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See the Stars at the FSW Observatory

Looking for something to do Friday nights? How about visiting the James and Barbara Moore Observatory on the FSW Charlotte Campus?Whether you’re a seasoned stargazer or you’ve only ever seen the night sky through city lights, you’ll be amazed at what you see through the observatory dome’s telescope. The time of year will determine what celestial objects will be present, so bring some chairs or a blanket, sit back, and take in the stars from the darkness of the FSW Charlotte Campus. You can also look through the small telescopes on the observatory deck or make your way up the building’s spiral staircase and take a peek through the observatory’s large telescope to get an even closer look at the galaxy.Observation sessions are held on the third Friday of each month and begin 30-45 minutes after dark, weather permitting, and additional sessions are often scheduled for special celestial events.Schedule of Observatory Viewing Sessions for 2022-2023: September 16, 2022 October 21, 2022 November 18, 2022 December 16, 2022 January 20, 2023 February 17, 2023 March 17, 2023 April 21, 2023 May 19, 2023 Visit the Charlotte Observatory webpage for a full schedule.

Yes! You Can! Summer Scholarships

FSW is offering a free class in our Summer Mini-B term! With FSW's Yes! You Can! Summer Scholarships, if you meet certain eligibility requirements, you can jump-start your educational journey at FSW by getting your first class for free in our Summer Mini-B term that begins June 23 and ends August 2. So, are you ready to get started?Does this sound like you?I graduated or will graduate from a Florida high school in 2020 or 2021.I have not earned credits from any other college or university (not counting dual enrollment credits).Yes, that's me!No, but I want cash for classes!

Create Your College Experience - How Being Involved at FSW Can Benefit You

We embark on our college adventure with a sense of anticipation, nerves (we all felt them), and excitement! Excitement to finally have that “college experience” we imagined. I envision the college experience having two parts: (1). The experience we gain in class through our academics and (2). The experience we gain out-of-class through our involvement on campus. Involvement on campus comes in all shapes and sizes: joining a club; participating in intramural sports; attending an event, like Spirit Day, with friends; working on campus as a peer mentor or tutor; stopping by the table in the breezeway to check out trivia (and win that Bucs t-shirt); volunteering; study abroad; honors programs; meeting with a professor during office hours. I could go on-and-on… but, you get the point.I know what you’re thinking… “Linda, I’m busy. I don’t have time to get involved.” I get it. We juggle a lot, but getting involved in college is important and something you should try to prioritize. Of course, our academics come first. However, there are so many great benefits to becoming involved on campus that will make your efforts worth it!Self-growthThrough involvement, you’ll discover skills, talents, and interests that you may not have recognized you had. For example, multiple students have told me that they don’t see themselves as a leader. However, I watch them step into roles as peer mentors or club presidents and they flourish in their positions. While doing so, they realize their strengths and learn how to apply them in different ways, further developing their skills. College is the perfect (and safe) environment to try new things and step out of your comfort zone to broaden your skills.Make connectionsYou’ll meet and connect with so many new people: students, staff/faculty, and community members. Expanding your network is exciting and very valuable. You’ll find mentors that become your support system… and your biggest cheerleaders. While in college, our mentors teach us invaluable life lessons and connect us to leadership opportunities or resources. After college, they can become a reference and a guide as you seek your first entry-level job with your degree. Additionally, you’ll create lifelong friends that share the same interests and goals as you and whom you’ll remain in contact with long after you graduate.Resume builderJob searching can be a competitive process and you want to make yourself marketable. By becoming involved on campus, you will enhance your leadership, time management, and soft skills, which makes you a stronger candidate when transferring to a university, applying for internships or grad school, and seeking that first entry-level job. It also allows you to start getting hands-on experience and applying what you learn. Additionally, you’ll learn how to work with people with different backgrounds and experiences. When you’re at an interview and they ask “What is your strength” or “Have worked on a team,” not only can you tell them “yes,” but you can give them a specific example based on your involvement.Alleviate stress… and have some fun! We all need a break! Sometimes we can start to overwhelm ourselves. Becoming involved gives us a moment to take a step back and engage in a different (perhaps more relaxed) manner. It’s alright to have a little fun and some laughs! You deserve it! I have had the pleasure of working with student leaders not only at FSW, but also across Florida through a state-wide organization. I can guarantee that I never experienced a student regretting their choice to become involved with their college, and I am amazed and excited to see how their experiences lead them to some fantastic academic and career opportunities.But what is also exciting to see are the amazing memories being made: the random dance parties that break out at an event; the achievement of your club hosting an activity; the laughter from participating in a silly team builder at a workshop; the sense of independence you feel when you step off the plane for a study abroad trip; the piece of advice we receive from a mentor that we will always carry with us; the feeling of accomplishment from working together to clean a local beach or park; cheering “Go Bucs!” with the crowd as the basketball team makes multiple dunks; the group study session with classmates that went late and ended at IHOP at midnight for a study break (and some pancakes); reading your acceptance letter to grad school or accepting your first job offer. That, my friends, is all part of the college experience! It formulates through your involvement, and, yes, it’s valuable in so many different ways.I always encourage my students to take a temperature check. (No, don’t take out a thermometer. I mean do some self-reflection). Now I ask you to do the same. Ask yourself: am I creating the college experience I want? Am I taking advantage of all the benefits that college gives me? If not, start seeking those opportunities to get involved and creating your college experience. The opportunities and the support are there… you need to only take them!Linda Johnsen is the assistant director of Student Engagement on the FSW Collier Campus.*FSW student activity photos in this article were taken prior to COVID-19.Return to The Helm

Faculty Feature

Professor Jordan DoniniWhere did your love of turtles and other creatures develop?Literally as far back as I can remember. I remember being 3 or 4 years old and just being obsessed with dinosaurs. As I got a little older, I moved onto the extant “Dinosaurs” living in and around my yard. It also helped that my parents were very supportive and let me have various pet reptiles through my childhood and into my teen years!Why is your research of these animals important?Turtles are one of the most endangered animal groups on the planet. They face threats from all corners: habitat destruction, climate change, poaching for the food and traditional medicine trade, and the pet trade. So, the more research performed on these animals the better we can preserve them for future generations. Additionally, studying turtles (and reptiles in general) applies directly to humans. We learn a lot about our own physiological and molecular mechanisms (like aging for instance) from studies done on turtles. Turtles also serve as something we call a “sentinel” or “indicator” species (think canary in the coal mine), and can alert us to when negative changes in the environment are occurring (pathogen outbreaks, intense climate impacts, etc.). Why is it important for you to share your love of these animals with your students?Besides the fact that turtles are just too darn cool, it’s important for the NEXT generation of turtle (and nature) heroes to get started as soon as possible. These animals, and their habitat (and our planet as a whole), need more folks who are willing to look out for them in the long run, and sharing my obsession with these animals with students is one way I think that can happen! How do you incorporate your research into your classes?I use my research for specific examples of ecological study when I go over related chapters in my lectures, and I actually teach a specific individual research course for students to take for credit that allows them to get hands-on experience working with turtles and other reptiles in the field. Did you have any college professors that inspired you?I was very fortunate to have a number of college professors that inspired me. One of them is our own recently retired Dr. Henry Herman of FSW. I attended FSW when it was still Edison Community College, and Dr. Herman became a mentor to me and was the first person to actually involve and engage me in research. I was also very fortunate to have two fantastic mentor figures at FGCU when I was still a developing biologist, both Dr. Rob Erdman and Dr. Phil Allman (a fellow turtle guy!) really contributed to my ability to perform rigorous hypothesis-driven science, and I’ll be eternally grateful for that!Where can we find your published work/research?All over the place! Journals like Herpetological Review, Chelonian Conservation and Biology, General and Comparative Endocrinology, The Journal of North American Herpetology, and Southeastern Naturalist. If you punch my name into Google Scholar a list of some of my most read and cited papers will pop up! Return to The Helm

The Monster Professor at FSW

Who is the Monster Professor?FSW is honored to welcome one of the most talented up-and-coming horror writers in the country, Josh Woods. His reading and craft talk will take place on Tuesday, April 13 from 12:15-1:30 p.m. on Zoom with a live audience viewing the webinar from Rush Auditorium (J-103). Professor Josh Woods is celebrated for both his fiction and his acclaimed podcast, The Monster Professor. He is also a Professor of English, editor of multiple anthologies and literary journals, and often serves as a consultant for novel and short story manuscripts. O Monstrous World!His debut book of stories, "O Monstrous World!" won the International Book Awards for Fiction: Short Story. This highly competitive award helps to promote the work of both famous and beginning writers around the world. Furthermore, his novel "The Black Palace" is an epic of gothic horror action-adventure. This novel has garnered high praise as an innovative, cerebral, and highly adventurous work.According to fiction writer Pinckney Benedict, “This utterly original novel expertly blends profound supernatural terror, swashbuckling action, honest human emotion, brutal violence, and blunt good humor. The smartest, scariest, and most surprising book I've read in ages.” Woods’s other awards include Outstanding Full-Time Faculty Member of the Year and Press 53 Open Awards for Genre Fiction. He has received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations as well as nominations for The Best of the Net and the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection, among others. In addition to his reputation as a fiction writer, Woods is well-known for his podcast, The Monster Professor, which explores the role of monsters in literature, myth, film, folklore, and pop-culture. Some podcast favorites include “Nosferatu” with poet, Dana Gioia, winner of countless writing awards and honors, including the American Book Award, Laetare Medal, and Presidential Citizens Medal, and “Monstrous Nature: Ocean and Earth” with Dr. Joe van Gaalen, FSW’s own oceanography professor and Asst. VP of Institutional Research, Assessment, & Effectiveness. You might also want to check out “Fairies and Demons” with two more of FSW’s professors—Chair of the English Department and C.S. Lewis Scholar, Dr. Amy Trogan, and writer and Florida Book Award winner, Dr. Brandi George.Why Should You Attend?Whether you’re an aspiring writer, a booklover, or a fan of horror and action-adventure, the Woods reading will inspire and entertain you. Every great writer is a great reader first, and literary events open our minds to new stories, styles, and techniques that enhance our own creativity and help us to connect to literary communities. We hope to see you on April 13th at 12:15 p.m. for an hour of action, adventure, suspense, and horror!For links to the podcasts and to purchase Woods’s books, please visit https://joshwoodsauthor.com/. When? April 13th, 12:15-1:30 p.m.Where? The event will take place digitally on Zoom: https://fsw.zoom.us/j/87890443768pwd=cmQ5ME5ob3VXMVRpQ2hKRGZ1a0x0dz09If you prefer to watch the webinar with a live audience from Rush Auditorium (J-103), then please remember to wear a face covering and follow social distancing guidelines in all buildings on FSW’s campus.Dr. Brandi George is the author of "Gog" (Black Lawrence Press, 2015) and the play in verse, "Faun" (Plays Inverse, 2019). She teaches creative writing, composition, and literature at FSW. Back to The Helm