A Newsletter for Alumni and Friends of Broward College

THANKS TO OUR ALUMNI HEROES

I hope everyone is doing well. We are now in our 7th week of working remotely, and our students are in their 6th week of distance learning.

We are extremely proud of our nursing and health sciences graduates and what they are doing to help our community during these uncertain times. Here are just a few of their stories.

Miranda Lieberman is now in her 8th month in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Broward Health Medical Center. She was hired the very week she passed her National Council Licensure Examination. She loves her job and is grateful for the well-rounded education she received at Broward College. Even in the face of this pandemic, she reports to work every day with the intention to perform honorably and do the most good she possibly can. She’s proud to be part of a noble profession.

Jessica Castellanos also helps young ones at Memorial Hospital West, where she works in the Family Birthplace providing postpartum and newborn care. She never imagined her first year of nursing would be in the middle of a pandemic, but she loves being a registered nurse and finds service to others to be a dream. “Sometimes our smile is the only one a patient may get to see all day,” she told us. “Sometimes a smile is enough to change someone’s whole day … or even life.”

Of course, our nursing graduates work alongside colleagues in adjacent healthcare professions, such as Robert Olsen, who graduated with an Associate of Science degree in Respiratory Therapy at the age of 58. He moved from Connecticut to enroll at Broward College when he lost his job after working for more than 20 years in the tech industry. Today he is a Licensed Registered Respiratory Therapist with Memorial Healthcare System, using his education to save lives and help people heal.

Allison Hady, a proud graduate of the Radiography program, works at Memorial, where her last clinical rotation took place while she was in school. She’s part of a great team and loves helping people and trying to make a difference in society. “I definitely recommend attending this program at Broward College to anyone interested in studying radiography,” she says, “because it has some of the best and informative instructors. It was a great experience and opportunity!”

These four individuals are just a few examples of the impact our graduates are making, which include those working in other fields besides healthcare and nursing. I hope you are as proud as I am. It has been estimated that across the nation 70 percent of the individuals working on the front-lines against the coronavirus have a degree from a community college. Their stories remind us of just how important Broward College and our graduates are to the health and vibrance of our economy. Watch this video highlighting local heroes who’ve become “Empowered by Broward.”

You can read about more of our Alumni Heroes on our social media platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Nancy O'Donnell-Wilson, Vice President for Advancement, Broward College
Executive Director, Broward College Foundation

JOIN US IN CELEBRATING OUR 2020 GRADUATES

Our traditional May commencement ceremony, when our graduates become #BCProudAlumni, won’t take place this year. So we’ve come up with a way to welcome them to our Alumni & Friends Network virtually.

But we need you and your creativity to pull this off, and we need it by May 1st!

Just take a photo of yourself holding a sign with any message or quote for the Class of 2020. We’ll incorporate the images we receive into a video montage to share with our graduates.

Be as imaginative as you wish. Thanks!

Please let us know your:

• Name
• Year(s) Attended
• Current Title and Place of Employment (if applicable)

UP-SKILL AND RE-TOOL

Every Tuesday and Thursday at 12 noon, through the month of May, Broward College will host free informational webinars to help our community up-skill and re-tool. They are offered by our Workforce Education division.

During these webinars, participants will learn about:

• In-demand degrees, technical certificates and industry certifications, many of which are available online or through remote learning
• Credit for years of work experience and prior learning
• Federal financial aid and scholarship opportunities

Register online.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: CONDUCT MOCK INTERVIEWS

Would you be willing to conduct a mock Skype, Zoom or Facetime interview with a currently enrolled student, a recent graduate or a fellow alumnus or alumna? If so please reply here and let us know which technology you prefer. We will provide you with some questions and tips you can share!

NEW DATES: BROWARD COLLEGE SPEAKER SERIES

Dates for the remaining presentations of the 2020 Broward College Speaker Series have been set. Women’s soccer legend Abby Wambach will speak on Tuesday, September 8, and celebrity chef and humanitarian José Andrés will close the season on Wednesday, October 21. (On Sunday, April 19, Chef Andrés was featured on “Sixty Minutes” in an interview with Anderson Cooper, where he spoke about his disaster relief organization, World Central Kitchen, which in the past month has helped make and serve more than 2 million free meals in at least 100 American cities.)

The speakers’ presentations begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Amaturo Theatre at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

BROWARD COLLEGE GOLF CLASSIC

The Broward College 33rd Annual Golf Classic tees up this fall on Thursday, October 8, 2020  at the Fort Lauderdale Country Club.

Registration begins at 11 a.m. After lunch, the Golf Classic kicks off with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. Activities and contests on the courses include longest drive, closest to the pin, and a hole-in-one competition. After golfing, enjoy a cocktail reception, dinner, award ceremony, and silent and live auctions, with items that include: a trip for two to Bimini from Tropic Ocean Airways, a suite at BB&T Center, Broward Center for the Performing Arts tickets, gift certificates, and more.

Sponsorship opportunities ranging from $1,200 to $10,000 are still available and will get your company’s name in front of some of Broward County’s most important civic and community leaders. Thanks to Cigna for coming on board as dinner sponsor, Fastrack MCI as golf shirt sponsor, and CSPi as hat sponsor.

We're also grateful to our Platinum, Gold and Bronze sponsors.

Platinum Sponsors: Johnson Controls Fire Protection and Legrand AV

Gold Sponsors: ANF Construction, Barefoot Financial, Green Team Plumbing, Humana, Keith & Associates, PGAL / Kaufman Lynn, Pirtle Construction, Ricoh, SGM Engineering, and State Contracting & Engineering Corporation

Double Bronze Sponsors: AvMed and Dental Dental

Bronze Sponsors: Advanced Roofing, BRPH Architects-Engineers, Consultis, Harvard Jolly, Lego Construction, Miller Legg, and Soprema.

If you want to join this list of committed supporters and make a difference in students’ lives while having fun, please email Elisa Stone.

Since its inception, the annual Golf Classic has raised more than $2.7 million to support the educational environment at Broward College, ensuring our students ultimately succeed in life. Proceeds from this year’s tournament will benefit the First Generation in College Scholarship.

ALUMNI & FRIENDS NETWORK

In these trying times, we want to remind you that we’ve partnered with GEICO to offer alumni, friends and our employees a special discount on car insurance. Visit GEICO online or call 1-800-368-2734 to find out how much you could save today!

Be sure to mention your Broward College affiliation to be eligible for the special discount.

Did you know you could save money, save time, and help students become Empowered by Broward all at once? When you buy your gifts, clothing, food, and other products through Amazon Smile, you can direct a percentage of your purchase to the Broward College Foundation and support the Empowerment Fund, which provides the most flexibility to do what is right for our students.

Prices on Amazon Smile are identical to those on the regular Amazon site. You’ll enjoy the same convenience and help make a student’s dream of higher education a reality.

Learn how easy it is to set up your Amazon Smile account.

PROVIDING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

When you include the Broward College Foundation in your financial and estate planning, you ensure your legacy of providing opportunity to students who are determined to change their lives through the pursuit of higher education. Help someone become Empowered by Broward!

For more information, email Scott Rivinius or call 954-201-7490.