Tallahassee Community College

In 2011, the National Cyber League (NCL) was created to develop a platform where students with varying skill sets in cyber security can join a national cyber competition. The goal is for students to practice the skills learned in the classroom. Since the creation, the NCL has been hosting two competitions each year. Students compete in an online platform. Students from all skills sets and backgrounds that include programming, web development, networking, and cyber security, to name a few, compete in the platform by solving various challenges. The NCL competition for 2021 kicks off in March and Tallahassee Community College has sponsored Cole Issacs and Joe Hyde students from our Cyber Security and Networking programs. They will be mentored by Carlos Torres. This is the third competition that TCC has sponsored for the NCL.

Eleven outstanding Tallahassee Community College students were selected to serve as TCC student ambassadors for the 2020-2021 academic year. Ambassadors give campus tours to prospective students, provide support for general student recruitment activities and perform other support tasks for TCC. They receive a full tuition scholarship in exchange for their service to the College. The selection process is a competitive one, and successful applicants must have a strong academic record, two letters of recommendation, and demonstrated skills in communications and teamwork.

Nearly 40 students who participated in the Eagles RISE Summer Academy were honored and celebrated during the Take Flight Symposium. During this event, students presented their vision boards and e-portfolios, displaying their future hopes and dreams. They also shared how the Eagles RISE Summer Academy program not only inspired them, but it helped prepare them for their time at TCC. Several students also received awards for special achievements during the summer. The six-week summer academy held two classes including a math immersion and student engagement seminar. The academy connected first-generation, minority and low-income students with faculty, staff and resources across TCC's campus to help them develop skills that achieve a successful academic, social and personal transition to the College.

Through TCC's EagleShadow program, students have the opportunity to spend one day observing full-time professionals on-the-job, experience a typical workday and get a sneak peek into their future industry. Tameka Lindo, a policital science major at TCC, visited the Florida State Capitol, where she attended a hearing, spoke with Representative Mike Hill and met policy stakeholders. As a political science major, this experience was a memorable one for Tameka. "This was an overall great experience and one that will be remembered for a very long time," said Tameka. "It's one that I would love to continue through to the end of the legislative session." If you are interested in learning more about TCC's EagleShadow program, visit https://www.tcc.fl.edu/student-life/career-center/career-exploration/.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and TCC students recently joined in on the movement. Eight students, along with TCC faculty members, participated in the March to End the Silence on Domestic Violence.

Nearly 40 students who participated in the Eagles RISE Summer Academy were honored and celebrated during the Take Flight Symposium. During this event, students presented their vision boards and e-portfolios, displaying their future hopes and dreams. They also shared how the Eagles RISE Summer Academy program not only inspired them, but it helped prepare them for their time at TCC. Several students also received awards for special achievements during the summer. The six-week summer academy held two classes including a math immersion and student engagement seminar. The academy connected first-generation, minority and low-income students with faculty, staff and resources across TCC's campus to help them develop skills that achieve a successful academic, social and personal transition to the College.

Tallahassee Community College Forensics Team students took home awards from the Spring 2019 Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) Forensics Division. Forensic is competitive speaking which offers students training and experience in developing their oral communication skills. There are two classes of competition: Debate and Individual Events. Individual events include prose, poetry, screen plays, movie/radio scripts and several types of platform speeches. TCC won 13 of 15 events, swept the top 5 Overall Individual Speaker Awards, won the State Top-Novice award, and won Individual Events Sweepstakes and Overall Team Sweepstakes. TCC has achieved the state title 19 of the last 21 years. 5 of 7 students advanced to elimination rounds: Tatyana Penn, Tourean Underwood, Gabrielle Asselin, Braxten Marshall, and Charles Metzger. Charles Metzger was the national champion in Prose Interpretation. 2019 - 2020 team captain Grace Chapman was awarded the Region 8 Student Fellowship Award. Coach Chase Cashion was award the Region 8 Coach Fellowship Award.

Four students with TCC's Model UN were featured guests at the May 20th District Board of Trustees meeting to talk about their recent achievements and bring awareness to Model UN. TCC's Model UN is a student-led organization aimed to educate students on the knowledge of global issues and the work of the United Nations. Since 1994, the Model UN program has earned an excellent reputation within the Model United Nations community with regard to the quality of its program. In 2018, the Model UN team won five awards at the National Model United Nations in New York City; six awards at the Florida Model United Nations and five awards at the National Model United Nations conference in Washington, D.C. This year, they received three awards in New York City.

TCC Nursing and EMT students assisted in the Press the Chest Community event held by Leon County EMS. They provided bloodpressure screenings and assisted in educating appropriate CPR techniques. Students who participated were: Christopher Bradley Albert Leonard Ryan Kelly Nicole Velasquez Zoe Jones Gabrielle O'Brien Regina Carson Sarah Borg Megan Chellman Christian Giannoble Crystal Lemacks Brian Tullos Patricia Weiner Mei Zhao

Tallahassee Community College's Transitional Studies Division hosted its annual Academic Support recognition ceremony on April 19. The ceremony honored graduating students who began their TCC coursework in developmental education classes, which are designed to ease students' transition to college-credit courses. Two outstanding students, Jahmilah Lake and Ian Carter, delivered remarks at the ceremony.

At the April 2019 District Board of Trustees meeting, the Trustees featured Abigail Strickland during the Student Spotlight segment. Abigail is currently a freshman at Tallahassee Community College and majoring in Social Work. She was born and raised in Wakulla County, where she graduated from Wakulla High School in 2018. "Throughout high school, I knew I had to apply for several scholarships to be able to attend college without any financial barriers," said Abigail. "During my junior and senior year, I applied for so many scholarships, even if I knew I may not be able to qualify. When I completed the TCC scholarship application, I filled out every scholarship that they have available." Abigail's hard work paid off, and she received the Peer Leadership Scholarship after being recommended by her school counselor. "The Peer Leadership Scholarship has helped me tremendously," said Abigail. "Not only has it helped me with my college funds, [but] it has helped me come out of my comfort zone and stretched me to be an outgoing person that I was not before." In order to continue receiving funds from the Peer Leadership Scholarship, Abigail works on campus as a peer leader. She has gained more leadership skills and friendships due to this experience; she helps set up events around campus, partners with other TCC organizations and assists other students if they have questions or need information about TCC. Abigail plans to transfer to FSU in 2020 and obtain her Master's in Social Work. She would like to go into the welfare aspect of social work, as she's always had a passion for helping children and families. "[The Peer Leadership Scholarship] has helped me come up with the career I want to pursue," said Abigail. "I believe the Peer Leadership Scholarship will continue to help me and shape the person I am to be able to achieve my career goals. I would like to thank everyone for giving me recommendations I needed to receive this scholarship."

Tallahassee Community College's Veterans Florida Entrepreneurship Program concluded its last cohort at the TCC Center of Innovation. The comprehensive nine-week program was designed for veterans interested in starting or growing their own business. Participants gained skills through mentorships, online modules, workshops and resource sharing meetings on techniques to successfully own and operate a business. Veterans Florida provided the funding to support this initiative. TCC was the only state college selected during the funding cycle. The group's final assignment was pitching individual business proposals. Student proposals were judged by representatives with Veterans Florida and Municode. Edward "Earl" Callahan won first place, and William Gilmore won second place. Other participants included Rene Ojito, Leslie Robinson, Robert Smith and Rosia Sterling.

Recently, TCC dental students attended the Leon County Special Olympics. The students helped with Special Smiles Health examinations and assisted local dentists and dental hygienists in providing oral examinations and fluoride treatments to athletes participating in the Special Olympics. They also educated participants and visitors on oral hygiene and information related tobacco cessation.

At the March 2019 District Board of Trustees meeting, the Trustees featured Robert Roddy during the Student Spotlight segment. Robert is enrolled at TCC's Florida Public Safety Institute (FPSI), where he is training to be a law enforcement officer at the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy (PTLEA).

On March 13, Tallahassee Community College held their annual celebration of women at the Women's History Month Ceremony. The theme for 2019 was Visionary Women: Champions of Peace and Nonviolence, celebrating women who have resolved conflicts in their homes, schools and communities. At the ceremony, TCC students Katherine Catron, Tamikia Ford, Allison Garrett, Dixie Johnston and Ramlah Mahboob were honored for their outstanding leadership skills and service to the community.

On March 14, TCC's Ghazvini Center held Hospital Day, inviting the community to tour the facility and learn what TCC's healthcare programs have to offer. During this event, visitors also got the opportunity to see a live operation of the Simulation Center. The Simulation Center currently has 14 adult, four pediatric, two infant, one newborn, and one maternal simulator. These simulators allow staff to present different scenarios to students with the purpose of improving patient safety. Several students enrolled in TCC's Nursing, Emergency Medical Services, Respiratory Care, Radiologic Technology, and Dental programs demonstrated how various medical scenarios are handled, implementing what they've learned in TCC's healthcare programs.

From February 8 - 10, students with the Tallahassee Community College Honors Program attended the 29th Annual Florida Collegiate Honors Council Conference in Altamonte Springs. With 19 in tow, TCC had one of the highest number of students in attendance from educational institutions within the state of Florida. This year's conference theme was "Perceptions, Paradoxes, and Possibilities," which encouraged students in attendance to consider how shifts in perceptions and values affect society. Honors students from TCC competed in the writing and fine arts contest. One of the students, Migdalia Cordova, did an outstanding job presenting the topic of "Artificial Intelligence in the Healthcare System." "This conference was a wonderful opportunity for our Honors population, especially those who are new to TCC campus, to experience what other Honors programs in Florida were doing," said Vijay Subramanian, TCC's Honors Program Director and Mathematics Associate Professor. "Our students were able to network with like-minded students across the state. They're inspired to compete and represent TCC at this conference next year." Subramanian also thanked TCC's Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Calandra Stringer, and the Provost, Dr. Felecia Moore-Davis. Their support made this trip possible. .

At the January 2019 District Board of Trustees meeting, the Board featured Anas Al-Humiari during the Student Spotlight segment. Anas is sophomore at Tallahassee Community College, where he is majoring in Chemical Engineering and minoring in Political Science. On top of his responsibilities as a student, Anas is the 2018-2019 SGA President and a member of Peer Leaders, STEM Center and Math Champions. During his time at Godby High School until his graduation in 2017, he was involved in many organizations including SGA, National Honors Society, Mu Alpha Theta and the Godby Cougars Soccer Team. He was also the president of the Technology Student Association and co-founder of the Aviation Club, which is still active today. After graduating high school, Anas made the decision to enroll at TCC. Like many students, he found the transition to TCC a smooth one. "I am very glad I made the decision of transferring to TCC due to smaller class sizes, low tuition costs, awesome professors and amazing people I have met throughout my journey," said Anas. When elected as SGA President, Anas jumped right in to his new role without any hesitation. "My team and I took the opportunity to set things the right way by building bridges for connections, keeping healthy relationships between our organizations and advertising ourselves as SGA and [representatives of] TCC," said Anas. "Throughout the year, I first focused on receiving insight from the fellow students about [some of the] great things they like about TCC and why they chose to come here, as well as things to improve to keep TCC the College of Choice throughout the United States." After receiving insight, Anas and the rest of the members of the SGA shifted their focus to increasing school spirit and building the bond between students, organizations and professors by creating fun, engaging events for all to enjoy. During the January 2019 District Board of Trustees meeting, Anas reported his findings to the Board of Trustees. Anas is determined to carry on the connections, information, knowledge and ideas to the next executive team and keep TCC's SGA active, strong and healthy.

The Florida College System Activities Association recognized 49 TCC students for their outstanding work in and out of the classroom. These students achieved a minimum of a 3.30 GPA in the 2017-2018 academic year and participated in either extracurricular activities or sports.

TCC sophomore Jordan Griffin has received a Champion of Service Award from Volunteer Florida. The award honors individuals and groups for their outstanding efforts in volunteerism and service. The award was presented at a ceremony at the Florida Governor's Mansion on March 23. Jordan Griffin was joined at the presentation by his parents, Patricia and Lloyd Griffin. Griffin currently serves as president of the Black Male Achievers Program at TCC. He has also served as a legislative intern for Representative Sharon Pritchett. In the last several years, Griffin has participated in volunteer activities such as mentoring fifth graders with fellow BMA members at John G. Riley Elementary School, volunteering at the John G. Riley Center and Museum, and serving as a TCC peer leader. Griffin has also been an officer in the Florida State Primitive Baptist Youth Convention since 2014. This year, he is the president and oversees the youth ministries of all Primitive Baptist churches in Florida. Griffin is an alum of Lawton Chiles High School in Tallahassee. After graduating from TCC, he plans to attend Morehouse College in Atlanta to pursue a degree in political science. He aspires to be a politician and a civil rights and social justice activist while being the pastor of his own church.

Students from Tallahassee Community College's Model United Nations team won five awards at the National Model United Nations conference in Washington, D.C., on November 9-11. The conference drew hundreds of students from around the world to discuss prominent issues in international relations. TCC's student team represented the U.N. delegations of Sweden and Nepal. Both delegations earned Honorable Delegation Awards for their overall team effort in representing and speaking for these nations in various U.N. committees. They were also recognized with three Position Paper Awards, which are based on the research and written policy positions submitted by students prior to the conference. While in Washington, D.C., students had the chance to meet with political counselors at the Swedish embassy to discuss potential solutions to a wide range of international issues. The student team was led by their president, Brendan Leverenz, and vice president, Ramlah Mahboob. Team members include Elijah Acevedo, Arianna Baltodano, Sidney Lyght, Samuel Goetz, Eduardo Acevedo, Max Culbreath, Dixie Johnston, Jeanie Morrison, Steven Vaughn Hennessey, Ariana Baltodano, Therese Gagliano, Taylor Mackin, Barbara Nidia Alvarez-Murrah and Colleen Beichner. Faculty advisers are Tom Waller and Richard Murgo. For information, contact Tom Waller at (850) 201-8159 or wallert@tcc.fl.edu.

Tallahassee Community College honored 10 community members and five TCC students at its annual Women's History Month program on March 21. The five TCC students who were honored for their contributions to the College and the community include: Alisha Ash, Monica Garcia Vega, Sameera Shaik, Samira Taylor and Claire Toman.

TCC students George "Tanner Thomas, Kalab Mitiku and Aaliyah Abarzua, along with Leon High School senior Savannah Wheeler, helped with the making of a commercial for the TCC2FSU Program.

Several students graduating from TCC's nursing and radiologic technology programs were recently recognized for their outstanding performance.