Group offering 5th annual Mexican-American scholarships
For the fifth straight year, Mexican and Mexican-American students attending Daytona State College can apply to receive help defraying educational costs, thanks to a partnership between the college and a Mexico-based non-profit group.
Juntos Podemos (“Together We Can”) was created by five nonprofit organizations in the United States and Mexico, headed by the Mexican Entrepreneurs Association in the United States. Among those is Parents Alliance Inc., which last month granted the College $19,000 to continue a program originally administered through the Mexican government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 2011, Daytona State has received more than $80,000 in grant awards, including matching cash and in-kind services. This year’s award also will see a similar match, including in-kind and cash contributions from longtime partner Sister Cities of Volusia County.
Daytona State Alumni
All totaled, about 100 scholarships will be awarded this year, including 80 Adult Education scholarships and 20 college or vocational credit scholarships.
“We are currently accepting applications,” said Daytona State’s English to Speakers of Other Languages Coordinator Kathryn Clark. “Students can use the scholarship award for tuition and expenses such as testing fees, educational supplies and textbooks.”
For information on how to apply for a scholarship, e-mail Clark at kathryn.clark@daytonastate.edu
A scholarships awards ceremony in November was attended by DSC students, faculty and staff and Don Matthews representing Dixie Blake, president of the Sister Cities of Volusia County.
“We are pleased that Juntos Podemos has taken the lead in ensuring that this very worthwhile program continues,” said DSC President Thomas LoBasso. “Many students would not be able to fulfill their dreams of a high school diploma, GED or college degree without the economic assistance this grant provides. “
Alumni Association testing new mobile aps
“Falcons Flying High” is the campaign slogan for Daytona State College’s Homecoming this fall, but there are many alumni already flying high and utilizing the skills received here.
Dave Tatum, DSC Alumni & Friends Association board member — and a 2008 graduate with an AS in Computer Programming and Analysis and in 2011 with a Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Supervision and Management — is supporting the association by helping to capture new members. Using three mobile devices, he’s offering a new tool that is a modern, simplistic way to help the group grow.
What started as a temporary work study position for Tatum in the Information Technology department transitioned to his current position. He is now Manager of Academic Computing and oversees the same department he started out in as a student work study many years ago. Tatum works to ensure students, faculty and staff have the necessary technology resources to learn, instruct and impact future leaders of tomorrow. The highlight of his career, he says is, “The knowledge that students have been positively impacted via the technology available at Daytona State College.”
John Hawk, Adissa Gibson and Kyle Dabney along with Tatum are the members of the IT team who focused their abilities and talents into getting mobile devices and web-based forms ready for the DSC Alumni & Friends Association. With their help, the association now has three tablets that allow alumni and students to sign up for the alumni association electronically instead of using paper and pen.
For information on the association and the mobile applications, contact Suzette Cameron at 506-4506.
New faces, programs greet new year
Dr. Alycia Ehlert has joined Daytona State College as its new associate vice president of arts and sciences, replacing Susan Pate, who recently retired after 35 years serving the College and its students.
Ehlert will oversee the day-to-day operations of programs leading to the associate of arts transfer degree, as well as programs in studio arts and performing arts, and associate of science degrees in human services, environmental science technology, music production and photography.
She comes to Daytona State from Tennessee, where she was dean of humanities at Volunteer State Community College, part of the Tennessee Board of Regents System, with a student enrollment of about 8,000. Prior to that, she served as interim dean of humanities and assistant professor of communication at Darton State College, part of the University System of Georgia.
In other news, DSC selected Bart Sasnett as the inaugural soccer coach for the men’s program that will start in August 2016. Sasnett officially joined the Falcons on Dec. 1.
“We are extremely excited that Bart is joining our institution. He brings a strong coaching resume to our program,” said Director of Athletics Will Dunne. “The position drew many inquiries, and Bart stood out early in the review process.”
Sasnett recently completed his ninth season as the head coach at Darton State College in Albany, Georgia. During his tenure at Darton State, the Cavaliers men’s soccer program compiled an overall record of 123-42-4 (.727). Sasnett now has an overall record of 186-94-15 for his career.
As for Women’s Soccer, DSC announced its inaugural soccer coach, Brittany Jones, who officially joined the Falcons and began her duties on Nov. 2. That program also will launch in August 2016.
“We are extremely excited that Brittany has joined our institution; she has solid experience and leadership skills that will help kick-start our soccer program,” Dunne said. “We had a lot of interest in the position, and Brittany quickly rose to the top of the list as a great fit.”
Jones recently completed her fourth season at the helm of the Florida Southern program in Lakeland. Florida Southern College is a NCAA Division II member that competes in the Sunshine State Conference.
Soccer team tryouts are scheduled march 26 for the women’s team and April 2 for the men’s.
DSC programs earn state, national accolades
The College’s Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education (K-6)/ESOL/Reading, has tied for second place in the state, notably earning top marks in placement rate, based on annual performance reviews by the Bureau of Educator Recruitment, Development & Retention, Florida Department of Education.
“This shines a light on our excellent teacher education program,” says Tom LoBasso, President of Daytona State. “It’s gratifying to achieve this ranking, which recognizes the high quality and dedication of our faculty and staff.”
Vice President for Academic Affairs Amy Locklear added that, “We commend our local schools and their collaborative leadership, who share in this success. We’re proud to support their mission to provide the best in K-12 education for our children.”
At the College of Online Studies, chair Andrea Reese announced that in the increasingly competitive online world Daytona State placed again in the top 10 among hundreds of colleges and universities offering bachelor degree, according to a survey by U.S. News & World Report.
More than 1,650 baccalaureate students have enrolled in DSC online courses so far this school year. Overall, 12,628 students took online DSC classes during the 2014-2015 academic year.
“Staying on top of best practices for online delivery and faculty training is critical to maintaining our excellent service to students,” said Reese. “We optimize digital platforms to give our online students the best learning experience possible. With many of our students back-to-school working adults, they have as much to learn from each other as they do from faculty.”