“I want my daughters to have access to knowledge, an appreciation of the joyous culture and traditions of the Nicaraguan people and to acknowledge the layered history of struggle and instability on which traditions are founded. At the age of…
Category: Saints of Santa Fe
Featured stories including Saints of Santa Fe College.
Saint of Santa Fe | Nicolle Davis
“I chose a career in nursing to help people and make a difference. I had a family member that was hospitalized when I was young and the kindness, compassion and sheer knowledge the bedside nurse showed to my family member and…
Saint of Santa Fe | Maxim Prokopenko
“Technology is everywhere in our lives. As a Research Facilitator and Application Specialist, I help scientists in computer research at the University of Florida’s Information Technology Research Computing department. In doing so, I believe my contributions will improve our lives…
Saint of Santa Fe | Clay Abraham
“Several mentors have made a lasting impact on my life. At age 16, I was in a car accident that left me homebound. A high school teacher, Renae Allen at Lake Butler High School, took it upon herself to bring…
Saint of Santa Fe | Andy Sakalla
“I received multiple scholarship opportunities to attend other Florida universities. I chose Santa Fe College because of the reputation for building strong connections between students and professors, I wanted that personalized experience. When I started at SF, I was surprised…
Saint of Santa Fe | Nicole Nikki Perrino
“I struggle with standardized tests. The SAT and ACT were difficult and my scores didn’t reflect my abilities when going through the college application process. I applied to around 5 schools and was accepted to all, except for the University…
Saints of Santa Fe College – Lisa Manley
“Being from a rural town, transportation is a critical barrier to attending college. I grew up in Keystone Heights and didn’t have transportation; how could I ever go to college? Luckily, a year before high school graduation, the Santa Fe…
Saint of Santa Fe | LaTonya Middleton
“After 25 years in cosmetology, I prepare to start my Master’s of Agribusiness at UF, thanks to the degrees I received at Santa Fe College. Despite success in cosmetology, I had become complacent, I was going through each day without…
Saint of Santa Fe | Eric Williams
“I am the first in my family to go to college. It is mind-blowing. I had to create my own path and it allowed me to shape myself and my future, compared to being led by somebody else. My immediate plan is…
Saint of Santa Fe | Ed Bonahue
“When I first moved to Gainesville, I can’t say I really knew anything about community colleges. I’d taught at UNC and UF. When I came to SF, I found the students were often just as bright, just as motivated, but…
Saint of Santa Fe | Zoe Willingham
“I graduated from UF in 2020 with a microbiology degree and I was just kind of like ‘I don’t want to work inside.’ There’s something that draws me outside. In your first year of the Zoo Animal Technology Program at…
Saint of Santa Fe | Angela Gregory
“Twenty years after graduating from SF, I wanted to re-evaluate my career path. I reached out to SF’s Career Exploration Center and completed assessments for personality, interests and values to identify my strengths. The results pointed to careers that utilize…
Saint of Santa Fe | Lavonia Merrell
“While I was working on my bachelor’s in Health Services Administration, I took a diversity and inclusion class. That led me to make a commitment to be involved in diversity – promoting it and learning more about it. I set…
Saint of Santa Fe | Chris Alford
“I started working retail right out of high school and worked my way up to management. When I left that store, I realized that I had the experience for a top position outside of retail. But without a degree, my…
Saint of Santa Fe | Samantha Long
March 30, 2021 – “I’ve been interested in cars since I was a little girl. I was always excited to buy Hot Wheels. Whenever they had the “boys and girls” toys at McDonald’s, I always picked the Hot Wheels. There was a little collision shop…
Saint of Santa Fe | Morticia Triplett
February 23, 2021 – I came to Santa Fe College from South Florida to get my CNA license. I’ve been in the nursing field on and off for 20 years and I currently work as a home health aide. I’m…
Saint of Santa Fe | Norah Parks-Church
I heard about the Dual Enrollment program at Santa Fe from my friends at Gainesville High School. I thought it sounded interesting, so I looked into it more. I made the decision to go for it right after the coronavirus…
Saint of Santa Fe | Elisabeth Eder
January 25, 2021 – “I decided to start a petition on campus last year to bring LGBTQ resources to the campus. I went around and asked students, ‘Hey, would you like to sign this petition to bring resources to the…
Saint of Santa Fe | Andy Barnes
January 11, 2021 – I came to Santa Fe after graduating from Buchholz. I literally grew up just on the other side of what is now Meadowbrook Golf Course. So, proximity and ease of access was a big factor. Also,…
Saint of Santa Fe | Sydnee King
November 30, 2020 – I taught my younger brother, he’s also homeschooled, up until this year. I help my parents teach him math, so that was kind of my job. My other younger brother, I have five brothers by the…
Saint of Santa Fe | Derrick Jones, Ph.D.
November 16, 2020 – Police departments and sheriff departments, they should resemble the communities they serve. I joined the police department in 1996 in Baltimore, Maryland, and back then people were like, “you don’t join the police if you’re black!”…