Overall Winner
Teresa Womble
Miami-Dade Community College
     Although she now says being a leader on campus “fits me as comfortably as a glove,” Teresa Womble never imagined the impact she could have as a nontraditional student. A 46-year-old mother of three and grandmother of nine, Womble says although she works alongside much younger students, she approaches leading them from a peer perspective.
     Florida Leader magazine, First Union National Bank of Florida, Publix Super Markets, and a national panel of judges are proud to recognize Teresa Womble, a sophomore in funeral science and business administration at Miami-Dade Community College, as the 1998 Florida College Student of the Year.
     Because Womble herself struggled as a 15-year-old single mother, she relates easily to many fellow students. “A lot of them come from situations where they didn’t get hugs or praises as a child,” she says. “Sometimes I sense they just need someone to put an arm around them and say ‘Don’t give up. It’s hard today — but it will get better tomorrow.’”

  
Florida Leader magazine publisher Butch Oxendine unveils the cover honoring Miami-Dade community college's Teresa Womble, 1998 Florida College Student of the Year, at the Capitol ceremony in April 1998.

     One of the qualities Womble models for her younger peers is “stick-to-it-iveness.” “I try to stay focused on my goal of getting an education. In my mind, nothing’s going to stop me.” In leading a group, Womble takes a similar approach. “If people are on the same track, the results will take care of themselves.”
     Although Womble believes in delegation, she’s not afraid to walk out front. “I lead by example. You can’t just tell someone what they need to do — you should say, ‘Let’s get involved and do it together.’” While serving as Phi Theta Kappa chapter president in fall 1997, Womble organized a debate on ebonics, coordinated a memorial service to honor women including Mother Teresa and Princess Diana, and planned a “Women’s Health Issues for the 90’s” forum.
     Womble gives generously of her time despite a demanding academic schedule. She offers her expertise as a member of Miami-Dade’s Council on Black American Affairs, comprised of 25 faculty and students. In the community, she packages groceries for the Food for Life Network foodbank for needy individuals diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Womble also has participated in an Adopt-A-Grandparent program at a local retirement center as well as the “Kids Reading Hour” at Poinciana Park Elementary School.
     PTK advisor Marvin Langsam calls Womble “the best we’ve had come through here. She has a knack for leadership — she’s very good at motivating without giving orders,” he says. “When her followers complete a task, they say, ‘We did it ourselves,’ but they are motivated by her.” Womble currently is public relations chair for the Mu Epsilon chapter.
     According to MDCC Honors Program Director E. Carter Burrus, Jr., “From the moment Teresa came in, her presence was one of leadership. She doesn’t push herself to the forefront, but she gets her goal or mission accomplished.”
     In addition to her honors program involvement, Womble serves on the school’s Women’s History Month, Black History Month, and Programming and Legislative Action committees. In her role as president of MDCC’s Student Organizational Council, Womble unifies representatives of all campus groups and promotes campus involvement.
     Even though Womble doesn’t put herself in the spotlight, her contributions don’t go unnoticed. She was recognized as a member of the 1997 USA Today All-Florida Academic Team and was one of 25 PTK members nationally to receive the George O. Bierkoe Distinguished Member Award in April 1997.
     Womble’s dedication to any project at hand is evident. “So many times, I see people who are not committed,” says Womble, who is completing two associate degrees at the same time. “They stop attending meetings and the group falls apart.” Although conflict and failure are not the most pleasant parts of leading, Womble faces them head-on. “I like harmony, but as a leader, it’s up to me to make others realize it’s OK to disagree,” she says.
     Even as she heads up a group or task, Womble is good at setting aside her personal opinion. “You can’t go in with your own agenda — you need to include everyone in your group to give them a voice. It has helped me to get feedback, and plus you get some downright good creative ideas.”
     While integrating input from others, Womble says effective leaders also keep the big picture in mind. “A good leader has to be a visionary and be able to see the scope not just for today, but in the future — that helps a group grow and fulfill its mission.”
     To support herself, Womble works as an insurance agent and as a funeral consultant. Womble also is active in the political arena, coordinating and serving as co-moderator for three Political Public Forums prior to local elections in November 1997.
     As Womble looks forward to getting her associate degrees and moving on to a four-year institution, she plans to continue preaching the value of achievement in and out of the classroom. “It’s amazing how things have worked out so much better for me because I’m involved and make it a point to be a part of what’s going on.”
     Womble attributes her success not so much to her extraordinary talent, but to dedication and the strength she derives from her relationship with God. “My mother was a missionary, and I never thought of myself as being one, but I am,” Womble says. “It’s what God has ordained us to do — to help each other. I have a caring, nurturing spirit. The more I give, the more I receive.”

First Runner-Up
Christie Cohn
Barry University
     While most student leaders impact their campuses in a variety of ways, 23-year-old Christie Cohn sees each of her positions as a vehicle to further her favorite cause: bringing the deaf and hearing communities closer together. “My mom was the one who originally got me involved with sign language,” says Cohn, who at 16 first took a class with her mother. “I just fell in love with the language. I was learning about a group of people who have traditions, idioms, jokes, and stories and have lived through suppression and discrimination. It was in essence a culture that people really don’t recognize, because there isn’t a deaf America — there’s not a land of the deaf — so it’s more hidden.”
     Florida Leader magazine, First Union National Bank of Florida, and Publix Super Markets proudly recognize Christie Cohn of Barry University as first runner-up of the 1998 Florida College Student of the Year Award.
     Since completing interpreter training at Miami-Dade Community College in 1992, Cohn has worked as an interpreter, taught American Sign Language courses, presented lectures, and tutored deaf students and their families. “A lot of the younger deaf don’t really set their mind on a university degree,” says Cohn, who uses her earnings as an interpreter along with scholarships and loans to pay for school. “They don’t know much about sex education and AIDS, and in fact, a lot of their families have not learned sign language,” she says. “If you can’t tell your child, ‘Hey, what do you want for dinner?’ you can’t say to them, ‘There’s a disease out there that could kill you.’”
     A visible campus leader — she’s Travel and Tour Chair for the Campus Activities Board, Secretary of Ambassadors, and a tutor and student rep for the Psychology Department — Cohn turns every curious student’s inquiry into an opportunity to spread the word. “Sign language is very visual,” Cohn explains. “People will ask me where I learned it and how they can get involved. That opens up communication and I can educate even on a one-to-one basis.”
     In her quest to bring two worlds together, Cohn doesn’t limit her work only to opening up new avenues for deaf students. “On the flip side of that, I’m trying to let people in the hearing world know that deaf individuals aren’t like the old phrase ‘deaf and dumb,’” she says. “The only difference is they can’t hear.”
     Cohn founded Signs And Wonders (SAW) in 1994, a performance group that promoted deaf culture awareness through the arts and entertainment. Cohn also teamed up with local vocalist Diane Ward to sign at her concerts and in a music video for “The Gift” to benefit the Riccardia Children’s Program, part of the Health Crisis Network for kids with AIDS. While at MDCC, Cohn also studied abroad, taking her skills as an interpreter to Switzerland, England, France, and Italy.
     Cohn says it’s essential for leaders to have an open mind. “No matter what you do, you’re going to be faced with a variety of opinions, cultures, and backgrounds,” she says. “If you’re going to want the people who work with you to follow you or agree with you, then you have to know what their concerns and needs are.
     “In just being around the deaf, I understand discrimination to an extent,” Cohn says. “I can see how people react to them, and I can indirectly see how frustrating it can be to be discriminated against — you can’t really do anything about it, because if you’re deaf, you’re deaf, and when you’re black, you’re black.”
     Leadership is an assumed role for Cohn, who is generous with her time and unlikely to miss an opportunity to meet an organization’s needs. “I just fell into certain positions. I’ve never really said, ‘I want to join because I want to become president.’” For example, as vice president of her MDCC Phi Theta Kappa chapter, Cohn ended up filling the Five Star Program Coordinator post she created to track the group’s progress and achieve the goal of becoming a Five Star Chapter.
     According to Kathy Bunting, director of student activities at Barry, “She’s outstanding. She’s always there to lift everybody up and get them excited about what they’re doing.” Bunting adds that Cohn’s involvement in the programming board opened doors for deaf students who may have faced communication barriers before. “She doesn’t need to be in the spotlight — that’s not her focus,” Bunting says. “She may not always be the leader of the group, but she’s the driving force behind it.”
     “Christie has taught me to be strong, think positive, and trust in myself,” says Vivian Diaz, a Barry University student for whom Cohn has tutored and served as interpreter for four years. “Christie has taken her time on Saturdays to help me with my SCUBA Diving class. Christie herself had to join the class so she can understand everything clearly in order to help me.”
     As a friend to her deaf peers, Cohn passes along the empowering message she grew up with: anything is possible if you set your mind to it. “My parents have always raised my sister and I that we can do whatever we want, and when we choose a goal, to do it to the best of our ability,” says Cohn, whose greatest reward is seeing others live up to their potential. “When I see others succeed, I know I’ve succeeded.”

Finalist
John Carey
University of North Florida
     Carey’s first task when he took office as SGA vice president in fall 1997 was to repair the holes in the group’s relationship with the student body and campus administrators. “It was very adversarial and tumultuous,” he recalls. “I first started with the senate and tried to foster relationships. If you do that, you convey a message of sincerity, and when it comes time to take issues to the table, you’ve got people’s trust.”
     Carey, 23, quickly climbed the SGA ladder, serving first as budget and allocations chair, then senate president, and finally as director of student lobbying before running for his current position of vice president. As director of lobbying, he organized Take Over Tallahassee, busing SUS students statewide to the capital to strengthen relations with legislators. As he talked to student lobbyists across the state, Carey built a network of contacts he uses today.
     When Carey works with university officials, he arms himself with facts and strategies. “I’m a big believer in statistical analysis — we survey our students often.” One way Carey tracks student opinion is through the SGA-sponsored Courtyard Chats, monthly functions at which students air their concerns with SGA staffers and key administrators. “The students can have one-on-one conversations,” Carey says. “There’s no triangle of communication. What better way than to have the actual decision-maker there. The students know we are here to mean business.”
     Being assertive when it comes to uncovering students’ concerns is just common sense to Carey. “In the past, student leaders here weren’t out in the trenches, finding out what students want. There is apathy on every campus, but it’s your job to go out and find the problems.”
     Although Carey is ambitious, having recently campaigned for the SGA presidency, with plans to shoot for the chairmanship of the statewide Florida Student Association, his focus remains on doing what’s best for students. “My basic approach is communication and education. If everybody knows what’s going on and how to do their job, more often than not, they’re going to do it well.” In addition to his civic and academic involvements, Carey has supported himself through school with full-time jobs as a pharmacy technician and student body vice president and a part-time job as a vocalist and lead guitarist for the band Still Life.
     While Carey is easygoing, he refuses to apologize for having high expectations. “The people who choose to follow me also understand that excellence is zero defects,” he says. “We don’t want anything to go wrong, but if it does, we’re willing to adapt and adhere to those changes.”
     Recent opportunities for Carey to broaden the context in which he practices leadership include a trip with civic leaders to Jackson-ville’s sister city, Port Elizabeth, South Africa and participation in the inaugural class of College Leadership Florida in summer 1997. “There are so many issues facing Florida,” he says. “Until my generation addresses them, it’s going to be an ongoing struggle.”

Finalist
Dana Hill
Florida State University
     For Dana Hill, finding her niche at a large university, then teaching younger students how to do the same, has been the most rewarding aspect of her campus leadership. The Ocala native describes her time as an orientation leader and trainer as “one of my most incredible experiences here — I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I try to get across how different college is from high school, and I encourage students to have an open mind.” As a member of the orientation staff, Hill helped present a collage of dramatic skits entitled “Handle With Care” designed to raise incoming students’ awareness about issues including cultural diversity, drug and alcohol use, date rape, and homosexuality.
     In her leadership roles as vice president of the Student Alumni Association, former Lady Spirithunter, and member of Burning Spear, Hill has endeavored to teach future Seminoles the value of school spirit and cooperation. “Being in Spear, you meet leaders from all over campus and you get to see how the school is growing and changing and see what would best benefit it as a whole.”
     Hill also enjoys reaching out to FSU alumni to share the accomplishments of current students. “A lot of them don’t realize that college kids today are good people,” Hill says. “We have quite a few alumni who come back to a lot of events or call us and like to keep in touch.”
     Involvement in Phi Mu and in the Greek system has provided Hill with her strongest roots at FSU. “My sorority became a family to me when I first came to Florida State,” she says. “I had the security of 120 girls who loved and supported me. It provided me with a base to branch out to the rest of campus.”
     Hill has indeed reached beyond organizing exchange dinners between sorority chapters and initiating a designated driver program. She currently serves as assistant internal director for FSU’s Dance Marathon, a campuswide fund raiser that benefits the Children’s Miracle Network, and is active in ODK and as a Seminole Ambassador. In the community, Hill teaches four-year-olds at St. Thomas More Catholic Church and has tutored migrant child-ren in Project Amistades. She also helped with a Headstart reading intervention program as part of a directed individual-study course at FSU.
     Most recently, Hill went to Washington, D.C. through FSU’s Center for Civic Education and Service to work with HIV/AIDS patients in a soup kitchen and daycare center. When she leads others, Hill’s approach is one of partnering. “A leader is someone who will do the work along with everyone else,” she says. “You should realize your responsibility to those you’re leading, not only to do a good job with your present task, but to build an organization that’s going to last far into the future.”
     As she completes her third year on campus, Hill feels a deep obligation to encourage younger students. “If you don’t have a mentor, it can be hard to see where to go,” says the 20-year-old who supports herself through school with scholarships, savings, and part-time jobs as an orientation leader and an assistant in the psychology advising office. “I want to give a piece of myself to the university — to be part of something that positive is amazing to me.”

Finalist
Shannon Neville
University of Miami
     When Shannon Neville is praised for being an outstanding student leader, she acts like it’s all routine — a lesson in modesty she learned from her father, who also was her softball coach. “He taught me a lot about discipline and following through,” says the 21-year-old.
     Neville got involved early on at the University of Miami. “I was like, ‘I’m not going to be like that in college — I’m just going to study,’” she says. “That lasted two weeks.” Since her freshman year, Neville has been one of UM’s most visible campus leaders, participating in more than two dozen groups, including five honor societies and the elite President’s 100.
     As Speaker of the Senate in Student Government, Neville mentors 45 student senators and serves on several college committees. She says her passion for leading helps her overcome obstacles, such as when she worked to create 24-hour library access. “When I started the project, people laughed and said, ‘It will never happen — it’s been tried before.’” But six months after she convinced library administrators to give the idea a try and worked through financial and security issues, Neville was happy to report big numbers and good feedback from students.
     An inaugural participant in College Leadership Florida, Neville also is vice president of Alpha Epsilon Delta and an active member of the Women’s Resource Center Program Board, ODK, Mortar Board, and the Cinematic Arts Commission. She says knowing your limits is part of being an effective leader. “I see so many things I’d like to change,” Neville says. “But if you take on too much, you’re not going to be exceptional in anything.”
     In addition to her leadership responsibilities, Neville plays on UM’s fast-pitch softball team and helps out in the community as a volunteer at the Miami Heart Institute and as a Funday Executive Committee member. She also is a licensed First Responder and is certified in CPR.
     Armed with “a big fat planner that is my bible,” Neville pencils in daily commitments to manage her time. “The last few years, I’ve had to write in things like ‘lunch,’ ‘work out,’ and ‘sleep,’” says Neville, who also works as an administrative assistant in UM’s Smith Tucker Involvement Center and as a master tutor for the College of Arts and Sciences to support herself.
     “My biggest strength is helping others take stock in the organization that they’re in by giving them projects and letting them know they’re an integral part,” says Neville, who enjoys reading about leading and working with different personality types. “That’s the way you get people motivated and get them involved.”
     Neville sees the education of youth as the biggest challenge for leaders today, which explains her desire to nurture upcoming campus decision-makers. “I try to consciously cultivate and encourage them,” says Neville, who has taught an Emerging Leaders class at UM. “I try to make sure that the things we’ve encouraged and the lessons we’ve learned aren’t lost.”

Finalist
Susan O'Keefe
Daytona Beach Community College
     My family, without a doubt, is the biggest motivating factor in my life,” says 24-year-old Susan O’Keefe, who made a major life change in 1994 when she enrolled at DBCC. “I was 19, waiting on tables, married, and pregnant, and I decided that was something I didn’t want to do until age 65, with no retirement and nothing to give my children.”
     After adjusting to college classes and realizing nontraditional students were underrepresented as campus policy-makers, O’Keefe decided to encourage others by getting involved. In 1997, she became DBCC’s first woman Student Government Association president, as well as District II Legislative Liaison for the Florida Junior and Community College Student Government Association. Under her leadership, SGA introduced seven new clubs, sponsored community-wide events, raised funds for a student’s liver transplant, and organized a forum on the Cassini Space Probe launch.
     O’Keefe also is the first DBCC student to hold a national office. As Southeast Regional Director for the American Student Association of Community Colleges, she carries the concerns of two-year college students to Washington. “Decisions on financial aid matters are made in D.C., so you can’t even address it at the state level,” says O’Keefe, who has discussed Pell Grant increases and other issues with Sen. Connie Mack, Sen. Bob Graham, and Rep. Corrine Brown. O’Keefe also met her goal of calling every community college SG president in Florida to research concerns and provide updates about ASACC.
     The post also has allowed O’Keefe to champion an issue close to home. “There’s been talk about not allowing college prep classes to be funded by financial aid. House Bill 1545 was huge for our student body,” says O’Keefe, who had to take a preparatory math class herself when she started college.
     Any apprehensions O’Keefe had about serving as SGA president were dispelled during a leadership retreat. “We had to walk across a balance beam blindfolded, and my goal was to depend on other people. As I was walking across, I thought, ‘This is my whole year in front of me,’” reflects O’Keefe, who gives her fellow officers all the credit for their successful term. “You can hardly call one person a leader. I feel like it’s a team with one goal: to be an advocate for students.”
     In the community, O’Keefe has participated in the March of Dimes Walk America and Easter Seals events and secured donations for a terminally ill student. She also supports herself and her family as senior office assistant at DBCC’s information desk and in the records office.
     ’Keefe can’t pinpoint her biggest accomplishment. “It’s all just little things that make big differences here and there,” she says, adding that she’s not so much a role model as a poster child for Florida’s community colleges. “This system gave me a second chance. It remediated me and gave me the opportunity to excel,” O’Keefe says. “I’m not some amazing person. It’s just that I took advantage of a wonderful opportunity right in my backyard.”

Finalist
Jacob Reimer
New College
     Jacob Reimer believes every human has an equally valuable role to play. “Leadership only entails a set of responsibilities. It doesn’t necessarily involve any inherent authority,” says Reimer, 22. “Not everyone can be involved in running an organization. The people making decisions about student government aren’t doing anything more important than the people who are holed up in their rooms working on their theses.”
     As co-president of the New College Student Alliance, Reimer runs Town Meetings called by students to discuss issues or request funding. “It places a lot of power in the individual student’s hands,” says Reimer. “I’m starting to see the role of co-president as a facilitator and information provider rather than single-handedly being responsible for decisions.” Alliance officials help facilitate building projects such as the new student-designed Four Winds Cafe where Reimer works.
     The “part of my brain that really likes to organize” leads Reimer to get involved. “I like to work behind the scenes,” he says. Reimer has revitalized the campus radio station, helped coordinate two Palm Court Party charity fund raisers, and established the world-news column “Outside the Ivory Tower” in The Catalyst campus newspaper. Reimer subsidizes his financial aid package with summer-job income and a student government stipend.
     When confronting conflict, Reimer is a solution-oriented mediator. “If there’s an argument over principles, I don’t get involved. I’d rather concentrate on actions that can be taken,” says Reimer, who reasons that the only way moral arguments can end is to allow differing opinions to coexist. “Asking people for specific suggestions immediately takes away the emotional drive and creates an atmosphere where resolutions can be achieved.”
     Raised on a small farm in Pennsylvania, Reimer says he doesn’t leave campus much, nor does he own a car or watch TV — except for an occasional Simpsons episode. “The school’s so small, it tends to become a world in itself,” he says. At one point, Reimer took a semester off to drive solo across the U.S. in a $400 car painted with blue stars and white stripes. With no destination in mind, Reimer ended up in Montreal, Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Seattle, where he took a boat to Alaska. Down the road, Reimer sees himself perhaps involved in an alternative energy project or in design science to influence society’s quality of life by encouraging humans to make deliberate choices about their material environment.
     Fascinated by the idea of community, Reimer lives in “the slum” of New College, an older dorm designed to facilitate communal living. As an active participant in his community, Reimer isn’t frustrated by what traditional campus leaders might call student apathy. “What I do feel more and more a responsibility to do, is to try to trust that if people are provided with the information and opportunity to make decisions about the school, that a sense of self-determination will develop,” Reimer says. “My job as co-president is to provide as many opportunities for creative involvement as possible.”

Honorable Mention Winners
Nichole Adams—Rollins College
Carla Armorgan—Barry University
Cristal Bruno—New College
Jennifer Ehrhardt—University of West Florida
Aline Kokis—Lynn University
Ian Lane—University of Florida
Ingrid Lim—University of Florida
Celestine Mararac—Jacksonville University
Amanda Marder—Stetson University
Daniel McCabe—Florida State University
Jeffrey Rogers—Florida Community College at Jacksonville
Jodi Thomas—Manatee Community College
Matthew Yarber—Pasco-Hernando Community College