“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 to study health science at Santa Fe College, with the thought of transferring later. I‘ve seen a … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Eric Williams
May 24, 2021 – “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 a goal to continue to do that in my career. I … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Lavonia Merrell
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 job opportunities would be limited. I was in my mid-30s when I decided to go … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Chris Alford
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 that I would pass by as a kid. I’d see these cars that were totally destroyed and broken. You wouldn’t even think they … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Samantha Long
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 a single mom of two kids and I knew the CNA pay would make a … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Morticia Triplett
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 students?’ Almost everyone was all for it and very excited and I had huge support … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Elisabeth Eder
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, as a first-generation college student, it really worked for me. I got my A.A. here … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Andy Barnes
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 way, is also autistic but on a different level. So I’ve always had a big soft spot … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Sydnee King
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!” But I told them the same thing then that I do now as an educator … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Derrick Jones, Ph.D.
“I graduated high school in 2007 and while I liked school, I HATED math, so college wasn’t something I was looking into at all. I started my journey at Santa Fe College in 2011 and enrolled in remedial math (MAT0022 Integrated Arithmetic.) I was terrified of math and since I wanted to be an engineer, … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Alejandro Cabrera
“The feedback that I get most often when I’m talking to people who have very different political ideologies is that they miss having civil conversations. The professors at Santa Fe were the first that noticed me and took me under their wing to hone my writing and cultivate my philosophy skills. One of those professors, … Continue reading Ethics Bowl champ offers advice on civil discourse
October 28, 2020 – The college I went to in California was a Community College that was in my hometown. It was very, very outdated. The library had carpet from like the ’70s – kind of groovy. I studied Multimedia Production there, but it was definitely more theory-based. I came to Santa Fe because I … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Brittany “Bee” Lynch
October 15, 2020 – “I was a mass communication major so I didn’t really have an education background, other than my parents were both teachers and I wanted to coach basketball. Fresh out of college, I did the 4-12 shift at TV20 doing the nightly news. My days were free, and I started substitute teaching. … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Leroy Williams
October 5, 2020 – “I studied food engineering and worked in the food industry. I got married, then I was a stay at home mom. In the meantime, I volunteered in a pre-K classroom. I started tutoring. Then I said well, maybe I could be a teacher? That’s when I started looking into the EPI … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Carolina Currea
Sept. 14, 2020 –– I’m a product of the foster system here in Gainesville. My parents were not well enough to take care of me. So, I was raised in this wonderful family. I credit a lot of my character, my fire and passion for wanting to serve people – I get that from my … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Kane Ahern
August 10, 2020 – “I went to New York, I did six weeks as a registered nurse stationed on a tele-cardiac COVID floor where all of our patients were COVID-positive. I felt like I needed to make a bigger impact and help where it was needed because that’s what we do as health care providers. … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Leeanne Odum
“An online, or virtual hybrid course, should not be a correspondence course. Those were from years ago where you sign up, get a packet of material, do the work, and if you had a question you could contact that instructor. But mainly you were left to your own devices and you didn’t have an interaction. … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Mari Jayne Frederick
July 27, 2020 – Sisters Isabel and Carlota Bonnet both came to the United States after high school, keeping alive the family tradition of going to college in Florida. They both found and fell in love with Santa Fe College. “I feel there’s a stigma against community colleges that I didn’t know existed because I’m … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Isabel and Carlota Bonnet
“My dream has always been to become an electrician. Every friend I have had said Santa Fe College is the way to go,” said incoming SF student Tylar Barbato. In SF’s apprenticeship programs, students work with contractors in the industry so they can “earn while they learn.” In addition to receiving a paycheck, the employer … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Tylar Barbato
June 24, 2020 – “Being an artist is one of the hardest careers on the planet, but the most rewarding,” said SF student Mariah Preeden. “I can’t think of another career that lets one express themself, and/or their feelings like being an artist can.” “Of course all mediums of art can do this, but there’s … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Mariah Preeden
March 10, 2020 – “In high school, I was shy and nervous, and I was kind of nervous when I started at Project SAINT (at Santa Fe College). But I got comfortable and made friends. I take classes with them. I even got to work as an usher at the Fine Arts Hall,” says Sienna … Continue reading Saints of Santa Fe College – Sienna Smillov