Tallahassee Community College

The Annual Juried TCC Art Students' Exhibit is an annual event displaying artwork created by TCC students over the last school year.

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.

Tallahassee Community College students enrolled in the Early Childhood Education Program participated in Tallahassee's Tenth Annual Developmental Screening Day, a community event coordinated by Whole Child Leon that allows parents to get a complete developmental screening for their child at no cost. The students who participated were Frances Daniels and Angie Sullivan. 26 local agencies, including TCC's Early Childhood Education Program, have volunteered their services since 2009, helping a total of 1,000 children.

Tallahassee Community College (TCC) students went on a trip of a life-time to Ghana, West Africa during the Spring Break of 2019. On March 15, the group flew from Tallahassee (via Atlanta--Amsterdam) and arrived in Accra, Ghana on March 16. This is the second year that Professor Forster Agama, the group's leader, has successfully coordinated the Study Abroad Trip to Ghana. On March 17, the group had a guided tour of the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum and the Independence Square, where they learned about the history of Gold Coast and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the 1st Ghanaian to be elected President of the Republic of Ghana. They later visited the University of Ghana and then continued on to Ho, the capital city of the Volta Region. "This trip was everything I needed rolled into the span of ten days. I discovered parts of myself and a certain kind of peace I never knew existed," said first-year TCC student Yasmine Ameli, of Tallahassee, FL. "We tend to forget what life is about in the midst of school, work and our personal lives. This not only refreshed my mental, but gave me more insight to what my life's purpose is. I am forever grateful for what this opportunity provided. Africa is where it's at." While in the Volta Region, the group had the opportunity to visit the Tafi Atome Sacred Grove. This community was inhabited by the Sacred True Mona Monkeys, who were believed to have lived there prior to the arrival of the ancestors of the local community. The group learned about the community, their traditions, and then later went on a hiking tour to Wli Falls, which is the highest waterfall in Ghana. "Wli - Allowed me to Flow," said TCC student Giovanni King. "I enjoyed visiting the Wli waterfalls; it was definitely worth the hike and I would do it again if given the chance." "The only way to describe the trip to Ghana is absolutely incredible. It was a big culture shock for me since I knew nothing about Ghana except that it was in Africa prior to this trip," said TCC sophomore Jazmine Hawkins, of Jacksonville, FL. "Seeing how people live differently in a whole other continent was just incredible. I loved everything about it and hope to go back someday." The group continued on to the Ashanti Kings Palace in Kumasi, which was used by the Ashanti kings until 1974. They explored this historic site, visited the museum and stopped at the Kente clothing weaving village, Adanwomase in the Ashanti Region, to learn about the creation and the tradition of Kente clothes. At the Adinkra village, the students were introduced to the traditional meaning of the Adinkra symbols of the Ashantis. They also participated in a workshop and designed their own print clothes. "Growing up in a similar culture to the one in Ghana, this trip was nostalgic. I always knew what was presented in media about Africa was not always depicted honestly," said first-year TCC student Zamia Taleghani, of Tallahassee, FL. "I am now equipped with the experience this trip offered to combat the negative stereotypes and ideas presented in our everyday society. It was such a breath of fresh air, literally and metaphorically. The expedition to the Assin Manso Slave River was breathtaking to those in attendance. This was where the captured Africans from the Northern part of Ghana and other parts of Africa had their last bath. The group continued on to Cape Coast Castle (dungeons and the door of no return) which was used to hold the captured before they were loaded onto ships and sold in the Americas, especially the Caribbean as slaves. "Overall this was a great trip. I enjoyed learning about the Ghanaian culture. It was quite an experience to be able to walkthrough and see special places contained in history," said TCC student Jasmine Morris, of Monticello, FL. "Being able to travel to a land in which my ancestors lived was especially emotional and exciting. All of the tours were great learning experiences and I learned a lot of information." As the trip advanced to its final days, the group visited a typical Ghanaian village close to Cape Coast and were welcomed by the elders of the village during an official greeting ceremony. The group toured the primary school being built by the community; made monetary and material donations to the school; and held a school lesson for the children. After having lunch in the village, the students were treated to a typical cultural performance by the women and children of the village. "What I enjoyed during the trip was going to the village and visiting the school and the church. The home cooked meal that they made for us was delicious. I honestly wish I could have spent more time with them," said TCC sophomore Muraiye Pierre, of Tallahassee, FL. "The fact that they were so grateful and excited for the little that we brought and donated filled my heart with joy. Two of the kids from the village gifted me with drawings that they made that is now placed beautifully on my wall in my room. I will remember them forever." Finally, the group stopped at the Kakum National Park, an undisturbed virgin rainforest and one of the most frequently visited national parks in Ghana. They enjoyed the view from the Canopy Walkway over seven bridges and tall tree tops. "Traveling is a huge component of a study abroad experience," said TCC student Mary Wilson, of Tallahassee, FL. "I was grateful for the opportunity to visit historical sites such as the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, Memorial Park, W.E.B. DuBois Centre, and the Assin Manso Slave River. I will treasure these memories forever." "Visiting Ghana was by far the most amazing and humbling experience I've ever experienced," said final-year student Torrence Harrell, of Tallahassee, FL. "I'm eternally grateful that I had the opportunity to visit such a beautiful country, full of beautiful people of all shades of color." "My overall experience in this program, and in Ghana, was very life changing," said TCC student Hillary Eaton, of Tallahassee, FL. I feel very blessed to have been able to return to my roots and learn about a culture that was once lost to me and so many people." For more information about this or future trips to Ghana, contact Forster Agama at (850) 201-8058 or agamaf@tcc.fl.edu

Tallahassee Community College honored four students with the Spring Eagle Award for their outstanding contributions to TCC's overall culture and pursuit of student success. Student award winners included: Alexis Martin, Jahmilah Lake, Marco Gratta and Tony Antill.

At TCC's 1st Annual Undergradute Research Symposium, students presented their research papers, laboratory experiments, field projects, creative performances, visual artwork and posters. An awards ceremony and reception was held at the end of the day. Award winners received a $100 cash prize and the opportunity to attend the National Council for Undergraduate Research Conference.

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.

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.

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.

TCC's Juliunn Redmond has been named the FCSAA Women's Basketball Player of the Year.

Tallahassee Community College is recognizing eight students who have been named to the 2019 All-Florida Academic Team. Students are selected based on academic achievement, leadership on campus and service to the community.

Several high-achieving students enrolled in the TCC2FSU program were awarded a $2,400 TCC2FSU scholarship for Spring 2019. Each scholarship is renewable for up to two years. In order to be eligibel for this scholarship, students must have a 3.0 GPA during their time at TCC and meet all of the requirements for the scholarship application. To renew, students must earn a minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA once they transition to FSU.

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. .

Tallahassee Community College's two student media publications continued their tradition of excellence by bringing home five awards from the Florida College System Publications Association annual conference in Tampa in January. The Eyrie student art and literary magazine won one a first place award for Best Staff Page. Tierry Janvier's "Mahogany" won third place for Poem, and the design talents of Alexa Patton and William Lamont won third place for Two-Page Spread Design. The Talon student newspaper received awards in two categories. Katherine Booker won a third place award in the Feature Photo category. The staff won third place for its website. Nicolette Costantino, associate professor of English, advises the Eyrie staff. Reggie Grant, assistant professor of journalism, is adviser for the Talon.

Nearly 1,500 students were named to the Fall 2018 Dean's List at Tallahassee Community College.

More than 1,100 students were named to the Fall 2018 President's List at Tallahassee Community College.

Tallahassee Community College (TCC) students attended the Dental Hygiene National Board Competition hosted by It's Hygienic at the State College of Florida. During this event, dental hygiene students in their last semester throughout the state participated in a multi-round competition consisting of 400 questions, ranging from anywhere to core sciences, dental hygiene process of care, to the ethics and research within the field. TCC's team, Buccal Up!, consisted of five second-year dental hygiene students: Imani Oteghile, Hannah Poston, Jennifer Hedrick, Lindsey Bassford and Christina Davidson. They were joined by fellow student Brenda Page and Dental Hygiene Program Advisor Debra Burtoft. Other TCC dental program students also attended, acting as audience members to benefit from the board review. "Our students represented TCC well," said Burtoft. "We placed in the final four and were able to participate in the final round. We ended up [in] fourth place out of nine teams who competed." Imani Oteghile was awarded a $400 scholarship as part of a short essay contest, and Jennifer Hedrick won a $299 National Boards Review Membership from Student RDH. To learn more about TCC's Dental Program, visit www.tcc.fl.edu/academics/programs/b317/.

Tallahassee Community College's Art and Literary Magazine, Eyrie, has been ranked as Excellent in the 2018 NCTE Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines (REALM) Program. The mission of the REALM Program is to publicly recognize excellent literary magazines produced by students with the support of their teachers. REALM is designed to encourage all schools to develop literary magazines that celebrate the art and craft of writing. Congratulations to Faculty Advisor Nicolette Costantino and the students who put their heart and soul into this beloved publication.

Tallahassee Community College student Ian Carter is a semifinalist in the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. Carter was chosen from nearly 1,500 applicants. The Jack Kent Cook Foundation supports accomplished community college students as they prepare to transfer to four year universities and earn their bachelor's degree.

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.

TCC student Ian Carter has been named the Clark Maxwell Scholar Student of the Month for October. Ian was recognized during the DBOT meeting last month by TCC Foundation Executive Director Heather Mitchell.

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.

The Capital City Band has been an important part of TCC's arts program for more than two decades. This year 15 TCC students have joined community members to participate in the Capital City Band. The Capital City Band regularly performs throughout the year in and around the community. Upcoming winter performances, include: -Saturday, Decemebr 1 at 5:45 p.m. at the City of Tallahassee Winter Festival -Monday, December 3 at 7 p.m. at the Tallahassee Senior Center

The Tallahassee Community College Model United Nations team won six awards at the Florida Model United Nations conference in October. The conference took place in Gainesville, Florida, and hosted over 125 delegates from seven different Florida colleges and universities. TCC MUN is an internationally recognized academic team that participates in simulations of the United Nations. The team won three awards recognizing their performance in committees and three Position Paper Awards, which are written in preparation for the conference. The student team was led by their president, Brendan Leverenz, and vice president, Ramlah Mahboob. Team members include Elijah Acevedo, Samuel Moberley, Sidney Lyght, Samuel Goetz, Eduardo Acevedo, Max Culbreath, Dixie Johnston, Jeanie Morrison, Maria Mejias, Steven Vaughn Hennessey, Ariana Baltodano, Therese Gagliano, Barbara 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 , or Richard Murgo at (850) 201-8145 or murgor@tcc.fl.edu .

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.

The Tallahassee Community College student art and literary magazine, The Eyrie, 2018 edition placed third for "Best Magazine" in the Southern Division of the Community College Humanities Association literary magazine competition.

Tallahassee Community College recognized one student for her outstanding academic performance and contributions to the culture of the College at the recent Fall 2018 EagleFest Eagle Awards ceremony.

TCC Student Government Association (SGA) has named its Executive Board and Senators for the 2018-19 academic year. The TCC SGA focuses on providing fair representation in the best interest of the student body. The TCC SGA fosters student leadership and success and encourages the respectful exchange of ideas between faculty, students and staff.

More than 850 students were named to the Summer 2018 President's List at Tallahassee Community College.