Flagler College Magazine - Summer 2023

MOVING FLAGLER FORWARD

Multi-million dollar improvement plan transforming every aspect of College experience

DEPARTMENTS

THE BREEZEWAY

DEAR FLAGLER COMMUNITY,

If you have walked across our beautiful and historic campus recently you will have noticed how Flagler College is transforming in new and exciting ways. New facilities have opened. Student services and activities have expanded. Everything from the architecture to our gorgeous grounds and greenspaces have been spruced up.

The past two academic years have been marked by one of the most ambitious undertakings in the history of our college.

We called it the Five Star Plan – a comprehensive improvement project that is unparalleled in its cost, size and scope. Through it, we are implementing dynamic new offerings in facilities, academics, technology, the student experience and numerous other campus enhancements.

Flagler is moving forward in exciting ways as we seek to achieve greatness in everything we do.

In this issue you will read about some of the many additions and improvements we’re making, like the recent purchase of our newest dorm, Sebastian House. We have also restructured our General Education program, launched an Innovation Center and begun a Classical Institute that will further strengthen our liberal arts focus.

We are investing millions of dollars to modernize and transform Flagler College so that it is prepared to carry-on our critical

mission for the next 100 years or more. Our goal is simple: Deliver excellence in all facets of the College experience. Already we’re recognized as a top school, as we once again were ranked number 2 in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Regional Colleges in the South. But we know there is more to be done.

As a supporter of the College, you can be proud of the hard work all of our faculty, staff and Trustees are doing. You should also know that we couldn’t have done this without you. That is why we continue breaking fundraising records, have brought in the largest number of new students in our history and are providing the best educational experience for our students. Our new Five Star Plan will ensure this continues, as well as set Flagler up for even greater success in the future.

SINCERELY,

President John Delaney

Photo by Amy Martz

FLAGLER LAUNCHES CINEMATIC ARTS MAJOR WITH MORE HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE FOR STUDENTS

By Elisabeth Shirley, '22

Anew interdisciplinary Cinematic Arts major at Flagler College will let aspiring filmmakers get involved with all aspects of narrative and feature filmmaking in a program designed to model a real professional environment.

“As a freshman, you'll be playing with the toys, you'll be using the equipment, you'll be using the cameras, and you'll get immediate access,” said program coordinator and Communication Professor Dr. Tracy Halcomb (photo inset). “Whereas I think it would take you maybe two to three years at a larger school before you get that kind of hands-on experience.”

Whether you’re a writer or a video producer, Halcomb and

Visiting Filmmaker Jim Gilmore (pictured above) have worked together to create an interdisciplinary program designed to have something for everyone as part of Flagler College’s Communication program.

“We’re giving students a broad foundation of academic experiences, many of them very applied,” said Halcomb. “I think it’s very unique in that every department in our school of Creative Arts and Letters is represented in the major.”

The program, modeled to follow other, bigger universities who have cinematic arts programs, will give students hands-on experience working with professionals in the field on projects

aimed to be distributed nationally, setting this program apart from existing majors.

“One of the challenges was how to create a cinematic arts program in a smaller liberal arts college,” said Gilmore. “There's this really cool idea for professional connection to keep generating creative products out of this program, and out of all the different departments in the school.”

The first project they have sight on is with Fort Mose Historic State Park, site of the first legally sanctioned free African settlement. Students will be involved in all parts of the pre-production, as well as production stages of the film.

“We think employers will be able to look at that and say, 'OK, well, you've got an idea of how this all works,' " said Gilmore. “When I taught here within the department, we were teaching students how to make short little personal films, but we never really had the time to connect all the dots to make a big thing.”

Gilmore said that the idea of the Cinematic Arts program is that new filmmakers will continuously bring fresh projects to allow students to work on projects outside of the usual production classes.

“Most undergraduates don't work on any kind of feature length, or even significantly long film in their undergraduate career. And saying is there a way we can bring that to our undergraduates here at Flagler, and there is,” said Gilmore, who returned to Flagler from the University of Michigan.

Halcomb said this program is also a great complimentary minor or major for anyone looking to broaden their horizons. Gilmore said students will be able to do this by getting to work with cameras and professional equipment right off the bat without needing a lot of prerequisites.

“We've tried to design it so that someone coming from theater, or the arts or creative writing, would be able to get familiar and comfortable with it really quickly without having to take a bunch of technical classes to have that expertise,” he said.

Halcomb and Gilmore have been working together years prior to this program as well. Even after Gilmore moved to work at Michigan, they continued to collaborate on academic conferences and multi-year projects like "Cracking Aces," which featured professional women poker players, and then a Major League Baseball scouting documentary.

“And I think that also gives us kind of a level of comfort, taking on the Fort Mose project, where we're just like, oh, we can get a lot of other people involved.”

Halcomb said she hopes that students, whether it is through the written word or visual image, “will have a portfolio that will help support their belief that they are a very creative storyteller.”

FLAGLER ATHLETICS RECEIVES PRESIDENTS’ AWARD FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

For the eighth consecutive year, Flagler College is one of 44 NCAA Division II member institutions to be honored as part of the Presidents’ Award for Academic Excellence for achieving a four-year Academic Success Rate of 90 percent or higher. This is the 12th year of the program.

“I am incredibly proud of our student-athletes and their commitment to their education,” said John Delaney, president of Flagler College. “This award for academic excellence is not only a testament to their dedication, but also recognizes the priority their coaches and families have placed on academics. Flagler student-athletes embody the best of Division II athletics."

Flagler is one of five schools in the state of Florida to receive the Presidents’ Award.

“WE'VE TRIED TO DESIGN IT SO THAT SOMEONE COMING FROM THEATER, OR THE ARTS OR CREATIVE WRITING, WOULD BE ABLE TO GET FAMILIAR AND COMFORTABLE WITH IT REALLY QUICKLY WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE A BUNCH OF TECHNICAL CLASSES TO HAVE THAT EXPERTISE,”

- Jim Gilmore, Visiting Filmmaker

FLAGLER INTRODUCES THE LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE

Flagler College’s Lifelong Learning program serves our local community by providing engaging, stimulating courses and fostering knowledge sharing and relationship building. The Institute works in collaboration with the Flagler faculty, who lend their expertise through seminars, classes, travel experiences and special events. Learners can pay per event or begin a membership to take advantage of the program's many benefits.

Visit http://www.flagler.edu/lifelong-learning.

FLAGLER DEVELOPS RELATIONSHIP WITH BERMUDA COLLEGE

By Anna Boone

A2014Coastal Environmental Science trip to Bermuda was the catalyst for a young working relationship between Flagler College and Bermuda College that was made official through the signing of an articulation agreement last month.

Bermuda College, the sole institute for higher education on the north Atlantic island, is a two-year community college offering students coursework toward associate’s degrees. To streamline their graduated students’ path toward obtaining bachelor’s degrees, the community college has developed an extensive global network of transfer agreements like the one Flagler formally established in October of 2022.

What makes articulation agreements like this an especially attractive pathway for students is the contractual guarantee between institutions that applicable credits will be properly transferred toward the degree they’re seeking.

Bermuda College Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, Phyllis Curtis-Tweed, said this particular agreement is a “two plus two” pathway with Flagler’s Business Administration, Education, Hospitality and Tourism Management and Coastal Environmental Science programs.

“The student who completes their associate’s degree at Bermuda College can then matriculate into the related baccalaureate program at Flagler, and it will only take two years to complete the program,” Curtis-Tweed said.

Compared to the 36 other institutions they have signed similar agreements with, Curtis-Tweed said Flagler College seems like a particularly “excellent fit,” for their graduates to continue in higher education.

There has been a strong connection between Flagler’s Coastal Environmental Science program and Bermuda’s Marine Science program over the years. Flagler donor James Babcock who first facilitated introductions to Bermuda College. Babcock is a steady proponent of Flagler’s Coastal Environmental Science (CES) program and has strong ties in Bermuda, including serving on the board of the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo. In 2014, Babcock facilitated a partnership between the aquarium and Flagler’s CES program to host students for a study abroad summer course that he funded.

JAIZEC LOTTIE REALIZES DREAM OF PLAYING PRO BASKETBALL

It is every basketball player's goal to play professionally. For Jaizec Lottie, '22, his dream came true when he signed with BBC Monthey-Chablais of the Swiss Basketball League (SBL).

"I've dreamed of playing pro basketball since I can remember," said Lottie. "It feels great to have achieved it, but my goal is set on the NBA and I won't stop until I get there.” He made an immediate impact for the team in his first season.

Lottie was selected as the Hoops Agents SBL Player of the Week to begin the month of October. He poured in 39 points, dished out seven assists and added three rebounds in Monthey's season opener against Fribourg. Through four games so far this season, he is averaging 26.5 points and 4.5 assists per game.

Lottis said he was enjoying his time in Switzerland, and the mountainous landscape was very reminiscent of his hometown of Aurora, Colo. "I love walking out of my house and seeing the mountains all around me," he said. "Switzerland is a beautiful country and the people are nice."

The pro basketball leagues in Europe restrict the number of U.S.born players, and the league Lottie plays in is no different. The team is allowed four Americans.

"The big differences are that you have players who are a lot older than you," said Lottie.

As with many European clubs, Lottie's living expenses are taken care of and he has a car to get around. However, the region of Switzerland is predominantly French speaking.

"A lot of my teammates speak English, but I am taking French lessons and trying to learn the language," said Lottie.

Lottie, a 6-foot-2 guard, transferred to Flagler from NCAA Division I member the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He was a two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) AllAmerican, as well as being a two-time Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year. Despite only playing two years for Flagler, Lottie is 13th in scoring in the program's history with 1,197 points.

In Lottie's first season, he helped the team win their first PBC Tournament title and then went on to capture the NCAA Division II South Region crown. The Saints made the elite eight and won their first game ever in a NCAA Division II national tournament.

"Both teams I was on were amazing when it came to being a family," said Lottie. "I loved making the final four as well and I will never forget that feeling. It was the best two years of my life."

FLAGLER COLLEGE HITS $1 MILLION MILESTONE WITH 2023 GIVING CHALLENGE

By Becky Short, '15

More than 2,000 donors contributed to Flagler College’s fifth annual Roar and Raise Giving Challenge this past March, raising a record-breaking $1.1 million in support of students, faculty, staff and historic facilities.

To date, it is the College’s most successful fundraising effort ever and will propel the school into a new era of philanthropy and education.

“Year after year, Flagler’s community of supporters demonstrate their devotion to and belief in our College mission through this giving challenge,” said Kristy Myers, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Flagler College. “Their continued investment empowers us to foster our students’ personal and professional growth while providing the transformative education for which our College has become known.”

Roar and Raise is Flagler College’s biggest fundraising event of the year. First launched in 2019, the annual 48-hour giving challenge unites Saints worldwide behind undergraduate success and the advancement of the College’s student-centered educational mission.

Since its inception, Roar and Raise has gained tremendous momentum within the Flagler community. The College enjoys record-breaking turnouts each year, and the challenge’s proceeds are exclusively invested into priority areas of need like scholarships, program innovation and facility enhancement.

“No matter the cause, our Flagler community of supporters always rises to the occasion,” Myers said. “They place their trust in us, and because of them we are able to deliver an education of enduring worth.”

Flagler College President John Delaney with Bermuda College's Phyllis Curtis-Tweed.

The Five Star Plan is the most ambitious plan Flagler College has ever undertaken with more than $22 million invested in campus capital improvements, and more to come. But it is about more than just a punch list of projects, and instead a strategic initiative by Flagler President John Delaney to transform the College on every level and deliver the best possible academic experience for students.

“We’ve developed a plan for a series of campus improvements that range from a complete overhaul of our IT system with upgrades of our WIFI and fiber optics to a restoration of the Ponce that includes enhancements to every element of the building,” he said. “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback from students about the types of amenities they would like to have here on campus. All kinds of things students have told us they would like to see on campus."

Delaney sees it as a long-term initiative with an impact that will be felt for years to come, and raise Flagler’s stature and reputation.

“The heart of it, of course, is that we get a great education from terrific faculty,” he said.

Projects for the Five Star Plan began shortly after he arrived at the College in 2021, and range from upgrades to the pool area and

a kayak launch on the Sebastian River behind Abare Hall to the purchase of Sebastian House, a local hotel that has been transformed into a residence hall. Renovations to campus residence halls including Ponce Hall, the historic centerpiece of the Flagler campus, have also been a major focus.

The plan is focused on four critical areas – facilities, technology, campus enhancements and the student experience. Technology updates like new Enterprise Resource Planning software and better Internet connections will provide students, faculty and staff with a modernized and more efficient user experience.

For students, the plan has added funding for new academic and social opportunities on and off-campus ranging from events and field-trips to getting more involved in the community. In addition, Flagler launched its new Core Curriculum – a distinctive offering of courses that incorporate our core values and introduce students to skills and values necessary for a well-rounded education. Read more in this section about the many improvements Flagler is making.

COLLEGE PURCHASES ST. AUGUSTINE RIVERFRONT HOTEL FOR NEW RESIDENCE HALL

Flagler College added its newest residence hall this spring with the purchase of a St. Augustine riverfront hotel that has been named Sebastian House. The 95-room property near the entrance to downtown is less than a mile east of campus.

Sebastian House also includes grab-n-go dining options, an exercise room, a pool, 102 parking spaces and other dorm amenities. A continuous shuttle runs back and forth to campus for students.

The College started leasing rooms in the former hotel last year as it began its multi-year comprehensive improvement plan for the Flagler campus that included renovations in Ponce, Lewis and Abare Halls. With work continuing on Ponce Hall East and Abare, and because the hotel proved to be popular with students living

there, the College decided to purchase the property and convert it into a full residence hall.

The property sits on 2.25 acres near the Ponce de Leon Boulevard/U.S. 1 and King Street intersection, and it overlooks the San Sebastian River with views of Flagler’s historic towers. This will increase the total number of dorm rooms for campus and allow the College to meet the increasing need for additional student housing.

The College has also agreed to work with the city of St. Augustine to develop a riverwalk along the east side of the San Sebastian River that runs in front of the new residence hall and connects to downtown for walking and biking.

LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER EXPANDS IN PROCTOR LIBRARY

Flagler’s Learning Resource Center (LRC) moved into an expanded space in the Proctor Library offering additional tutoring services in one-on-one and small group settings. The LRC is a tutoring center by Flagler students for Flagler students.

Highly-trained peer tutors are available for appointment-based sessions that are supervised by lab coordinators who are experts in their diverse fields. The LRC exists to support students in their coursework, providing dedicated academic assistance and a convenient place to study.

The move allowed the center to expand into a larger space, as well as make use of the many resources within the library, including the open-concept setup of the first floor.

Dr. Lisa Van Zwoll, director of the center, said the mission is to support students, no matter where they are in their academic journey.

“We work closely with students from all backgrounds and disciplines, and offer tutoring in a variety of disciplines, from writing and math to French and physics,” she said. She said the new space is a great way for all students to meet, study and work together. “It's a really active and fun space, so nobody's intimidated to come into the area and ask for help,” she said. “That's one of my goals: to make it a place that all students visit.”

DEAGAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH LAB AIMS TO RAISE BAR FOR STUDENT ARCHAEOLOGISTS

By Anna Boone

Dr. Kathy Deagan sees the future of Flagler’s archaeology program as promising – brimming with potential and the enthusiasm of students working there.

“I have always thought that Flagler College should be one of the premier training grounds for undergraduate archeologists,” said the Distinguished Research Curator in Archaeology Emerita at the University of Florida.

Since receiving her doctorate in anthropology from the University of Florida in 1974, Deagan built an extensive career in archaeological and anthropological research and education. But even before

concluding her studies, Deagan was conducting research and fieldwork in St. Augustine.

It was in part Deagan’s belief that as the Nation’s Oldest City, St. Augustine is one “of the better places for training of archeologists in the country.” That is part of what influenced her to become the lead donor for Flagler’s Deagan Archaeological Research Lab, which opened this past spring. Deagan is also a member of the Flagler College Board of Trustees.

For archaeology and anthropology professors like Dr. Lori Lee, the lab will provide students with the resources, space and collaborative environment to successfully analyze locallysourced artifacts and work to accurately inform the narrative of St. Augustine’s history.

As a major collaborator in its development, Lee said the lab will feature tools like advanced artifact cataloging and ArcGIS geospatial software on computers, high-powered microscopes, archaeological flotation devices and artifact collection storage areas. She said working with this high-level equipment will help students “build confidence and professional knowledge” while giving them “a really strong foundation” for future research and careers. But Deagan said the lab will also benefit students beyond these two fields.

“There’s a lot of cross-disciplinary fertilization in an archaeology lab,” she said.

History, forensics, natural sciences and zoology are some of the fields that Deagan said are well suited for collaboration in an archaeological setting.

Deagan hopes the lab’s potential for interdisciplinary work along with the professional-grade tools for analysis will draw students and researchers alike to Flagler’s archaeology program.

“If things continue to go the way they are, we will begin to attract many more students from many different places,” she said.

FLAGLER LAUNCHES INSTITUTE FOR CLASSICAL EDUCATION

In the summer of 2022, Flagler College received funding from the state of Florida to further its efforts in classical and liberal education by establishing a Classical Institute. The work under the state funding continues the growth of the established Flagler Core Curriculum through the hiring of faculty and staff, as well as faculty development.

It also helps develop new external programming to share Flagler’s model of classical and liberal education with educators across the state.

Flagler’s Core reflects the College’s modern version of the classical liberal arts, intended to foster what Plato called the Good and the Common Good. The Core is designed around a deeply intentional immersion in Flagler’s Core Values, integrated with instruction in the vital skills necessary for our students to flourish not just

academically, but in the workplace, in civic life and as “whole people.”

Through a broad and shared curriculum focused in the liberal arts and sciences, students learn to take intellectual risks and to understand how the various academic disciplines engage the world. They also learn the tools necessary for active participation in a free and democratic society committed to free speech and inquiry, and to dialogue across difference.

The Institute plans to host workshops, conferences and guest scholars – as well as to provide fellowship & mentorship opportunities for students and teachers at the K-12 level – in order to share Flagler’s philosophy of education with an audience beyond the College. We seek, through all of this work, to cultivate a “higher purpose” in higher education at a time of great national need.

INNOVATION CENTER BRINGS

NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO FLAGLER

When the Brown Innovation Center opened this past spring at Flagler, it wasn’t just a chance to show off the lab’s fancy 3D printers and laser cutter, but also to foster multidisciplinary collaboration across campus to find solutions for pressing challenges.

That’s been the goal of the center since it was first proposed by its director, Allison Roberts, who also serves as Enactus Faculty Mentor and Peter and Sue Freytag Associate Professor of Economics.

“About 5 years ago, we were working on a strategic plan for the College and one of the points of emphasis was to have more multidisciplinary opportunities for students to work together and collaborate,” said Roberts. “The idea for the Innovation Center came to me at that time while trying to figure out ways to get students from different disciplines to work together and solve problems.”

Roberts runs the center with Jason Schwab, the technology director and an assistant professor of Visual Art.

The center has been busy in its first couple of months welcoming

classes of all different disciplines, hosting events like Design Week and Business Week, and serving as the home of ENACTUS, which stands for Entrepreneurial Action for Others Creates a Better World for Us All.

“Really it's a space for us to live up to our core values,” Roberts said. “All of the things that we want to be as a college, as a college community, we can make happen in this space.”

The center is located on the first floor of the Ringhaver Student Center where the campus bookstore used to be. It is named for Bradley J. and Mandy Crupi Brown, two Flagler alumni who have continued to give back to the College over the years, including Bradley’s current service on the Board of Trustees. The couple made a major gift to the College to make the center a reality.

In addition to meeting space for collaboration amongst faculty, students, staff and the community, the center also includes 3D printers, a laser cutter, a 3D scanner, sewing machines and a Cricut machine.

The start of the fall semester gave students a first glimpse at Flagler College’s Five Star Plan, a multi-million dollar initiative designed to lead improvements and enhancements across campus facilities, technology and the student experience. But that is just the beginning, and there are even more changes coming to campus throughout 2023.

1 MAJOR RENOVATIONS

This included major renovations to Ponce Hall’s historic residential wings, redesigns in Lewis and Cedar Halls, and even a kayak launch onto the San Sebastian River at Abare Hall. Some of the residential enhancements included modernized rooms, flooring and furniture, the addition of common and study areas, kitchen spaces and laundry rooms. Flagler’s Learning Resource Center also moved into an expanded space in the Proctor Library offering additional tutoring services in one-onone and small group settings.

2 STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Beyond facilities, the 5 Star Plan placed a priority on improving the overall student experience. It aims to connect students with one another and their Flagler community through exciting on and off-campus opportunities. This meant creating events like a live circus performance, movies in the pool, off-campus field trips, exclusive concerts, sporting events and outdoor activities.

3 LACROSSE AND INTRAMURAL SPORTS FIELD

The launch of the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams also brought Flagler’s newest Athletics facility with a turf field that is also home to the College’s intramural sports like flag-football, soccer and others. The field is located parallel to Old Moultrie Road and sits beyond the center field wall of Drysdale Field. The first game at the Flagler Lacrosse Field was played on Feb. 9, 2022.

4 TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS

Technology updates like improved Internet connections will streamline the student experience while improving access to needed academic resources. These technological improvements will allow the College to operate more efficiently and improve its customer service focus.

5 FLAGLER COLLEGE TENNIS CENTER

For the first time since the facility was constructed in 1983, the Flagler College Tennis Center has a brand new court surface. The six-court facility underwent a comprehensive overhaul, complete with foundational reinforcement, the installation of curbing along the outside of the facility, new paint and state-of-the-art, energy efficient LED lighting.

6 PONCE RENOVATION

The Ponce is undergoing an ambitious renovation and restoration effort of its residential spaces. The project includes enhancements to the Mezzanine, entirely new and modernized electrical, HVAC and plumbing systems along with renovated laundry and bathroom spaces in this National Historic Landmark.

7 KAYAK LAUNCH

The addition of a dock, kayak launch and kayaks at Abare Hall on the banks of the Sebastian River have enhanced the student experience through a partnership with the Environmental Science Program and Campus Recreation. The kayak launch area is also being utilized for scientific research, fishing and yoga at sunset.

By Anna Boone | Photo by Mind Power Marketing

his past fall, new students began taking classes in Flagler College’s newly launched Core Curriculum, which replaced

Through this curriculum, students are given the tools to develop skills like social scientific inquiry, ethical and quantitative reasoning and oral communication. The program begins with the First-Year Seminar and culminates with FlagSHIP (Flagler Sophomore High Impact Practice), a program that merges learning and interacting across communities.

But at its “core,” Doug Keaton, Flagler’s faculty director of Classical & Liberal Education and Core Curriculum and a professor of Philosophy, said the goal has been to increase student engagement, which has already become apparent.

Flagler College Magazine sat down with Keaton to learn more about this transformational new program and how it will reshape education at the College.

Q� HOW DID THIS NEW CORE CURRICULUM COME ABOUT?

A� It was developed over the past four years by the entire faculty. And I think probably every office on campus in one way or another has had some say in how our new general education program goes. The faculty got together in round table discussions and had arguments and good conversations for a couple years.

Faculty went to conferences around the country to talk to other colleges that are doing the same kind of work, to see what kinds of ideas are in the air and what kinds of innovations are really proving to be helpful for different schools around the country. After a lot of those conversations, a lot of that research, we decided upon a specific general education reform plan for our school.

Q� WITH THE CORE, WHAT IS THE COLLEGE TRYING TO ADDRESS?

A� The core curriculum is trying to teach students how to think for themselves. No matter what they're majoring in, there are certain skills we have to have in order to really become our own people who think our own thoughts. And the idea is then that we want to offer a selection of classes that will provide a set of skills that assist the student in doing that. … The other way to think about it is that the point of general education is to create citizens who are skilled thinkers and knowledgeable thinkers, and therefore good voters for a healthy democracy.

Q� WHAT WERE SOME OF THE REASONS TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM AT FLAGLER?

A� Flagler decided to make this change because we used to have what is generally considered a 20th century model. That kind of system is basically an arrangement of introductory courses from various parts of the school that we ask students to take like Psych 101, Business 101, Science 101. The reason that's a bit out of date and not ideal is because that collection of classes doesn't really have any rhyme or reason to it.

So, rather than simply ask students to select from a suite of classes that have already existed, we are moving toward a system intended specifically to fulfill this promise to make our students into well-rounded, rich, self-thinking individuals. What the faculty have done is designed almost 100 different classes... that are something that they personally find fascinating, enriching and valuable.

Q CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW THE CORE IS FOCUSED ON CERTAIN SKILLS YOU WANT THEM TO LEARN?

A� At the heart of the new core curriculum are the nine key academic skills that we want all of our students to have. These nine skills grew out of years of conversation amongst the faculty, and also with our Career Development Center, to figure out exactly what the skills are that companies and businesses around

the country are looking for from college graduates. So, we developed these nine skills as the heart of our core curriculum to make sure our students get that: academic writing, oral communication, natural scientific inquiry, social scientific inquiry, creativity, an art class, quantitative reasoning, social and cultural inquiry, historical inquiry and ethical reasoning. Those are nine different ways of thinking, nine different ways of approaching a problem, nine different ways of looking at life.

Q� WHAT KIND OF CLASSES ARE BEING OFFERED?

A� They're teaching classes like Dance, The Mirror of Society. Or Science of Pandemics. Or Living in a Digital World. These are all classes that professors wanted to teach and design. You don't have to wait until your third or fourth year before you're taking a class with a professor who really wants to be teaching that specific class.

Furthermore, our hope is that the titles of these classes and the content of these classes feel less like high school and more like life. And that they're more relatable and more interesting to the students right off the bat. There's a wide variety of choices because we've made a lot of classes because our faculty have lots and lots of interests.

Q� YOU'RE ALSO TEACHING SOME OF THESE CLASSES� CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THEM?

A� For me, I had to learn to teach a different kind of class in order to teach a core class. Because one thing that we've insisted upon is that the core classes be what we call skill-based, not contentbased. What that means is if I teach a regular philosophy class, I might want students to learn what this philosopher said and what that philosopher said maybe over the course of 1,000 years of philosophers, and they have to memorize a lot of it.

But for a skill-based course, that's definitely not the idea. The idea is instead that students do more of their own work, do more of their own thinking. The idea is not to have to memorize, but rather to engage in coursework and course activities that convey and ask us to practice a set of skills.

Q� HOW ARE STUDENTS INTERACTING DIFFERENTLY WITH THE NEW COURSEWORK?

A That level of engagement has been superior to previous years, and I've heard that both in my own class and also from faculty teaching other classes. [Students say] they're just so much easier to engage with and it's so much easier to understand why we're asking you to learn this stuff because to them it's not abstract. It relates to things they already have some connection with, some grip on in the world.

Architectural photographer Amy Martz spent several days at Flagler College recently capturing images of Ponce Hall, the centerpiece of the College and the former Hotel Ponce de Leon. As she wandered the halls, lavish rooms and lush courtyard of this National Historic Landmark built by Henry Flagler in 1888, she captured another side of this architectural masterpiece. Her photos will make you take a new look at intricate details of the Ponce you thought you knew so well. Rediscover the Ponce through the keen eye and creative lens of Martz.

Photos by Amy Martz

By Morgan Goodwill,

From impeding on their food sources to creating issues with bringing clean water into the household, the Middle Eastern country of Jordan has been learning how to navigate these impacts through scientific solutions and communicating the need for change to their people.

Flagler College’s FlagSHIP program created a course to explore the water scarcity issues that Jordan’s society faces day-to-day, led by Natural Sciences Department Chair Jessica Veenstra and Communication Associate Professor Tracey Eaton. Now the College is continuing to develop the relationships they created while in Jordan in the summer of 2022. Dr. Raed Al-Tabini, the College’s primary contact and a director for the School for International Training, will be coming to St. Augustine to discuss the water scarcity issues in Jordan. Veenstra will introduce Dr. Al-Tabini to students interested in the course, as they hope to rerun it in January 2024.

“Florida is a state where there’s just an incredible abundance of water in many ways, and there’s water all around us,” Veenstra said. “So it was really interesting to bring the students to a really completely opposite environment where they are so extremely water-limited.”

The students participated in homestays, where they stayed with domestic families in the area. This experience allowed them to learn about the environment from a grounded level instead of just seeing it through the eyes of scientists, politicians and

business professionals.

“Being one of the first Flagler groups to go to the Middle East and learning about the water scarcity issue was truly eyeopening,” said Matthew Dutton, ‘22.

Flagler students like Dutton are used to being surrounded by water, and Jordanians don’t have that luxury. Being able to hear from individuals living in the area and learn from the source was one of the biggest takeaways from the excursion.

Alongside learning from the locals of Jordan, the course participants entered conversations with scientists and communicators from the local area.

“Learning the culture and more about the water crisis was a unique experience that I’ll never forget. I was shocked to find out that each citizen is allocated around 40 liters of fresh water, [equal to] about a 5-minute shower, per day,” Dutton explained. The country and its entire region depend on groundwater resources that cannot replenish, similar to the oil resources that the world relies on. Veenstra and the students found it interesting and surprising that this was the population’s go-to water source.

However, switching the population’s resources from groundwater to a more sustainable one has been challenging. Not only does Jordan have to do their part in educating the public as to why it should be switching its resources, but there are also political battles at hand.

'19 | Photo by Jake Van Clief, '24

“Students met with leading scientists who are studying the water crisis in Jordan and learned that international cooperation is vital to solving such difficult problems,” said Eaton.

Israel, one of Jordan’s neighboring countries, shares one of the few water resources available in their region, the Jordan River. Politicians in Jordan and Israel have a balance they must maintain so both populations can share the natural resource.

“Rivers don’t know the boundaries of Israel versus Jordan. Right? They just flow where they flow. And so, these two countries that get along now but certainly have their issues with each other have to share this water resource, right? And so, there are ways that surrounding countries can take more water, and it becomes difficult to establish whose rights are whose,” Veenstra explained.

But the trip wasn’t just about navigating environmental issues and political tensions. The communal experience also gave Flagler students a one-of-a-kind chance to take took Arabic courses, dive into the Dead Sea and explore the ancient archeological site, Petra.

“Students told me that the trip helped dispel some common misconceptions about the Middle East,” Eaton said, “As we left, several students said they were so impressed with Jordan that they hoped to return one day.”

“LEARNING THE CULTURE AND MORE ABOUT THE WATER CRISIS WAS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE THAT I’LL NEVER FORGET� I WAS SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT EACH CITIZEN IS ALLOCATED AROUND 40 LITERS OF FRESH WATER,

Photos opposite page and left by Jake Van Clief, '24.

Photos top and above by Tracey Eaton.

RINGHAVER FAMILY CONTINUES LEGACY OF SERVICE ON FLAGLER’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES

By Anna Boone

L

egacy has deep roots, and the Ringhaver family planted theirs in the earliest days of Flagler College.

“In the 60s, my dad and a couple other businessmen were approached by Lawrence Lewis,” Trustee Emeritus Randy Ringhaver said.

Ringhaver said his father, Lambert Christian (L.C.) Ringhaver, and this group of local businessmen were eager to bring their pens to the table during Flagler’s founding, signing the bank note needed to establish and keep the College afloat during its infancy.

This was L.C.’s introductory act as a lifelong friend to the College and the catalyst for his family’s legacy with Flagler. He had a passion for opportunities he believed were ahead for Flagler College and its capacity for positive impact on the St. Augustine community. This passion was a part of his motivation to serve on the Board of Trustees from 1970 to 1976.

“If you don’t have a passion for it from the get-go, it’d be very hard to be a committed Trustee,” Randy said.

It’s a quality that two generations of the Ringhaver family have inherited: L.C.’s oldest son Lance Ringhaver, who served on the Board from 1983 to 1989; L.C.’s youngest son Randy who served from 1989 to 2022 with five years of Chairman service; and now Randy’s daughter Bree Alban, who was elected by the Board in October 2022 to serve as its newest Trustee.

“It’s an incredible legacy,” Randy said.

the company was spent raising its caliber of production and success. When DESCO was appointed as a full-line Caterpillar dealer in 1961, Ring Power Corporation was established with inspiration from L.C.’s nickname among peers and family: “Ring.”

Lance and Randy grew up alongside their family business, in the backyard of Flagler College and in the heart of downtown St. Augustine.

“We lived right there on Valencia Street, just down the way from the Hotel Ponce de Leon,” Randy said.

Alban said she thinks her father’s inherited passion for his work with Flagler was bolstered by his love for St. Augustine – the place he always “considered home no matter where his parents were originally from.”

“We used to go on the carriage rides and all the St. Augustine tours, and he would have his own rendition of a downtown tour from his experiences growing up there,” Alban said.

L.C. and fellow early supporters of the College were dedicated to ensuring the quality of any development in St. Augustine. Randy said they understood the extreme historical value of the Hotel Ponce de Leon and other historical buildings on the property.

But he said they also saw a great opportunity to create a successful institution of higher education.

The vision and hopes for this investment they made carried into their roles as Flagler’s early Board of Trustees. During that time, Randy said the main role of a Trustee was to work on developing the financial support the College needed until it could establish an endowment and become self-sustaining in operational costs.

During his early service on the Board, after being elected as a Trustee in 1989, Randy said Flagler had started to grow its endowment and the chance for the Board to expand its active involvement beyond fundraising became apparent.

His support went beyond leadership in business ventures. Since 1999, Randy has donated more than $3 million to Flagler College. His philanthropy has funded full tuition scholarships through the Ringhaver Family Endowed Scholarship and the Elaine Ringhaver Riggle Women's Golf Scholarship. His giving has also supported historic preservation of the Ponce de Leon Hotel, the growth of Flagler's Business program, athletics and the construction of the Ringhaver Student Center.

The dedication of the Ringhaver Student Center in 2007 was a milestone that Alban said opened her eyes to the depth of her family’s roots with Flagler College. She said she didn’t fully realize, until that time, the magnitude of what her “grandfather, uncle and dad instilled in the College.”

ceremony of the student center’s opening and College’s willingness to offer space on campus for her uncle Lance’s funeral services in 2016. She said it’s examples of thoughtful consideration like these that motivated her desire to continue a legacy of service with Flagler.

“I was honored that my dad would consider for me to fill his shoes in this way,” Alban said.

As her service on the Board gets underway, Alban said one of her first goals is to deepen her familiarity with the College.

She hopes to do this by looking at how the student body engages socially with the campus community, gauging their support and frustrations on multiple fronts, and nailing down an understanding of student opinions related to Flagler College’s overall performance.

L.C. moved with his wife Elaine and first son Lance from Ohio to St. Augustine in 1947 where he started work with Diesel Engine Sales Co. (DESCO), a local shrimp boat manufacturer.

From employee to general manager, to sole owner of DESCO in 1957, L.C.’s first decade with

“Next thing you know, there was a lot of opportunity to increase the size of the student body, and we needed to have more facilities for dorms,” he said.

Randy said his time as Chairman of the Board, from 2005 to 2010, marked an era of his heightened involvement with College activities and initiatives. This was notably exemplified through his coordination of the F.E.C. Railway Towers acquisition in 2006.

During his time as Chairman, Randy additionally oversaw the rehabilitation and restoration of the Molly Wiley Art Building, the creation and construction of the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum, the creation of the Faculty Senate, and the transition of the Athletics program from NAIA to NCAA, Division II.

“It gave me a lot of pride in my family,” Alban said. “That was the point when Flagler rose above all the other committees my dad had served on.”

When encouraging his daughter to run for the Board seat left open following his transition to emeritus status, Randy said he was confident that her dedicated work with Ring Power and time spent on its Board would prepare her for this role. He also believed her Business Administration degree would be helpful in her operations within the Board’s endowment or finance committees.

“I felt like she was very well qualified,” Randy said. “It was just whether she’d have the passion to do it.”

Alban said her passion wasn’t hard to define, noting instances like her grandmother Elaine being invited to the ribbon cutting

“I’d like to get a better understanding of what the core culture is at the College,” Alban said. “Of the student body, and of the faculty.”

She plans to attend as many classes and campus events as possible while prioritizing building camaraderie with Flagler’s personnel and student representatives. Through her regional network of professional peers, Alban said she’s also eager to play a part in generating interest in Flagler College and advancing fundraising pursuits.

Her father said he’s planning on leaning into the nature of his Trustee Emeritus role, providing support and consultation only when needed.

“I’d like to see Bree be the active representative of our family and our corporation,” Randy said. “Adding a fresh perspective to the future of Flagler.”

“I’D LIKE TO SEE BREE BE THE ACTIVE REPRESENTATIVE OF OUR FAMILY AND OUR CORPORATION ADDING A FRESH PERSPECTIVE TO THE FUTURE OF FLAGLER�”

- Randy Ringhaver, Trustee Emeritus

Bree Alban

Randy Ringhaver, center, with Lance Ringhaver to his left at the dedication of Flagler College's Ringhaver Student Center in 2007.

x 5

BOX Justin Bergh

PROMOTES COMMUNITY AND EQUALITY AS CROSSFIT’S GENERAL MANAGER

By Lauren Piskothy, '20

VERY PROUD TO REPRESENT IT WHENEVER I CAN

F or Flagler alumnus Justin Bergh, ‘04, sports have always been about community. Bergh has had a deep appreciation for sports, long before he became General Manager of CrossFit in 2022. In high school he played baseball and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves, but ultimately had dreams of becoming a fitness instructor. However, while at Flagler he realized his passion for professional sports and went on to study Sport Management while also playing on the baseball team.

To Bergh, earning the title of General Manager and representing Flagler College’s Sport Management program has meant a great deal.

“The GM title is something that's meant a lot to me. I'm very proud of that and for the impact that hopefully it has on Flagler and our alumni reputation as well. I think it's a terrific program and I'm very proud to represent it whenever I can,” Bergh said. However, the journey to becoming General Manager wasn’t a straight path. After receiving his degree, he found himself on the road working for a sports technology company, on the way to fulfilling his dream career, but at the same time, missing the comradery he felt playing on the Flagler Baseball team.

“I had trained my entire life and always played team sports,” said Bergh. “Leaving college and not having those teammates felt dissonant to me. So, after about three years of being on the road a lot, I started dropping into CrossFit gyms.”

“I would make it a point to go there and drop into one of those gyms, then go along with the rest of my work week,” he said. “After falling into a bunch of those gyms, I fell in love with it because I felt like I was playing a team sport, and as a natural introvert … these people were super welcoming.”

It was this familiarity of a team sport atmosphere that inspired Bergh to take a course on CrossFit and continue to explore the potential CrossFit had to offer.

“That's when I kind of swallowed the hook and decided that this could be a really cool opportunity,” he said. “CrossFit gyms had changed the traditional fitness model where instead of having giant gyms with a lot of machines and self-constructed equipment, CrossFit gyms were small, and they paid their coaches much better, and were profitable.”

Combining all of his interests, the interpersonal aspect of team sports with the opportunity to become involved with professional sports, Bergh fell further in love with CrossFit and opened an affiliate just an hour outside of St. Augustine in Jacksonville, Florida in 2008, which he owned for a decade.

He would later find himself working on CrossFit’s seminar staff, traveling the globe and instructing other fitness instructors as a part of CrossFit’s education program, and eventually becoming heavily involved in growth of the CrossFit Games, an annual athletic competition using a variety of workouts including weightlifting,

WOD

conditioning and other athletic events.

The CrossFit games had only one competition when Bergh first started managing all aspects of the sport. In 2022 the games have become hugely successful. He has been instrumental in the growth of the sport that now has hundreds of competitions that are broadcasted on CBS and reach nearly 300 million homes outside of the United States. In full circle nature, Bergh found himself at the forefront of a professional sport, just like he’d hoped to be when he was studying Sport Management at Flagler.

One of Bergh’s proudest achievements as GM has been the gender equality of the sport.

“We're the only sport that I'm aware of that since existence 16 years ago, that has equally paid men and women and has provided exactly equal media opportunity for men and women,” he said. “Men and Women get the same amount of airtime on CBS, on all of our digital, and the streaming properties are rated number one. Amazon, Apple and Netflix documentaries are all exactly split down the middle as well. We’re kind of trend setters in that regard and CrossFit's really been kind of pioneering that.”

As the first General Manager of CrossFit to come from the Sport Management program, he’s proud to represent Flagler.

“It’s been really cool to have that basis that I learned at Flagler from some great instructors, as something that I could springboard off of and use frequently in my day-to-day job,” said Bergh.

In fact, he applies the lessons he learned at Flagler regularly across all his responsibilities as the General Manager of CrossFit and the CrossFit games.

“I use almost every single course that I went through in the Sport Management program at Flagler on a weekly, if not daily basis,” he said. “From facility design, risk management, the legal aspects of what we do in contract review, risk mitigation, all the way up to the sociological import importance of sport as a way for people to gather, to develop their own identities, and to progress and take agency over their own lives”.

As for the future of CrossFit, Bergh hopes to continue to make Flagler proud and promote community within the sport so that others can find CrossFit the way he did.

“I think the future for CrossFit is to use all of those unique strengths better than anybody has used any of them individually,” he said.

AMRAP

To Bergh, connecting people passionate about fitness to their local CrossFit gym and finding a coach that works well with them is at the forefront of CrossFit’s growth and impact.

“The idea, is to use sport for its highest and best purpose here at CrossFit and do things in ways that'll serve more people learning about and trying CrossFit in the future.”

I'M

graduating class of 2017. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws, which was the pinnacle of his professional speaking career. Doug credits much of his success in life and business to the incredible education he received at Flagler!

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:

SIMPSON-GOTHAM FOSTERING A PASSION FOR VOLUNTEERING AND HELPING OTHERS

By Elisabeth Shirley, '22

When Flagler alumna Aubrie Simpson-Gotham, ‘12, graduated, she knew she was going to go into the field of education, just like her mother and other family members. What she didn’t know is that just a few years later, she would leave her teaching job and start her own nonprofit organization.

Years of volunteering and helping her community made her realize there were gaps in the system she could not fill as a teacher alone. With that, Simpson-Gotham founded Fostering Connections, which uplifts local children and youth impacted by foster care or trauma by providing needed essentials, educational programs, and community connections.

“Families I was working with were expressing to me the how they had trouble finding services. They didn't know where to go for help,” she said. “I enjoyed teaching, but the way the education system was set up, it wasn’t a fit for me.”

A notable attribute of Fostering Connections is that several board members are or have been foster parents. As SimpsonGotham's own father was once in foster care, she notes that having such board members is an asset “as they have experienced firsthand the positives and challenges of being foster parents” and understand how they can better support families impacted by foster care or trauma.

While she was a student at Flagler, she did a lot of volunteer projects as president of Kappa Delta Pi, the education honors society. At the time, she did not think she could make a career of it, but Fostering Connections has given her the opportunity to combine her passion for volunteering and teaching.

With a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Flagler and a Master’s in Pre-K/Primary Education from Nova Southeastern University, her credentials allow her to continue teaching through their career and college readiness academies.

“We help support local foster families or any families impacted by foster care or trauma. We do that by providing educational programs and enrichment opportunities for the youth. We provide services that foster care agencies just don’t have the funding for,” she said. Fostering Connections also helps youth who age out of foster care, as many don’t know how to apply for college or get a job to support themselves.

In 2021, she was awarded the St. Johns County's 25 Under Forty's Nonprofit Professional Award, only two years after starting Fostering Connections. Excited to be even nominated for such an award, it gave her the opportunity to build more connections through the exposure it gave. In 2022, she was recognized by the First Coast Business Alliance as the Advocacy Firm of the Year.

Simpson-Gotham's favorite part of working in this field is she can “connect business leaders and community members to opportunities to support a mission dear to their hearts – providing resources and opportunities to youth impacted by foster care or trauma – and make a positive impact on our community.”

VIVIAN (BURRUS) TODD is in her 19th year of real estate in Texas and is still enjoying assisting buyers and sellers in their real estate needs. Her knowledge of Spanish has helped her with Spanish-speaking clients thanks to Flagler professor Dr. Maria Rithner, and her wonderful Spanish and Spanish literature classes. Great memories of her Flagler years and cheers to continued success of our alma mater!

1977

JERRY MCLAUGHLIN has recently retired after 44 years of coaching women’s basketball and teaching at various levels. Jerry is living in the Palencia condo community in St. Augustine, Fla. He is still very involved in fundraising for the V Foundation and other charity/nonprofit organizations. Jerry enjoys doing all of his volunteer work in Florida and throughout the country.

1982

GLEN DEL PUP recently set a major challenge for himself to provide community service to his town. He successfully completed the Firefighter 1 practical and written exams, and is now a proud active member of the Bethel Volunteer Fire Department in Bethel, Conn.

1984

Professional speaker DOUG DVORAK earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Flagler College in 1984 and returned to Flagler to deliver a commencement speech to the

CHARLOTTE (HOLMES) MURRAY is still living in South Carolina with her husband Dave and is now raising their second family with two adopted children, Elizabeth and Dylan, while loving on their grandchildren, Jeremiah and Lydia. Charlotte owns the Lowcountry Living Room, an antique store, art gallery, coffee shop and Event Center. So, stop by when you are traveling I-95! She visits St. Augustine as often as possible and loves keeping up with a few alumni friends.

1985

After a very successful 18-year career in the Carolinas, the sunshine state called BELYNDA THARPE home. Several stops in Greenville, S.C. (8 years) as the Catering & Events Director at Larkin’s on the River and owner of the Catering Connection; Charlotte, N.C., beckoned her to the Queen City as the Athletic Director at Carmel Country Club; three years in Durham as the GM at the Brightleaf Swim & Racquet Club and back to Charlotte for six years as the Lifestyle Director at Regency at Palisades for Toll Brothers active 55-plus community on Lake Wylie. While she misses the fall and winter seasons in the Carolinas, it is great to be home and so close to the beaches!

1987

KRISTY (THORN) BERNIER recently retired from her position as Executive Vice President and Creative Director at the largest and oldest advertising firm in Alaska. She is very honored to have received two Emmys as Creative Director and Producer for both a documentary and television advertising campaign. She has traveled the country filming for clients in locations including NASAs Goddard facility. Kristy also served in a volunteer capacity as the President of the Alaska State Fair and as a city commissioner in Palmer, Alaska. Her daughter, Randi, is now 32, and son, Joey, is 30. Kristy likes to spend her time volunteering, painting, traveling and working in her yard.

CAPTAIN DONALD B SIMMONS

III US Navy (Retired) recently became President of First Coast Honor Flight, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization serving veterans in the 9 counties that make up Northeast Florida and is part of the nationwide Honor Flight Network. The sole mission of Honor Flight is to transport elderly and ill military veterans to Washington, D.C., at no cost to them, to visit the memorials and monuments honoring their sacrifices.

1988

KEN PEASE was featured in the House of Blues tent at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts this year, a live painting event in February. After doing the Finster Fest show in Summerville, Ga., and the Kentucky Folk Art Festival in Northport, Ala., last year, this will be his first show of 2023.

1989

to Portugal.

1991

TAMMI (SINGER) FOX is starting her 14th school year as a virtual art teacher.

1993

LORI (GUION) GREEN has been a proud public-school educator in Hillsborough County for 28 years. The last 12 years, she has been a Hospital Homebound teacher traveling to the homes of students too sick to attend school. Lori also owns a high school and college math tutoring business. She enjoys the beach and spending time with family and friends.

KEVIN YOUNG moved permanently to Porto, Portugal, where he started up an Interior Design and Space Planning business to help people transition with moving

JIM COHEN is very excited that his daughter, Samantha, has been accepted into the Flagler College class of 2027. Go Saints!!!

1994

ELIZABETH (BRAZ) AMARAL is an Assistant Principal at West Rocks Middle School in Norwalk, Conn. She recently celebrated her 50th birthday with a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the roommate she met at Flagler as a freshman 32 years ago.

KATHERINE (CORCORAN) DYKSTERHOUSE is a middle and high school drama teacher and the head of the Thomasville City Schools Drama Program in Thomasville, Ga. She is the

ALUMNI NOTES

Teacher of the Year award recipient, and has led the drama program’s One Act play team to its first ever One Act Play state championship. Katherine has 2 children, Dane, 22, attends college at the University of Georgia, and a daughter Delaney, 17, a high school junior. Her husband Bob is a pharmaceutical sales representative for Zoetis, Inc.

1999

Living in Connecticut now for 16 years, NICOLE FALCIANO was promoted in 2022 to Vice President at Merrill Lynch. Erik and Nicole now split their time between their home in historic Farmington village and their beach cottage in Cape Cod, Mass. Their triplet daughters Lenora, Cariña and Valentina are 7 and their “baby” Nicolina just turned 5. They were thrilled to spend time this summer in the Cape with Flagler alums Rachel Wootten and Ronnie Nichols. Nicole would love to hear from old college friends at nicole_falciano@ml.com.

SUSAN (VALLANCE) SCHUH

and her family live in Houston where she continues to lead NASA Johnson Space Center’s Operational Habitability and Human Factors team supporting all flown International Space Station astronauts and future human spaceflight missions. She received a NASA Silver Snoopy award in 2022. She was honored to be invited back to speak to Dr. Litzinger’s Flagler Human Factors students in October. She recently established NASA’s first parenting focused Employee Resource Group in an effort to build community, as well as provide support and resources for JSC parents and guardians.

2001

KIRK DAMATO was named a member of the 2022 New Writers Fellowship for CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment), for a pilot he wrote that takes place in the Jacksonville/St. Augustine area.

SARAH TAYLOR was promoted in October of 2021 to Assistant County Administrator for Community Services in St. Johns County. She has served the county in a variety of roles for 20 years.

As a former Saints volleyball player and assistant coach, she and her husband enjoy spending their free time cheering on their son and daughter in volleyball and soccer.

2003

ERIN (GREINER) FLINDT married

Sean Flindt at the beautiful 1930s era Kiggins Theatre in Vancouver, Wash., on July 1, 2021. Erin has been working as a field photographer for three years and loves the challenges and opportunities of the position!

HEATHER (CREWS) LYONS received her Credit Union Development Educator (CUDE) designation in May 2022. CUDEs around the world help the Credit Unions they work with to better understand fundamental barriers that prevent the prosperity of people and communities. Heather works for Greensboro Municipal Federal Credit Union in Marketing & Community Relations. She lives with her husband, James, and daughter, Lucy, in High Point, N.C.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:

DR � JENNY (MEISTER) MCFADDEN, '04 was recently promoted to Associate Professor of Developmental English at Wor-Wic Community College. She has taught at Wor-Wic for the past six years and is married to her husband, Rashieme. They have three children: Ivy, Shaylin, and Kaliah, who just graduated from high school a year early.

HELWIG JOINS THE FLAGLER COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Viv Helwig. '08, brings brings with him an entrepreneurial spirit and experience growing a company from the ground up. After finding his way into the specialty metals business, Helwig has built Vested Metals into one Inc.’s 5000 fastest-growing privately held companies in the world, as well as the Jacksonville Business Journal’s Fast 50 companies in the region for the past three years. In addition, he and Vested Metals were named the SBA Exporter of the Year for the North Region and the State of Florida.

economic development, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to serve on the U.S. Central & North Florida District Export Council, St. John's County Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Committee, SBDC at UNF Advisory Board, Flagler College Athletics Advisory Board and Flagler College Alumni Board of Directors.

JERRY GOODRICH, '99, and JENNIFER (LEGGETT) GOODRICH, '99 opened a mini donut shop called Peace, Love, and Little Donuts in downtown St. Augustine in November. They are excited to be a part of the downtown business community and are happy to employ several Flagler students!

2000

ARI EINHORN graduated in May with a Master of Jewish Studies and a Certificate in Chaplaincy from the Academy of Jewish Religion-CA. She is currently living in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her two Australian Shepherds. She works as a hospital chaplain.

2002

LISA (SEAMAN) MORAN was named Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Office of West Cary Group, LLC, a full-service marketing agency in Richmond, Va.

On May 10, 2022, Oregon Governor Kate Brown appointed ANDREW KENNETH GAY Associate Professor and Chair of Communication, Media & Cinema at Southern Oregon University, as the next Faculty Trustee on the SOU Board of Trustees, and on June 3, his appointment was confirmed by the Oregon Senate.

To celebrate MICHELLE OLSONROGERS and Steven Fleet's 40th birthdays in July 2022, several Flagler alumni gathered in Dubrovnik, Croatia. CHAD CARTER, '02, joined them for the Greek Islands portion of the trip, a week-long catamaran sail in the Cyclades. International fun was had by all!

2005

KRISTEN HICKS married her now husband Allen Johnson on July 23, 2022, in Boynton Beach. Once they were married her husband filed papers to adopt her kids as his own.

2004

RACHEL (TONNEMACHER) POKAY has recently been named Assistant Vice President and Head of Brand Activation & Market Enablement at Versant Health, one of the nation’s leading managed vision care companies. She is joining Versant after more than a decade of leading global business

“Viv’s dedication to his alma mater, along with his entrepreneurial vision, makes him a perfect addition to the Board. As a recent chair of the Alumni Board of Directors and member of the Saints Advisory Club, Viv has the knowledge, commitment, and experience the Board of Trustees values in its members," said Board of Trustees Chair Ambassador John Rood.

Helwig is no stranger to board service, whether it be to Flagler College or the greater St. Augustine Community. He has served on the St. Johns County Industrial Development Authority promoting

In accepting his appointment to the Board of Trustees, Helwig thanked the Board for inviting him to “join in their mission.” “After spending more time with several Trustees during this process, I am extremely encouraged by the passion they have for this institution," he said. "It's a special place that completely transformed my life for the better and I hope to be a part of providing that experience for others. I look forward to working with President Delaney and the entire board to further the vital mission of the college and am excited to be given the opportunity to serve my alma mater, Flagler College, in this vital role."

Helwig received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Flagler College and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Flagler as the December 2019 commencement speaker. His first meeting as a Trustee took place in October.

and sustainability communications at MetLife. Heather continues to reside in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and two children.

State Regents for Higher Education in Oklahoma City, Okla.

can’t wait to help out and play with all the town’s fur babies as well as travel more!

2007

Alumni Board of Directors member WAYNE THOMAS recently published the book, “Faith Around the Watercooler: 30 Day Devotional for Cubicle Dwellers.”

2006

STEPHANIE (BORGERT) BAIRD was recently named the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, Planning, and Evaluation for the Oklahoma

AMANDA HOSKINSON recently transitioned from a career providing behavioral therapy and special education to children with ASD to starting her own pet care business. Pawsitive Pet Care Services, LLC provides the St. Augustine community with customizable pet care services to help others with any and all of their pet care needs. Her third rescue fur baby, Charlie, and her are loving their new venture and

LACI MATTISON was promoted to Associate Professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, where she teaches 20th century British Literature for the Department of Language & Literature. She is organizing the 32nd Annual International Conference on Virginia Woolf, "Virginia Woolf & Ecologies," which will be held at FGCU in June 2023.

JERRY LAMBERT hit a career milestone when he won a Clio Award on Nov. 15, 2022! The award ceremony was held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles (where the Oscars are held). He won for his work on “Netflix is a Joke.” He will also be attending this year's Flagler portfolio review and is excited to see the next generation of designers getting ready to begin their careers.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:

ALUMNA TAKES ON NEW ROLE AS HEAD OF NATIONAL FISHERIES INSTITUTE

By Madison Sloan, '23

From press relations for her family’s business of daredevil circus performers to advocating for the men and women who bring fish from the water to our tables, Flagler alumna Lisa Wallenda Picard has been telling the story of people throughout her career.

Picard’s foundation for telling these kinds of stories began on the coast, studying Communications at Flagler College. After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in 1992, she carried these skills into the professional world.

This year, Picard has taken on the role of President and CEO for the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), the leading trade association for the seafood industry whose members represent all aspects of the value chain from the restaurant industry and wholesalers to aquaculture and biotechnology companies.

2008

Picard's new position is guiding the organization's communications to highlight the work her team is doing as some of the "world's foremost fish experts."

“My job is not to do their job,” Picard said. “My job is to make sure that everyone knows what a fantastic team we have here and what good work they do. My job is a communications job, it’s just to a different audience and in a different format.”

Before transitioning to her current position, Picard worked as the Senior Vice President for the National Turkey Federation, as Chief of Staff for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, and as the National Director of PR for Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey.

As an alumna, Picard said she cherishes the opportunity to give back her time and energy to the College. In 2006, she received the Pride of Flagler Alumni Award, and shortly after joined the Alumni Board.

EMI MIYAO recently started a new job as the Executive Assistant at USA Track & Field supporting the CEO and COO. They are headquartered in Downtown Indianapolis. Emi also became a naturalized U.S. citizen! She is originally from Japan and has been living in the United States since 2007.

BETHANY O’BRIEN and her husband, Chuck, welcomed their first baby on May 13, 2021. They named the baby girl Frankie, in honor of Bethany's father who has passed.

2012

JESSICA COLE ’s 10-year anniversary of teaching in Florida Public High Schools is here! Jessica graduated from Flagler in December 2012, was offered a Social Studies teaching position during her internship, and began teaching the very next week. Since then, she has been given the opportunity to teach with Florida Virtual High School in their amazing AP Program over the last two years. She is very excited to see where her career takes her next!

Real Estate Department and has steadily worked to distinguish herself as a highly effective representative for condominium and homeowners’ associations. Keefe obtained her Juris Doctorate at the University of Georgia School of Law.

COURTNEY REYNOLDS recently accepted a position at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., under the new title of SE Special Ops Business Analyst for the Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology and Logistics’ (SOF AT&L) Program Executive Office for Special Reconnaissance (PEO-SR)-Pentagon.

navigate the tough subject of “what happens when I’m gone?” She offers comprehensive planning and tools, as well as follow-up services to ensure that the process is as smooth and easy as possible.

ALEXA (EPITROPOULOS) NAILOR

welcomed her first son, Miles Nailor, on June 7, 2022.

JENNIFER BLISS was recently promoted to Manager of Regulatory Compliance for Northrop Grumman. In the past 14 years she has held roles in Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, and Regulatory Compliance Accounting at Northrop Grumman. Just before completing her MBA in Accounting in 2015, she moved into the Regulatory Compliance department where she has worked for the past 8 years. In July 2022, Jennifer will also be celebrating 18 years of marriage.

In September 2022, AMBER (HANNAH) DUNCAN started having focal aware seizures and in November learned she had a large low-grade glioma tumor in her frontal, temporal and insular lobes of her brain. On Jan. 5, 2023, she had a tumor resection and respective epilepsy surgery performed at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. They believe they got about 80% of the tumor removed and pathology will be testing for cancer and any possible chemo and radiation needed. Amber is a brain surgeon warrior and plans to return to work around the end of March 2023. She looks forward to building her forever farm home

beginning this summer with her husband and three daughters.

2010

ALICIA RAMSDELL, '08, and JENNA (STINNETT) TAYLOR, '08 hosted Flagler College students at an Alternative Spring Break which included camping, hiking and doing trail maintenance on the Florida Trail. Students worked with a local chapter to remove invasive plants, paint blazes and even build a bridge! Alicia is the Associate Director of Campus Recreation at Flagler College and Jenna is the Central/South Trail Program Manager with the Florida Trail Association.

KIMBERLY (BOWERS) GHLOAP and Rohit Gholap welcomed their daughter, Meera, in January 2022.

2011

In June, Jim and JENNIFER (SWIFT) CARROL finalized the adoption of their daughters Jasmine, 6, and Hailey, 7, joining Emma, 9, and Matthew, 7. The girls asked to celebrate with a vacation to St. Augustine where the family toured the campus and enjoyed the sights. Hailey hopes to be a Saint in the future.

MORGAN DICOSTANZO and her husband Steven welcomed their new daughter, Evelyn Mae, on Nov. 14, 2022. The couple married in St. Augustine in 2021 after Morgan completed her Masters in Counselor Education from the University of Central Florida. They currently live in Greenville, S.C.

KATE (GIORDANO) SOTO and Nicolas Soto got married on June 5, 2022, at the Embassy Suites in St. Augustine! She graduated in Fall 2012 with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Psychology. She is currently teaching kindergarten and living in St. Augustine.

2013

After nine years working alongside children, families, and teachers as an educator at a Reggio-inspired nursery school in Atlanta, Ga., KALEI FOWKES recently relocated to Chicago, Illinois, to begin graduate school. She is enrolled in the Master of Science in Child Development program at Erikson Institute where she is honored to continue her education in an environment embracing the intersection of practice, theory, research, and advocacy.

2014

COLBY KEEFE , a real estate attorney, has been elected a stockholder at Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A. She relocated to Southwest Florida to join the firm’s

RACHAEL CLARK was recently featured in the Jan/Feb 2023 edition of the "Roanoker" magazine's "40 Under 40" for Roanoke, Va. She was nominated and selected for her work with LGBTQ+ college students! Also, Racheal and wife, Jess, welcomed their daughter, Korbyn Reese, into the world on Aug. 6, 2022.

2015

Everything leads back to St. Augustine! STEPHANIE (DUNCAN)

CHIZ married Aaron Chiz on April 10, 2022, at the Lightner Museum, the very place where they fell in love four years prior. After majoring in Psychology at Flagler, Stephanie became a licensed marriage and family therapist, and is currently serving as the Clinical Director of a treatment center in South Florida.

HANNAH RULLO practices condominium and planned development law as an attorney at Ansbacher Law in St. Augustine. Hannah was appointed to serve on the Flagler College Alumni Board of Directors for a 3-year term beginning in 2023.

ELIZABETH (MURPHEY) ABBOTT has recently opened her own concierge estate planning firm as the acting attorney, named Legacy Endowment in Savannah, Ga. Elizabeth takes great pride and pleasure in helping people

CHEMAL CRUZ recently married his queen in 2020 and they bought a home together at the end of 2020. Chemal is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and is opening his own telehealth private practice based in Tampa, Fla., named Within Arm's Reach Counseling, LLC. Unfortunately, he does not play basketball as much as he did at Flagler, but he is staying fit and ready, as they hope to have a child in the next couple of years.

After meeting in St. Augustine in 2014 and getting engaged on St. Augustine Beach in 2019, SAMANTHA (FRANK) SPEARS and Colin Spears got married at the Colonial Oaks Music Park in Downtown St. Augustine in December 2021! St. Augustine holds a special place in their hearts, and they love that St. Augustine has been a part of so many milestones in their relationship.

2016

DONN GARBY was recently promoted to the Director for Residential Operations and Student Living at Flagler College.

KALEY HOMAN is taking her event planning experience one step further by planning her own wedding with her fiancé on Feb. 18, 2023.

SWORD KREFTING works at Heritage Publishing and Old Town Trolley as a Ghost Host and Actor.

LAUREN TURNER PRUETT, '16, and BRANNON PRUETT, '15, welcomed their second child, Addison Allen, on Dec. 7, 2022. Lauren also graduated with her Master’s in Public Administration from American University.

SARAH (HANSEN) RONAN left her 9-5 corporate job in NYC, married the love of her life, and moved abroad to Munich, Germany. She is now the Head of the Corporate Partnerships and Ad Sales Department at InterNations (the largest global expat network,) working remotely and traveling throughout Europe!

2017

SIERRA AITKEN kicked off the new year with a promotion at Jacksonville University. Her new title is Director of Annual Philanthropy and Advancement Communications, which will allow her to dive deeper into her passion for fundraising, education, and marketing as JU enters its next major comprehensive campaign. Sierra is grateful to be able to use her Strategic Communication degree from Flagler to help students further

their own education. Speaking of which, Sierra is also undertaking her Master’s degree in Business Administration at Jacksonville.

married this fall to Miles Wilson! Several other 2017 alums were bridesmaids in the wedding: ERIN HUTCHINS, REBECCA WOODS and KEIRA MCDONALD.

JOSHUA ARMSTRONG got married to his wife, Kaitlyn, on Oct. 22, 2022.

This has been the year of dreams coming true! EMILY GILMER has moved from Head of Apparel Development at 3N2 sports to Assistant Apparel Designer for Disney Parks Experiences and Products. It has been Emily’s dream to work as an apparel designer for Disney her entire career. She celebrated her 1-year anniversary with Disney on Dec. 20, 2022. She encourages everyone to never give up on their dreams and always strive to find their Happily Ever After!

CASSANDRA KELLY moved back to Jacksonville, Fla., in 2019 and added two new babies to the family, Malachi in 2020 and Olivia in 2022.

SARAH GARDEN recently accepted a position as a Growth Marketing Manager at a startup called Aunt Flow. Aunt Flow works with 900+ schools and businesses to provide free vending period product dispensers stocked with 100% organic, plastic-free tampons and pads. They also donate one product for every 10 sold to help fight period poverty. She loves working for a mission-based company. Sarah also recently got engaged to her fiancé Riley and they are moving to Colorado.

ADDIE RIPPIN is a Graphic Designer for an international superfood company, Your Super! In 2022, she had the opportunity to travel to L.A. and London with the company to share their innovative product. Addie works daily with the team based in Berlin, Scotland, L.A. and all over the map! Designing with people all over the world is a dream, and she is so excited for the future! In addition, Addie has her design prints for sale locally at the 506 Boutique and on her website.

2019

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:

LIZ BROWNING recently graduated with her Master’s of Arts in Luxury and Brand Management from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

FROM SAINTS TO CO-FOUNDERS: TWO ALUMNI AND THEIR STORY WITH GRASSROOTSK9

By Matthew Dutton, ʻ23

Planning for THE FUTURE

flaglergiving.org

Naming Flagler College as a beneficiary of a bequest, estate plan or other planned gift will provide long-lasting support for Flagler College while enjoying financial benefits for yourself.

For more information, contact Nicole Pece, Director of Major and Planned Gifts, at NPece@flagler.edu or 904-819-6406.

Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A.

CPAs, a professional accounting, assurance, governmental consulting, and tax services firm headquartered in Tallahassee, Fla., promoted MICHAEL HORNE to Consultant II in the Governmental Consulting Services Department (GovCon). The GovCon team directly services local, state, and federal agencies and cooperative organizations through providing their expertise in Emergency Management and Disaster Planning. Horne received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration & Management at Flagler.

NATALIE HARRIS, '19, and IAN VON GOETZ, '18 met at Flagler in 2016 and have been dating ever since! On July 2, 2022, they became engaged!

Starting an internationally known dog-training business was no easy task for a psychology/sociology and a public relations major. Still, Alison and Michael Nezbeth have found new success in this journey of their lives.

The two met at Flagler College, and Michael graduated with his degree as a double major in psychology and sociology. Alison pursued her passion for public relations and advertising and met Michael in her undergraduate years.

After graduating in 2012, the two stayed local in St. Augustine as Michael found work in the psychology field, but eventually came across the idea to start a dog training business.

The vision for a dog training business came when Michael became a father. He desired to have a family-friendly dog to protect his household if needed. As a result, GrassrootsK9 officially launched in 2015.

“We had a couple of dogs at the time, so I would work on training things with them using training theories I learned in school,” Michael said.

aspects of running a company.

“We’re known for our social media presence, marketing and graphics. Together, I think that’s how GrassrootsK9 came to be,” Alison said.

After becoming established in south Florida, Alison and Michael brought their work across the states and had the opportunity to partner with police departments and their dog training programs. The central work that GrassrootsK9 does with police departments is raising puppies until they are around 16 months old and then selling them to a department.

After the company’s success with raising the soon-to-be police dogs, GrassrootsK9 began directly working with police departments through training and other aspects. One notable partnership was with the Los Angeles Police Department.

“It [this experience] meant a lot to us at GrassrootsK9 to work with such well-known K9 programs. LAPD is known worldwide for all things police, and they are innovative in their dog and police training,” Michael said.

The two said their reputation and work with various police departments took them worldwide, including Australia and Ireland, before coming full circle and working with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, which is home to Flagler and St. Augustine.

“In October, we got to do some work with St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office at a program, a non-profit that we’re a part of called K9s United that’s based out of Jacksonville, Fla.,” Michael said.

DANI (MARTINEZ) MOLINA recently welcomed a second son, born in November!

In May of 2022, ALISSA ROYAL graduated with her Master of Science in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University! She recently relocated to San Antonio, Texas, where she serves as an Inclusion & Resource teacher. Alissa has had the opportunity to serve on the Teacher Advisory Council and Campus Advisory Council to strive for equity for all students in the

After relocating to South Florida, Michael began working with dogs more closely and said what he learned in psychology at Flagler was more related to dogs than he initially realized.

The two made for the perfect team as Alison began working on the promotional materials for the company and eventually joined in on the dog training.

“When you say we’re dog trainers, it sounds like we don’t use what we did in our four-year degree. But, in reality, we use it every single day,” Alison said.

She also said how their experience at Flagler prepared them for all

GrassrootsK9 now has five different locations where they specialize in police dog training. They also have expanded into pet dogs and even retail training.

Alison and Michael said that even though their work has taken them elsewhere, they will always hold Flagler College and St. Augustine close to their hearts. Flagler was where they met, fell in love, got their first two dogs, got married, had a child and had a brilliant idea to start a company.

KATHRYN (SUDDARD) WILSON got

district. She recently coordinated their first annual Hair for the Holidays event, where students and families received free haircuts and hair services from local cosmetologists and barbers. She says it has been an honor to serve alongside this community!

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT:

ALUM AARON SAGERS GETS PARANORMAL

By Elisabeth Shirley, '22

On the day of his graduation, Flagler alumnus Aaron Sagers took his family on an unofficial ghost tour of St. Augustine, showing them the most haunted spots of the city and telling stories of the Hotel Ponce De Leon, including a floor tile that Henry Flagler’s face is supposedly emblazoned on. He wore his cap and gown the entire time.

Sagers, ‘01, always had an interest in the paranormal, which comes as no surprise with his alma mater in what some consider one of the most haunted cities in the nation. He has now turned that fascination into a career writing about the paranormal on his website ParanormalPopCulture.com which would later inspire the Travel Channel series “Paranormal Paparazzi.”

Along with that, Sagers has involved himself in a wide array of projects, hosting on Netflix’s “28 Days Haunted,” an Editor at Large for Syfy, creator of the NightMerica podcast, on Travel Channel’s “Paranormal Caught on Camera” and so much more. “I’ve always been fascinated with spooky stuff,” he said. “As a kid, I would read comic books and sci-fi novels, watch horror movies and shows – I was a big “Twilight Zone” fan – and I would read ghost stories.”

Sagers graduated from Flagler College with a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Theater. After graduation, he worked in PR for some time before deciding to pursue his master’s degree in Journalism at New York University, where he would later work as a professor.

Before his paranormal work emerged, he was working in magazines and freelancing. He talked about travel and entertainment culture and eventually worked as an editor for a magazine with the Chicago Tribune, and even had a syndicated column with McClatchy-Tribune company that was pop culture related.

Around 2004-05, Sagers noticed paranormal shows began to emerge, as well as on social media. He realized that those television shows were going to connect a certain audience and social media would give access beyond the borders of city limits and local community boards.

As he started to write more about the paranormal, he was inspired to launch his website, Paranormal Pop Culture, weaving

his skills as a journalist into the world of paranormal.

“The idea was to merge the lifestyle and entertainment components of the paranormal in a news magazine format,” said Sagers.

After that, it was off to the races and Sagers found himself being asked to do a lot of paranormal things. All the while, he was still involved in magazine writing, doing features, and writing for CNN, The Huffington Post (now HuffPost) and a number of other unique and interesting projects.

Best known today as a Paranormal Journalist and expert at paranormal pop culture history, Sagers still holds onto valuable ethics of journalism that got him started.

“I like to start conservations and encourage understanding,” he said. “I talk about the verifiable history and actual facts of the story and then the tales that are told after the fact. I think ghost stories, whether someone chooses to believe or not, is history demanding to be told and a way to keep history alive.”

This has meant there are no limits to where Sagers will go, and he has traveled everywhere from Iceland to Mt. Fuji in Japan. His work has even allowed him to come full circle back to the city he graduated in, getting hired to do events in St. Augustine talking about the lighthouse or the old jail, which all come with their fair share of ghost stories.

“What fuels my passion is just insatiable curiosity and a genuine fascination with the world,” he said, adding that he desires to travel and experience as many different cultures as he can.

Sagers said now that he is getting older, he still has that curiosity, but also seeks to help others. “It is easy to be dismissed as a younger writer or a younger storyteller, and I want to be a booster of all that.”

Now, he is always interested in seeing the latest trends and the transformation of technology. One thing he said that has allowed him adaptability and success is keeping an open mind, and embracing trends and new media rather than rejecting it.

“Be curious, but also realize that you can forge the path that you want to make. That path might not even be in sight yet, like we don't know how technology is going to radically change in the next 3, 5, 10 years. Look ahead and think about how your skills and interests now will apply to the road ahead,” he said. “Don't feel like you have to follow the traditional paths and methodologies.”

music videos on YouTube, and played his first show in Nashville. This has been a dream since childhood. He is very thankful for the friends and connections he has built in Nashville. Always chase your dreams, Blake says.

2020

JULIA MCELHENNY is doing full-time video editing as an Assistant Editor for the Emergent Order Foundation. Recently, she had the opportunity to interview Oscar winner Troy Kotsur for their YouTube show, “Dad Saves America,” and they even put on an event at the Texas School for the Deaf. Not only was Julia the assistant to editing all of this content, but she was also the behind-the-scenes photographer. She majored in media production and minored in ASL. Julia said she would not have gotten this opportunity without her Flagler education and sent a special shout-out to her amazing professors: Serenati, Eaton, Halcomb, Huelsbeck, Chapman, Renato, and Kim!

ALYSSA AINSWORTH got married on July 2, 2022, to her high school sweetheart, Michael Ainsworth.

brought 210,000 together to ring in the new year.

2021

JENNA DAVENPORT was recently promoted to Senior Graphic Designer at the University of Maine. She started her master’s in Intermedia and spent a week this summer hiking around Maine with her Flagler besties Caroline Davis and Rose Thompson!

ANDREW WASSERMAN, '21, and ALICE ARAUJO, '21 , were both RA’s for Flagler through their time at the school. They were married on Oct. 16, 2022! Alice has found success with multiple million-dollar corporations as a graphic designer and is quite successful so early out of school. Andrew graduated with his criminology major and is now in fire school going onto a successful career as a firefighter/paramedic.

2022

Since graduating from Flagler, KRISTEN (KLEIER) MORGAN has stuck around St. Augustine, started a baking business, and got married this past December. She started out making birthday cakes and themed cupcakes a few years ago, but they’ve recently cracked into the wedding industry making cakes for some of the most beautiful venues around town! Flagler forever changed her life, and she is so happy to live in a wonderful place!

CARA CANNON earned her Master of Science in Human Factors "with distinction" from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Cara is putting her degree to use as a part of the research team for the Virtual Readability Lab (VRL) and The Readability Consortium (TRC) housed at the University of Central Florida (UCF). She works closely with TRC partners, Adobe, Google, and non-profit Readability Matters, to move forward readability research. Cara currently leads medical readability research efforts and is working on research focused on improving readability for students. She hopes to develop additional research tracks dedicated to improving readability for air traffic controllers and individuals with developmental disabilities.

ABBY HAYNES celebrated her oneyear work anniversary as a Digital Marketing Account Coordinator at Connect Agency in Jacksonville. She has loved every minute and is now ready to pursue her new role within the company as a Digital Content Producer, where she will have more opportunities to produce video and photo content.

ELISE WILSON helped her gym, Player’s Fitness & Performance, open their second location, where she is serving as the Assistant Site Leader and Head Director of First Impressions.

BLAKE STAFFORD just released a three-song EP, “The Inauguration by STFFRD,” and debuted three

DANI CREAR has been working for the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (Visit Music City) as a Visitor Experience Coordinator! They work to market Nashville to visitors and share what makes Music City so special with the world! One of their most recent successes was their CBS-broadcasted NYE event, Jack Daniel's New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash, which

RACHEL SINK, '21 and JASON AMATO, '19, got engaged.

SHARE YOUR NEWS: Whether you were recently married, had a child, changed jobs or even just met up with your old college roommates, make sure to share it with us and we'll use it for a future Alumni Note. Email us at alumni@flagler.edu.

Shop online at legacy.flagler.edu. Free shipping for purchases over $50 with coupon code: magazine.

59. St. George Street 904.823.3378

legacy@flagler.edu

The courtyard of Ponce Hall seen through the lens of architectural photographer Amy Martz.