Engage NWFSC 2020

Classroom

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Section Feature: Melissa Mink - Futures Begin Here

In this Issue

Professor Brings History to Life Teacher Education Program Among Highest in State Coca-Cola Academic Team Silver Scholars 2020 All-Florida Academic Team NWFSC Nursing Continues to Improve in State Rankings

Campus

Community

On the Flipside 2020

Year in Review

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classroom

Teaching Teachers CHS Student Returns to Alma Mater

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elissa Mink has made it full circle. The 2004 Collegiate High School (CHS) graduate said she always knew this day would come.

“I remember telling Charla Cotton - who was the principal of CHS when I was there - that I’d be back,” Mink said. “I didn’t know that I would be back in the capacity of an assistant professor, but I always told her I’d be back.”

Mink is now the Assistant Professor for NWFSC’s Teacher Education program, paving the way for students who are pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education.

“I am preparing future educators. When they leave me they are getting a job as a teacher in the local area,” she said.

Looking back at her high school days, Mink said the experiences she had at CHS were imperative to shaping her future in the education career field.

“Coming to CHS helped me meet my goals of being able to graduate a little earlier with my Associate’s and go straight into the field that I wanted to go in to,” Mink said.

As a senior at CHS, Mink worked at the Mary Lou O’Connor Child Development & Education Center on campus and completed additional the practicum hours required for her teaching degree in Okaloosa County School District.

Melissa Mink “The opportunities that are here on campus, you NWFSC Associate in Arts, don’t get in a traditional high school,” she said. “The Class of 2004 fact that I was able to work at the child development center my senior year, I think really established that want and desire to go into teaching.”

After graduating from CHS, Mink went on to obtain her Bachelors of Elementary Education and Masters in Reading Education from the University of West Florida (UWF). Now, after 10 years of teaching in elementary and middle school classrooms, Mink said she is ready to share her knowledge with Florida’s future teachers.

“I want to help the Teacher Education program attract more students,” Mink said. “We need really good teachers so I hope to build the program and bring my experiences as a classroom teacher into that role.”

“I am preparing future educators. When they leave me they are getting a job as a teacher in the local area.”

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ENGAGE

Northwest Florida State College

Making “Her”story

History Professor Victoria Stewart made learning interactive for her students this year. A pop-up display showcasing the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which gave women the right to vote in the United States of America was placed outside of her classroom on the Niceville campus.

Stewart secured the display, entitled, “Rightfully Hers,” by submitting an essay to the U.S. National Archives explaining how the display would benefit the College and her students.

“Honoring those activists and agents of change through a display on our campus will help our students see the importance of this anniversary. This is our opportunity to ensure these voices are heard and seen in our college community.”

The “Rightfully Hers” cube depicts scenes and information outlining the struggle, political change and the eventual expansion of the vote to millions of women leading up to and celebrating the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Stewart was awarded one of only 2,500 pop-ups that were distributed nationwide in partnership with the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission in celebration of the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote.

Active & Engaged Learning

ENGAGE

NWFSC

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QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PLAN The National Council on Teacher Quality’s (NCTQ) Teacher Prep Review listed NWFSC as one of 16 colleges in Florida to receive an “A” grade in the area of Early Reading Instruction, an accolade our Teacher Education program has earned since 2013. In addition, this year the program received recognition as a “consistently high-performing undergraduate program.”

Faculty members Dr. Lynn Ketter and Therese Sweeney are credited for the exceptional work in developing and teaching the reading and literacy curriculum at NWFSC. The Teacher Prep Review rates program quality by examining each aspect of the early reading curriculum including; class topics, assignments, textbooks, tests and practice opportunities. Also pertinent in the rating process is clear evidence that the course work dedicates time to five key components of the science of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

2020

Year in Review

Star Pupils

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Coca-Cola

Scholars

Julianna Cannon and Matthew Nguyen, both involved with Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) at Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC), were named Coca-Cola Academic Team Silver Scholars for 2020.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation partnered with Phi Theta Kappa to bring the scholarship programs to PTK chapters across the nation. The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation sponsors the CocaCola Academic Team program by recognizing 50 Gold, 50 Silver and 50 Bronze Scholars with nearly $200,000 in scholarships annually. Each silver level scholar will receive a $1,250 scholarship and a commemorative medallion.

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Pictured above: The nine NWFSC members of the 2020 All-Florida Academic Team were: Noah Bresler, Hannah Brown, Mackenzie Burgoyne, Julianna Cannon, Morgan Chipman, Carol Ingram, Shelby Jones, Danielle Muir and Matthew Nguyen.

2020 All-Florida

Academic Team

Nine Northwest Florida State College and Collegiate High School students were selected for the 2020 AllFlorida Academic Team sponsored by the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) International Honor Society. PTK is the international honor society of two-year colleges and academic programs. Last year, NWFSC’s Sigma Mu Chapter of PTK was designated a five-star chapter, an honor bestowed on the nation’s most elite and high-performing chapters.

Students are nominated to the All-Florida Academic Team competition by their respective colleges in recognition of their academic achievement, leadership and service to the community. This year’s statewide team consisted of approximately 166 students were recognized at an awards ceremony in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 6.

ENGAGE

Northwest Florida State College

48

Academic All-Conference Athletes

(3.0 GPA or higher)

SCHOLAR

Nursing program ranked in Top 10 Nursing Schools in Florida

ATHLETES

21

Athletes Earned NJCAA All-Academic Honors

37

Academic All-State Athletes

(3.3 GPA or higher)

2020

Year in Review

Our Nursing program was ranked eighth among all Florida college and university nursing programs by RegisteredNursing.org in 2020. This ranking is based on an analysis of past and present pass rates of the NCLEX-RN, a national exam used to assess competency of registered nursing students that is required for licensure.

RegisteredNursing.org ranked the top 50 Nursing Programs by percentage of graduates who pass the exam and the average of pass rates across varying years of the program.

The State of Florida has more than 150 nursing programs.

Under the direction of Dr. Charlotte Kuss and exceptional faculty, NWFSC’s Nursing Program entered RegisteredNursing. org’s top 10 last year as the ninth ranked program and was previously ranked 15th in 2018.

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