1

M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 4 N E W S L E T T E R

My name is

Jazmin Felix and I am

your new Student Govern-

ment Association President. I

am a Sophomore by year and

a Junior by credit currently

pursuing a double major: one

in Nursing, the latter in Nutri-

tion as well as a certificate in

Women's Studies. I am a

Certified Nursing Assistant,

Certified Medical Assistant,

Health Unit Coordinator and

a trained Licensed Practical

Nurse. I have worked various

jobs in the medical industry,

including being a Medical As-

sistant at RMA of Pembroke

Pines and also working as a

Licensed Practical Nurse at

the Miami Jewish Systems

Nursing Home. I live for fami-

ly and service; it truly is the

passion that drives my pur-

pose. Recently, I have volun-

teered at Project Hospitality

in NY to feed the poor, built a

Playground for Orphans in

Coconut Creek and walked a

5K for Breast Cancer Aware-

ness. I have served as an

active participant for the Al-

ternative Breaks Program, as

a graduate of the Academy of

Leaders program and have

had many leadership roles at

SGA-BBC. I am extremely

grateful for the opportunity to

represent the entire student

body as the new President of

SGA, and I intend to make

BBC a more student-

centered campus. I look for-

ward to serving as your SGA

President.

Jingyi Weng, Maria Pulido-Velosa, Yuanqiang Pan, Allhan Mejia, Faedrah Mahotiere, Camille Williams, and Jazmin Felix

pose for a picture as newly elected SGA-BBC council members.

2

On March 31, 2014, the rib-

bon was cut to honor the

opening of the newly reno-

vated Wolfe University Cen-

ter, and students flocked to

become acquainted with

their new “home away from

home” on campus. As a

special surprise, FIU Presi-

dent emeritus Gregory B.

Wolfe and his wife Mary

Ann, along with President

Rosenberg, opened the

ceremony with some words

of gratitude to the students,

faculty and staff. The $4.2

million construction process

that took about a year to

complete, was funded en-

tirely by SGA-BBC. The

new Wolfe Center show-

cases an all-glass entrance,

shiny linoleum floors, differ-

ent printed carpeting and

balconies — contributing to

a variety of comfortable stu-

dent lounges with designat-

ed study areas as well. In fall

of 2014, a beautiful panther

statue will be placed outside

the front of the building, to

act as a center of panther

pride for the students of

BBC.

My name is

Camille Williams and I am your new Stu-dent Government Associ-ation vice-president at the Biscayne Bay Cam-pus. I'll be receiving my Bachelor's in Journalism in a year, and after that, I

intend to go to Graduate School to get my Masters in education, English, or both. I aspire to be a high school teacher. I also volunteer for Strong Women, Strong Girls, an organization that allows me to mentor young women so that they de-velop positive relation-

ships and have a support system in their lives. The leadership qualities are inherent, but my skills have yet to be honed. I intend to learn a lot this year through being the vice-president of SGA, and I also intend to con-tribute everything I can to make BBC a better

President Mark B. Rosenberg, President emeritus Gregory B. Wolfe

and his wife Mary Ann share in the ceremonial ribbon cutting of the

newly renovated Wolfe University Center.

3

On March 26,

2014, CNN’s

Candy Crowley

visited the Bis-

cayne Bay

Campus to

present her

lecture about

“Reporting

From All 50

States and

From All

Around the

World.” She captivated the audi-

ence by providing the details be-

hind some of her most famous

interviews. The main focus of her

lecture, however, was about the

rise of the internets role in the

world of journalism. While Crow-

ley agreed that the internet is a

great tool for

journalists to

use, she also

thinks that hard

news gets de-

lineated and

infused with

opinions

among the

many blogs

and smaller

news sites that

are a product

of the internet. She emphasized

how crucial it is for young journal-

ists today to have strong inter-

viewing and reporting skills.

On April 7, 2014,

Mayim Bialik, the

famed star from

“The Big Bang

Theory” and the

’90s sitcom

“Blossom,” visit-

ed the Biscayne

Bay Campus to

present her lec-

ture about “The

Big Bang Theo-

ry: Making Sci-

ence Cool and Fun.” Bialik sur-

prised the audience when she

told them that her career as be-

ing is actress is fun, but it’s also

just a way to pay the bills. Bialik’s

real passion, however, is sci-

ence, and she gets excited to

promote Science, Technology,

Engineering and Math (STEM) to

young students around the coun-

try. During her lecture, Bialik also

touched upon the subject of her

strong Jew-

ish faith, as

well as the

ideas of at-

tachment

parenting

and the

practice of

midwifery,

both of

which are

causes she

supports.

Finally, Bialik briefly talked about

her new book entitled “Mayim's

Vegan Table: More than 100

Great-Tasting and Healthy Reci-

pes from My Family to Yours.”

4

SGA would like to recognize Pan Fan as our Freshman Intern of the Month. Pan has been an

intern since the fall semester and has consistently showed exceptional leadership and dedication

since day one. Pan has quickly displayed his leadership ability by being appointed in the Cabinet

as the Marketing Coordinator this spring semester. So far in his role, he has assisted with SGA

initiatives such as the second road to success campaign and SGA lecture series. He is also one of

three interns to fully complete the mini Academy of Leaders portion of the Freshman Internship

Program, which is coordinated by Sabrena Okeefe, Assistant Director of the Center for Leader-

ship and Service. Congratulations Pan Fan on a job well done.

The second event included our

Graduate Student Appreciation

Week (GSAW) Celebration.

GSAW celebrates the contributions, impact and value of graduate and professional students

on campuses throughout the United States between March 31st-April 4th. This event was

held on April 3rd, 2014 in the newly renovated Panther Square.

The Graduate Student Program-

ming Committee wrapped up the

semester with two amazing events:

The first event included a collabo-

ration with Friends of Wine where

Graduate students were invited to

come out and enjoy a presentation

by Wine of Brazil Ambassador,

Daniel Marquez who also led the

students through a series of tast-

ings.

The purpose of the High Achievers Awards program is to honor

and congratulate our dedicated and committed students, faculty,

staff, or FIU organization for their outstanding achievement in

academics and/or their faithful contribution to the community.

Freshman Maria Pulido-Velosa

Junior Vinson Pressley

Senior Liudmila Katsiak

Senior Edward Taylor

Graduate Jiang Yanyan

Faculty Sanjay Dhawan

This year’s winners include:

5

SGA-BBC would like to thank

SGA President Fu Zhou-Wu

and Vice-President Richard

Azimov, as well as the entire

2013-2014 council for being

such a dependable team.

Through the hard work and

dedication of every council

member, many projects were

both completed and com-

menced. Some of this council’s

work includes: establishing the

2nd Road to Success cam-

paign, which accumulated over

2,000 signatures; adding a

panther card recharge station

in AC1 closer to the bus stop;

hosting three successful lec-

tures in the spring semester;

hosting a successful Town Hall

Meeting with FIU

President Rosen-

berg to discuss the

Royal Caribbean-

FIU partnership, as

well as the student

housing situation;

painting panther

paws on the road

leading into FIU-

BBC to generate

panther pride; and

presenting the 5-

Year Vision Plan

meeting to introduce

major changes and

additions that will take place at

BBC over the next few years.

Justice Joshua Carrasco, At-Large Senator Oluwatobi Adekoya, Senate Speaker Kerline

Honore and Comptroller Olivia Dehaarte are graduating this spring semester.

President Fu Zhou-Wu, Vice-President Richard Azimov and Housing Senator Emerald Nes-

bitt are graduating this summer semester. SGA-BBC recognizes all of these members for

their devotion and hard work.