” says Alvin Mendez, director of the Student Life Center. “The friendships formed on that day continue to grow strong because they learned to accept and help each other while servicing the community.”

 The participants enjoyed the project so much that they asked to do it again. Mendez expects a much higher turnout for the next community service project, with more than 750 volunteers expected next fall. —JT

Contact Mendez at daagaard@secollege.edu.

Best Technology Program
Techno-Home Sweet Home
Have you ever talked to your television, or felt the urge to yell at your computer? Soon, this kind of behavior will be viewed as normal and productive, instead of the signs of a nervous breakdown. In our increasingly fast-paced, shrinking world, good communication has become a fundamental part of survival, even among household appliances. Seminole Community College has jumped on the technological bandwagon by being the first college in the nation to offer a Home Technology Integration+ course.

The HTI+ course aims to prepare students who wish to take the Home Technology Integrator Certification exam, a nationwide certification program for technicians who install and network digitally based systems such as security, telecommunications, audio and video, heating, air conditioning, and satellite systems, among others.

 “Through our strong Cisco partnership, we were able to participate in the development process of the Cisco-developed HTI+ course,” says Leon Portelli, SCC networking and digital media technologies department chair. “Thus, we have been involved in the program in its early stages.”

Students learn about various types of low-voltage electrical codes; digitally controlled devices such as lights, thermostats, and alarm systems; and the interface standards that allow a computer to remotely communicate with these devices. This knowledge is then applied to integrating the individual devices into a home computer, allowing them to be controlled centrally in the home.

Obtaining HTI+ certification is quickly becoming a key to success in the world of technology, as businesses like Sears close their doors to uncertified workers. “The popularity of home computers has brought a generation of people who know the potential of computers and would like to learn how to take their knowledge to the next level,” Portelli says.

Businesses already utilizing home integration technology see HTI+ certification as a way of becoming more efficient, while those trying to capitalize on new products want to be among the first to offer HTI+ services and products.

Now in its third semester, the class attracts a wide range of students, from independent contractors who wish to learn more about networking to salespersons and entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses. —MDJ

Contact Portelli at portelll@scc-fl.edu.

Best Spin-off
No Free Rides
Growing up, your mom always warned you to not accept rides from strangers, especially ones with video cameras. But what if the stranger jumps into an elevator with you and seeks to record your innermost secrets? Both of these acts are displayed on television weekly for all to see at Florida Atlantic University.

When FAU’s television production department acquired a golf cart, they started to dream up different ways to use it. Christian Caro, former FAU student, pitched the idea of Golf Cart Confessions, a show similar to HBO’s Taxi Cab Confessions. The show ended up being an instant favorite among students. Caro offered cross-campus rides to students in exchange for an interview along the way. He asked them questions about their first kiss or first date, and most interviewees shocked the audience with provocative answers. Unfortunately, the show came to a crashing halt when the golf cart Caro drove was vandalized and destroyed.

However, this senseless act turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it inspired students to morph Golf Cart Confessions into a higher breed of transportation comedy—Elevator Confessions. Amanda Sech, FAU student and current station manager, became the host of the new show, randomly riding different elevators on the FAU campus and interviewing whoever steps in.

“It’s most interesting to see the different types of people she interviews. There’s always a wide variety every show, from professors to janitors to students. Even the president of Student Government was interviewed once,” says Michael Hertzner, a staff advisor at the station.

Sech’s show continues to entertain viewers. She took time off for the summer but came back to FAU in the fall ready to ask strangers piercing questions like, “Going down?” –JT

Contact Hertzner at 561-297-0037 or owltv@fau.edu.

Best Mural
A Rainforest for Residents
A dense, tropical rainforest surrounds a flowing waterfall, inhabited by exotic flowers. Water droplets shimmer in the sunlight and fish hop in and out of the pool below. Across from this vivid scene, a nurse helps her elderly patient cross the lawn. The residents of Kobernick House, an assisted living facility in Sarasota, enjoy this mural in their Memory Garden thanks to students from Ringling School of Art and Design.

The Kobernick House chose the subject of the mural because they wanted residents to view something that was different from the rest of their surroundings. Sixty-six students helped paint the scene as a service project.

“The first day was in August, and it was hot and sticky. I expected the students to be cranky, but instead they all exuded wonderful attitudes toward everyone,” says Rachel Levey, Ringling’s coordinator of volunteer activities. “They watched the residents of the Kobernick House get more and more excited about the mural, which made them more enthusiastic about the project.”

The students worked on the mural one day a week for four months. Several college organizations donated a day of their services, adding little pieces of themselves to that growing artwork.

 “The students learned a lot working with others, as they were forced to sacrifice some of their own artistic preferences for the group’s vision,” Levey says. “They also taught each other new and different art techniques they could use in the future.” —JT

Contact Levey at rlevey@ringling.edu.

Best Meeting Title
Nach Yo Regular Meetin’
What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Or would it? According to the University of Tampa’s Residence Hall Association’s experience, a name can be a tool that will make or break a meeting.

After a sad succession of meetings that failed to attract students’ notice, the RHA decided to try a new approach. To promote their September interest meeting, organizers came up with a catchy theme and matching snacks in hopes of attracting more students to the event.

By its very name, Nach Yo Regular Meetin!  promised residents food and fun, which the RHA enthusiastically delivered. Participants feasted on nachos and cheese, had a blast, and left with full stomachs, while the organization brought residents together, got the organization’s name out, and raised its numbers from a mere seven or eight participants to more than 20 people.

And there’s no better way to collect soda tops for a fundraiser than at Pop-a-Topic Night. Students shared ideas and collected soda tops for the Ronald McDonald House Charities during the open forum night, to help finance a statewide RHA conference.

Coming up with new titles does require constant dedication, however. RHA President Khristian Bartley has learned to overcome the grueling creative process by looking for inspiration in everyday settings. “I think of these things while I’m sitting in class not doing my work,” she says. “I’m thinking of names for meetings.” —MDJ

Contact Bartley at kbartley@ut.edu.

Copyright © 2006 Oxendine Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved