1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

Back                                Continued

Best Lifesaver. "Gimme an O-R-G-A-N!" That’s the message of University of Miami student Cristina Ortega, a cheerleader who received a lifesaving double-lung transplant in 1996. Since then, she has been heartily advocating organ donation among students and dispelling myths about religion, scars, laws, and death. "People are opening their eyes, and they’re learning about it," Ortega says. "I know that I’ve touched people." Ortega tells students how to sign up for organ donation at the Department of Motor Vehicles and suggests they learn more about the process before someone they love needs a transplant. Along with UM’s School of Medicine Organ Procurement Organization, Ortega deserves a cheer for her enthusiastic work to raise money and educate people during National Organ and Tissue Donor Week last April.

Best Groundbreaking. The pioneering class in the Honors College at Florida Atlantic University will do more than "walk where no one has walked before." A less than 10-to-1 student-faculty ratio, low tuition rates and ample scholarship awards, and brand new residential and recreational facilities will be offered to the 150 incoming freshmen. The FAU partner campus is the first honors college at a state school to be built from the ground up.
     The four-year undergraduate program will focus on liberal arts, with highlights on international relations and environmental studies. Students will even be able to design their own interdisciplinary majors. "This is going to attract a student who wants to try something new," says admissions officer Kerry Herzinger. "The whole project was started to offer students a unique education, with faculty who are really involved with students." Oh, and one more thing: the new school in Jupiter is only a 10-minute drive to the rolling sand dunes, swaying palm trees, and crashing waves of Northern Palm Beach County’s beaches.

Best College Comeback. At Florida Southern College, most of the Student Life department staff split last year, a drastic change that has brought an influx of new ideas. Since Vice President of Student Life Carole Obermeyer’s arrival last fall, student government has undergone constitutional revisions, the Student Union Board now requires an application and interview procedure for its officers, and the new Hollis Wellness Center opened. All this, Obermeyer says, means a more active and involved student body. "We’re really trying to get our students to take pride in their campus," she says. "And we’re reemphasizing our Christian mission."

Best Feudal Fest. At Rollins College Brevard, the Twelfth Night celebration to commemorate the twelfth day after Christmas is the largest student-run campus event. The annual January spectacle attracts about 150 students and area residents to enjoy Shakespearean plays, period foods, games, and music. "The interactive event began as a student humanities project and has grown to involve the entire campus community," says David Hankerson, director of finance and publicity.
     During the festivities, about 20 student and faculty organizers transform Building B into a great medieval hall, courtyard, and carnival with wandering minstrels, jesters, and fencers. This year’s seventh annual event drew more than 150 attendees and featured banquet seating and a processional complete with costumed revelers and greyhounds. Another highlight was an adaptation of an alumna’s play performed by professional actors who donated $300 to the school for a humanities scholarship. Campus clubs sponsored medieval craft and vendor booths and kept the proceeds they raised. Additional revenues raised from the $5 and $7 admission and sales of T-shirts totalled $1,100 in 1999, to fund SG programming throughout the year.

Best Buoys and Gulls. Ahoy! Students at Brevard Community College can set sail on their own three-hour tours without worrying about getting swept away to Gilligan’s Island. According to Kieta Chandler, director for community and professional education, marine science courses offered during the summer include "Rules of the Road," about the navigation of a vessel and "How to Obtain a Charter Boat License." The class is taught by a captain, though, not The Professor.

Back                                Continued

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15

Copyright © 2006 Oxendine Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved