Finalist
Toni Rice
Florida Gulf Coast University
Senior in Business Management
3.29 GPA
     At Florida Gulf Coast University, the votes are nearly unanimous: Toni Rice, 22, is simply the finest campus leader in the history of Florida’s newest university. From her efforts to get a temporary student union to boosting SG’s image and diversity to serving as her schools number-one cheerleader, Rice, a senior in business management, can’t help but stand out. "She’s a blue-collar president--she gets in the trenches and slugs it out," says Dr. Greg Sawyer, dean of student services. "She’s our finest campus leader to date. I rank her among the top one percent of all students with whom I have come in contact over the last 23 years."
     As Trae Cotton, who served as 2000 interim SG advisor, says, "I’m impressed with her openness, her honesty, integrity, her willingness to accept criticism. Her willingness to think about it, analyze it, then really think about what’s going to be best and what’s best for students. She has an ability to connect with anyone, regardless of age or ethnicity, or sexual orientation."
     Cotton, now the associate director of enrollment services at nearby Walden University, says Rice’s leadership pushed SG to a different level. "There’s a better understanding and appreciation what SG is there for," he says. "She’s served as a conduit, quickly, between students linking them together with administration. Toni is that type of leader who says ‘How can I serve the students and what can I do. I’m not here for the accolades and glory.’ She’d rather do the right thing than to have her name in lights. That’s the true essence of what a student leader is about. In endears people to her.
     Cotton says virtually everyone is comfortable in following Rice. "It’s not perceived as a Toni is at the top and we follow," he says. "We go in the direction Toni’s going because we trust Toni. She is our finest campus leader."
     After serving as SG vice president a year ago, Rice took the reigns of what might be called a sinking ship. "Overall, there was a very distant feeling about SGA," she says. "Students didn’t care about us and thought we’re an elite group. We made it a very open-door policy. We attended a lot of the club events, we returned phone calls, e-mails, and publicized SGA." The result: Rice says involvement in clubs has doubled and all student senate seats were filled for the first time in the school’s four-year history.
     Rice earned a landslide 65 percent win in her spring 2000 campaign for president by appealing to non-traditional voters. "Most of our campus is commuter, so these students haven’t seen us before," she says. "Our average age is about 30. We really had to focus on pulling in non-traditional students. We spoke to different clubs and organizations and night classes."
     Perhaps Rice’s biggest accomplishment has been lobbying for and getting a temporary student union. "We don’t have a student union. We’re in a trailer. I was able to get a bigger trailer, much larger, with a large conference room," she says. "I was able to get it paid for by the university. Before that, we had one room in Howard Hall. Until new buildings are built, there was no place for students to hang out. Now we have computers, air hockey, and offices for clubs. SGA right now has the trailer to itself. We’ll have a lounge, a secretary, and the newspaper and yearbook will have offices."
     "She took on some big folks, and negotiated," Sawyer says. "She was an advocate for the student. She’s had to engage people, and people don’t always like that. When you’re a really good leader, you’re not always liked. Of all of our student body presidents, she’s definitely the best. She’s been a very effective leader on campus. She has the students’ interest in mind."
     "Toni has always made herself available for any special needs of the university’s administration and has lent a helpful hand in the decision-making process of student governance," says Dr. William C. Merwin, FGCU president.
     Rice’s efforts also led to a more private health services center. "Our health services were located in our gym. If you’ve had to go in there for medication, you had to walk past people on the treadmills. Everybody knows what’s going on," says Rice, who learned from personal experience about this problem. "I didn’t realize how important this was until I had to go in there. Then I heard other feedback from students—‘I don’t feel comfortable, it’s awkward, everyone knows your business’. If someone’s girlfriend goes in there, the rumors start." Rice’s lobbying convinced administrators to move health services into a separate, more discreet facility—again using refurbished trailers.
     "We’ve also pushed for an increase in our student fees," she says. "Even though we don’t have athletics yet. I tried to explain to students that we need to raise the fees now, so that in the future we’ll have something to cheer for." Thanks to Rice, fellow students voted to assess themselves a hike in the fee from $4.25 to $9.
     As further proof of her student-advocate role, Rice convinced the university police to leave the gate open longer on a second entrance to campus; often used as a shortcut by on-campus residents "We got it extended to 1 p.m. It was a hassle," she says. "So we met with chief of police and couple of administrators. They took care of it."
     Like at most schools, Rice says parking is a problem—particularly because the university is so new and construction continues on new lots. She asked the police chief to waive tickets for a semester until the lot was finished. "He agreed to not issue any tickets. Everybody was very happy. People get very sensitive about their parking."
     Rice also serves as a FGCU ambassador through Crest. "We attend all major events and give special tours for dignitaries. It’s a service-oriented group. We don’t get paid. It’s all free. We get service hours. It’s important for recruitment, retaining students, and getting students to know people when they get here."
     She’s also proud of her impact on potential college students through "College Reach Out," a program to encourage disadvantaged high school students to consider going to college. "I can see major changes in these students before they leave. I have a lot of students who still call me from the program."
     "Toni can relate to all students. We have a kind of unique population. Lots of non-traditional students who come after work, a small population of traditional students, and even smaller of diverse students," says Isaac Brundage, director of College Reach Out. "She knows how to relate to all of those groups. Last summer, she completely volunteered her time to work as a full-time employee for a week of 24 hour coverage. The others got paid for it, but she was a volunteer."
     Like most servant-leaders, Rice is a bit hesitant to toot her own horn. But she acknowledges her leadership position on campus. "I feel comfortable saying that administrators would say we’ve worked hand-in-hand instead of fighting them," she says. "I believe that my peers would say that I’m one of the top campus leaders. It’s my position that I hold. It’s kind of assumed that I’m doing these things—we trusted you and we’re paying you. It almost comes by default."
     "I’ve developed relationships with the administrators since I was a freshman. They’ve been mentors. You start to develop that friendship where you can communicate with each other. I don’t make any major decisions without informing the dean. I always give them a heads-up. If I have the dean’s help and university president’s help, things will get changed. They picked up a good $20,000 for these trailers. But we also gave them a higher athletic fee.
     "Up until now, the previous president and vice president didn’t work together well. When the two main people are working against each other, there’s no unity at all between the two. Some of the previous student body presidents didn’t have the relationship with the dean, which is critical from the start. Others have said I can do this because I’m student body president, the dean of students is still over me, no matter how big of a person I think I am."
     During her career, Rice also served as a resident assistant and orientation leader.
     She was always involved, even more so she says at Lake Placid High, a two-hour trek from FCGU, which is in Ft. Myers. She even considered attending one of the state’s larger public universities. "But I wanted to go somewhere where it’s new, growing, not set in traditions." She met Sawyer during her first campus trip, then on her first day on campus as a student got a job. "When I was moving in, Joe Shepard [associate dean of student services] said, ‘Hi, what are you doing? Do you need a job?’" She later worked at an information desk, then later became an RA and also helped out in financial aid.
     "I didn’t want to just be a number. I like my 30-people classes. It was better for me at the time." Anyone thinking a new school like FGCU can’t match up will find a foe in Rice. "People will say things like FGC who? I find myself defending the school. You can’t help it. You’ve worked so hard to get students involved. I can call the director of admissions or dean of students and have dinner at their houses. I couldn’t imagine working for any other situation. Everyone is so willing to help you. It’s a wonderful place.
     "I hate the ‘it’s always been done that way’ comments," Rice says. "Being able to take part in all of these things is wonderful. I had something to do with that—when I come back in 10 years. I did it when there was nobody there to show you."
     One of Rice’s close friends is Brett Cook, the outgoing student body president at Florida State University. Rice says while FSU may have a big budget, infrastructure, and tradition, Cook seems to be restricted compared to her situation. "I couldn’t live that way. I have the freedom here," she says. "At FSU, it takes them three weeks to get travel done—there’s lots of red tape. We have the support of our dean. It doesn’t have anything to do with the budget. We can do just as much for the students. They have a lot more money, but a lot more students to provide for.
     "I’ve found that I do a lot of the ‘grunt work’ compared to some of my peers at other schools," she says. "I have to do paperwork, put up balloons—I don’t have people who can do that for me. That puts me in a better relationship with students because they see me out there doing that.
     "Because you’re student body president, everything comes back to you. You have to take ownership. I’ve done that. I’ve been very open with students. It used to be an elitist group before and SGA was very self-serving. I think that has changed completely. It’s not about us getting paid or benefits. It’s about what do you want, how can we help you get it. Just the simple returning of phone calls and e-mails helps.
     "When we leave here, people will say we’re f-or the students, we did the best we could for students (whether it was negative or positive), we did it for students," she says. "We involved students in everything we could. We increased the student spirit, gave them stuff to be proud of. They appreciated that."
     After Rice concludes her FGCU career, she plans to attend an MBA program, after a semester break, with the University of Arizona tops on her list. "It’s very expensive to go out of state," she says. "I’ll move there in the fall. I will just have to pay one semester of out-of-state, find a place to live and get settled. It’s been a trying experience to get into grad school. It’s a matter of getting through the application process."
     Rice pays for school through her stipend as SG president and by earning scholarships, and as a result is graduating debt-free.
Contact Rice at trice@fgcu.edu