Campus Events

Old School Basketball

The second annual Old School Basketball Tournament took place on November 20 at the Skatium in Fort Myers and featured four different teams.

Weeks before the event, students organized teams, and built support through friends and club members. Members of the college also organized a team to represent the faculty and staff of Southwest Florida College. Students broke into three groups: Yellow, Blue, and Navy, while faculty were represented by the color Black.

The Old School theme was prevalent throughout the evening as 70s and 80s music filled the Skatium, and participants and spectators dressed in Old School attire. Door prizes were handed out to fans, and Management and Marketing freshman, Barrett Williams, awed the audience with his rendition of the national anthem at halftime.

The first game was close with the Navy team victorious over the Yellow team with a 37 to 32-point win. In the second game, the faculty held their own against the Blue team, but ended up losing 32 to 42. In the third game, the Yellow team overcame the faculty, with a final score of 42 to 16.

The championship game was close, with the Blue team edging out the Navy team 22 to 18 to take the win.

To keep up-to-date on the upcoming March Madness event, log onto http://www.swfc.edu/.

GIP Event

The faculty and staff of the SWFC Tampa campus celebrate their student’s success with the Graduate in Progress (GIP) ceremony. Recognized students must have successfully completed 48 credit hours towards graduation to be eligible, which is usually a half-way point toward their degree.

“The benefit of the GIP ceremony is to encourage students to complete their degree and support them as they strive to meet their goals,” says Danice Donaldson, Arts & Sciences Subject Area Specialist. According to a census, 90% of students that participate in the GIP program will graduate with their degree.

ADDA Competition Entry

David Slabosz, second-year Computer Aided Drafting & Design student has submitted an original design to the American Design Drafting Association’s 43rd Annual Design Drafting Contest.

“My entry is a stand-alone, single-level office building for an attorney that had to meet ADDA requirements, which are very realistic and exacting,” Slabosz said. He submitted five drawings, which delineated the foundation, floor, roof, framing, and electrical drawings.

Slabosz completed his drawings using the college’s Architectural Desktop 2010 and Auto CAD 2010 programs, which he learned during his training at SWFC. “Probably at least 150 hours went into the set of drawings, so a lot of drafting time was needed,” he said.

ADDA is an international organization representing the drafting and design profession. Entering the contest gives Slabosz the opportunity to showcase his work at the national level. According to the ADDA website, the purpose of this contest is to “encourage excellence in effort and discipline, and to give recognition to outstanding students and design/drafting programs.”

Winners of the contest will be announced by late February 2010 and awards will be presented at the ADDA Annual Conference in Louisville, KY, on April 12, 2010.

Fall Fest

Over 150 students, staff, family, and friends attended the Southwest Florida College Fall Fest 09 on October 17 at the Fort Myers campus.

A large pumpkin patch was set up and students and their children could pick out a pumpkin to paint and decorate on site. Henna tattoos, face painting, nail design, and a fall photo scene were also on hand for students and their kids to enjoy.

Carnival foods such as cotton candy, popcorn, and snow cones were sold by the Future Business Leaders, Criminal Justice Club, and Allied Health Club to help support the student clubs on campus.

Boo Fest

The Institute of Interior Design celebrated Halloween by hosting a party and costume contest. Students, faculty, and staff dressed up in costumes ranging from a flamenco dancer to a monk.

After a spooky dinner including hot dogs, themed music, and dessert, students were encouraged to perform a catwalk for the judges. Students explained their character as they strutted in front of the judges, while some took it to the extreme and stayed ‘in character’ the entire evening.

Dr. Melanie Roberts, Director of Education, and Linda Hamilton of the Miromar Design Center in Estero were two of the judges. Sandra Moyers, dressed as a zombie prom queen was awarded third place. Abbey Roloff, as Kate Gosselin dressed as a witch took second, and Drama Queen Sandra Rosenthal won first place. Each winner received a gift certificate, and all participants received a tote from the Miromar Design Center.

Harvest Fest

Four days before Halloween, the Port Charlotte campus opened its doors to students and their families so that they could safely celebrate the holiday.

The campus was decorated to provide scares and delights as the children went trick-or-treating in the classrooms. Faculty and staff dressed up to hand out candy.

Visitors each left with a complimentary pumpkin that they had painted. The college was visited by kids dressed in an array of costumes — from fruit to elephants.

Pictures with Santa

‘Tis the season at Southwest Florida College and to demonstrate feelings of good cheer, the Fort Myers, Port Charlotte, and Tampa campuses all offered students and community members complimentary pictures with Santa Claus.

Fort Myers

Spearheaded by Student Activities Coordinator, Pam King, the Fort Myers campus was turned into a winter wonderland for the arrival of St. Nick. Management student, Larry Horton, offered his services as Santa, Allied Health Program Manager, Liz Levine, played Mrs. Claus, and LRC director, Jenny Contakos, was the Grinch who stole Christmas.

The Education Club, headed by instructor Manny Maestre, transformed a classroom into a backdrop for the story, the Polar Express, complete with fallen snow and white cliffs. The students then performed a reading of the story to visiting children.

At day’s end, over 100 families visited with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Linda Smith, a current student, said that her “kids loved having their pictures taken with Santa and the Grinch, and my daughter still talks about it. Thank you for putting a smile on my child’s face.”

Tampa

The students and visitors at the Tampa campus were treated to more than just Christmas cookies and movies as they waited for their turn with Santa, who was played by CADD Program Manager, Michael Coldwell. The Criminal Justice Department assisted visiting children and their families in making their own fingerprint identity cards as part of Operation Identification.

Port Charlotte

At the Port Charlotte campus, instructor Tom Pear put on the Santa suit, and entertained visiting children and students with the help of his elves. Waiting children were entertained with coloring and holiday treats.

Southwest Florida College is an accredited private institution of higher learning centrally located in Fort Myers, Tampa, Port Charlotte, and includes the Institute of Interior Design located within the Miromar Design Center in Estero. The College has been providing post secondary education to Floridians since 1974 and offers programs in Allied Health, Business, Design, Education, Information Technology and Legal Studies. Its mission is to provide educational opportunities for individuals to acquire knowledge and skills that will help prepare them for rewarding careers in fields with high growth potential. For more information, call toll free 888-279-2342 or visit http://www.swfc.edu/.

Compass Reader Winter 2010