Best of Florida Schools 2005
General Categories—Page 10

Best School Magazine
Journey Spans FAMU Campus
Students at Florida A&M University look forward to their journey…their Journey Magazine that is!

The student-run magazine reaches more than 13,000 students, focusing on the African-American experience in America and featuring columns such as “Dollar Sense,” which teaches students about money management and homeownership. “Our best feature is the way we tell stories and bring people’s lives to the page and really illustrate personalities,” says Russell Nichols, editor in chief.

Though it started as a yearly publication, Journey now comes out four times a year—twice in the fall semester and twice in the spring semester. In the first issue last fall, one of the feature stories, “A Tale of Two Soldiers,” was about two student soldiers who went to Iraq. The article won first place in the feature-writing category of the William Randolph Hearst Journalism Competition. Another example of how Journey vividly brings “people’s lives to the page” is in a story from the second fall issue about a man known to students as “Soul Train.” Although he’s been selling snacks from the university quadrangle for the last 50 years, he had previously worked as a caddy for King Edward and Nelson Rockefeller at El Destino Plantation, owned by Queen Elizabeth. Due to his charming personality and intriguing past, he’s become something of a campus legend.

The magazine’s advisor, Dr. Gerald Grow, initially created the publication 21 years ago with the aid of some of his students. In the mid-‘90s, it became an official student organization that acts independently of any classes and now, the publication has a staff of about 15 to 20 students.

Journey was given the Mark of Excellence award in 1998 on the national level by the Society of Professional Journalists. “I think the magazine is very diverse,” Nichols says. “It brings a lot of information as well as entertainment to the student body and faculty.”–RG

Contact Nichols at journey_editor@yahoo.com.

Best TV Spin Off
Trumped at SFCC
It seems like the only time that Donald Trump’s horrible hair doesn’t draw attention is when the words "You're fired!" fly out of his mouth. These two little words have sent ripples through the entire world of reality television as Trump’s show, The Apprentice, attracts audiences nationwide. Now, this competition that seeks natural leaders has even inspired a new program at Santa Fe Community College.

"The Intern" began last fall as the brainchild of SFCC Student Government member Ray-Scott Miller. During the six-week program, eight students competed for an internship to work for Gainesville’s mayor, Pegeen Hanrahan. In two teams, the students performed seven community-service tasks that ranged from raising money for a children’s hospital and visiting patients to building a house and beautifying a local park. Each team's performance was judged based on its resourcefulness, creativity, and critical-thinking skills.

Like Trump, at the end of each task, Hanrahan eliminated one contestant. However, rather than sack contestants with Trump's harsh "You're fired!" catchphrase, Hanrahan dismissed them with "Stay in school!" On Nov. 9, Mayor Hanrahan announced Daniel Jones as the winner at the hiring ceremony. He received a full scholarship in addition to the internship itself, which began in January.

"It was hugely successful," says Claire Bakr, creative director for the program.

However, organizers aren’t sure if “The Intern” will happen in Gainesville again, Bakr says. "We would do it again," she says. "The only problem is that it’s completely student run, and it was so exhausting for the few people who were running it. I would like to see it turned into more of a college project, where Student Government is more involved, rather than a student project."

Bakr says that their goal when they started the project was to sell the idea as a civic engagement to other community colleges, in the hopes of jump-starting other schools to get more involved in their communities. –GH

Contact Bakr at claire.bakr@sfcc.edu.

Best Broadway Training Ground
A Star is Born
Many theater students across the nation have sung these famous lyrics: “Give my regards to old Broadway, and say that I’ll be there e’er long.” But, when Florida School of the Arts students at St. Johns River Community College—Palatka belt out that song, many of them believe it will come true. They don’t just have stars in their eyes—having witnessed former classmates making it to the top, FloArts students can already see their names on the marquee.

Since 1974, FloArts has helped many students reach their dreams of becoming super stars by offering them specialization and hands-on experience from day one. For example, musical-theater majors receive training in sight singing, piano, ballet, jazz, and tap techniques. Students also gain experience in the use of their voices, gestures, and bodies thanks to FloArts numerous yearly productions.

“What makes FloArts different from other schools is that we have very hands-on curricula,” says Dr. Gary Piazza, FloArts dean. “We have small class sizes, so there’s a lot of individualized attention and mentoring.” Piazza also says that at FloArts, students have more opportunities than freshmen and sophomores at four-year universities because they don’t have to compete with upper-division students. “As a result, when they transfer to a four-year university, they’re better prepared than the students at those schools,” he says.

Among FloArts’ success stories is Charles Redding, a former dance student who now plays “Mr. Mistofellees” in the Broadway musical Cats. “Charles is a perfect representation of the dance department because of his professionalism, focus, and drive,” says Lee Dando, dance department coordinator. “He’s well-rounded and educated in all forms of dance and a working dancer who’s constantly refining his craft.”

FloArts students have also reached Hollywood. Daniel Franzese, a former musical-theater major, recently played the role of Damian in the movie Mean Girls. “Danny is a very exciting, enthusiastic performer,” says Patricia Crotty, acting instructor. “He’s a whirlwind of creative and especially comic energy.”

FloArts is for students interested in receiving an A.A. or A.S. in dance, fine art, musical theater, graphic design, acting, or production/design. “We’re one of the only schools in the community-college system that actually offers art degrees rather than the general A.A.,” Piazza says. –MAC

Contact Piazza at 386-312-4300.

Best Use of Elevator Space
RAs Elevate Your Day
The resident assistants at Nova Southeastern University take their charges on rides through winter wonderlands and Hawaiian luaus—without even leaving the dorm! Every month, RAs at the Cultural Living Center graduate residence facility decorate the dorm’s elevator with different themes to lighten up the elevator experience.

“When you first walk in, you'll notice a big sign that says ‘Welcome to CLC's Luau,’” says Elizabeth Beals, CLC area director. To give the students the full Hawaiian feeling, RAs decorated the elevator with palm trees, tiki gods, and hula girls. Past elevator themes have also included November’s “Major Winter Holidays” and October’s “Tower of Terror,” featuring spooky graveyard scenes with tombstones and skeletons. However, these RAs know that there’s nothing scarier than some seriously bad breath. So, they suspend mints from the decorations to prevent any awkward elevator encounters.

RAs from nearby Goodwin Hall took a cue from the CLC and decided to entertain their residents. They dressed up as elevator attendants and sang along to “Baby Got Back,” “Barbie Girl,” and “Ice Ice Baby.” They also gave away goofy dress-up items including silly hats, feather boas, and sunflower headbands.—MAC

Contact Beals at beals@nova.edu.

Copyright © 2006 Oxendine Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved