Developing Global Citizens

Dr. Vilma Fuentes welcomes two Santa Fe College Latina employees, Olga Asimbaya from the Records office and Ismelda Alvarez from the Admissions office. In advance of Hispanic Heritage Month the two discuss their own history and the paths they took to earn their college degrees.  In addition, both Ismelda and Olga discuss why they have chosen to give back in service to students and encourage Spanish speakers of all ages interested in attending college to register for Sigue Soñando, an admissions event hosted by Spanish-speaking SF employees to cover the application process, various entry points to college based on language proficiency and how to overcome common barriers.

Dr. Vilma Fuentes sits down with Santa Fe College chemistry professor, Dr. Alpheus Mautjana to discuss growing up in the era of apartheid in a Bantustan, his educational journey in South African and the United States. Dr. Mautjana discloses how he makes strides to not only connect with his students at Santa Fe College, but also how he continues to connect and provide educational resources to families currently living in South Africa. 

In this episode Dr. Vilma Fuentes speaks with visiting Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Mona Ahmed Ashour about her experiences in the United States over the past five months. Dr. Ashour discusses some of the fears and misconceptions she faced when she first arrived in the United States. And provides a comparison and contrast of cultural and religious factors influencing education and career advancement for women in the United States and Egypt.  In addition, Dr. Ashour provides insight into the differences she sees in educational spaces and classrooms in the two countries and shares some of the methods she has learned and hopes to take back to her classrooms in Egypt. 

Join us as we hear from higher education officials from Grenada, St. Lucia and Suriname as we compare and contrast their community colleges and technical vocational education systems and compare them to U.S. community colleges. Our guests participated in a six week Community College Administrator Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by Florida State University and Santa Fe College.

Inspired by the story of William Wilberforce,  leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. after watching the movie "Amazing Grace", Santa Fe College Professor Richard Tovar embarks upon a quest to make an impact on the world and live for something greater than himself.  More than a decade later, Tovar sits down to talk about the global problem of human trafficking and recalls the early days of founding the non-profit organization FIGHT (Fight Injustice and Global Human Trafficking).  His conversation touches upon how human trafficking while a global problem, has very real local impacts and discusses some of the societal stereotypes, cultural acceptance and legal frameworks..On January 20, 2022 the Santa Fe College Institute of Public Safety is hosting Human Trafficking Awareness Training (HTAT) aimed at training federal, state, local, tribal or military law enforcement officers or agents.  The training will cover current indicators for human trafficking, an overview of Federal statutes and applicable state law related to trafficking. The training is oriented with case studies, videos, and student-centered learning activities tailored to your community's unique challenges, followed by a panel discussion with state, local, & federal subject matter experts. Law enforcement officials should register for the event here. To listen to other podcasts from Santa Fe College visit www.sfcollege.edu/listen. Florida ranks third in most human trafficking cases, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, behind only California and Texas.  To learn more about efforts you can take to increase awareness or learn more about human trafficking in North Central Florida visit the North Central Florida Human Trafficking Task Force Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/NCFHTTF/. Additional resources: U.S. Department of State: Fact Sheet - Understanding Human Trafficking U.S. Department of State: 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report

Professor of Organizational Management, Mark House and Santa Fe College student Sergio Mejia talk about the Global Solutions Project, a virtual student exchange program providing students the ability to practice cross cultural collaboration and learn about each other's culture as they engage in the process of design thinking and discuss global issues in their communities. Sergio reflects on his experiences as a member of this bi-lingual, bi-national, bi-cultural team and how SF students joined students from Jordan using video conference and online chat to create a unified idea, business plan and pitch.  

Professor of anthropology Ann Laffey talks about her travel to Bolivia. She discusses the hospitality of a Quechuan village, mishaps in communication between non-native Spanish speakers, an encounter with a traditional spiritual healer and the profound impact of being present in Bolivia during the electoral process. 

On the 20 year anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, host Vilma Fuentes sat down with current and former Santa Fe College students to ask them an important question - in what ways they had grown as global citizens in the last 20 years. Drawing on their common experience of enrolling at SF after serving in the military, alums David Durkee '14 and Angela Gregory '99, and current students Malia Rose and Brian Sullivan had a conversation about their life experiences, from combat to the classroom, and some of the ways the world has changed and the ways their exposure to different cultures has transformed them.

Santa Fe College Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs, Vilma Fuentes, talks with Humanities and Foreign Languages Chair, Bill Stephenson and Professor Kerri Blumenthal,   as they examine the challenges and adaptations required to internationalize virtual classrooms, as a result of Dr. Blumenthal's unexpected and extended Covid-19 quarantine in Peru. 

Vilma Fuentes talks with Jessica Cassidy, SF's International Education coordinator; Dr. Anna Ageicheva, Dean of Humanities at the National University Poltava Polytechnic in Ukraine; Dr. Regiani Zacarias, professor of English language at the Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Dr. Marcela Murillo, Spanish and Humanities professor at SF about the innovations that have transpired on international activities in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Santa Fe College assistant professor of Humanities, Dr. Sarah Cervone, talks about her work as a graduate student in Morocco and how she translates what she has learned in Africa to students here at SF.

In 2008, Brazil passed legislation to help promote inclusive education. Now, Santa Fe College has partnered with the State University of Sao Paulo to bring several inclusive projects to light. Join our host Dr. Vilma Fuentes as she speaks with Klaus and Eliza Schlünzen, two visiting professors from Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), as well as two of SF’s own instructional designers, Andy Sheppard and Jason Frank. Learn all about how Legos are leading educational innovation and what inclusivity really means in Brazil.

What compels a person to travel across oceans and continents to enroll at Santa Fe College? Join our host Vilma Fuentes as she speaks with four students from Mali, Sweden, Venezuela and Syria whose lives have now intersected. You’ll be surprised which countries have free college but zero accommodations for disabilities, and just how far some students are willing to go to find a writing tutor. Try to guess which American phrases sound the silliest to students from abroad as you wrap your heart around all there is to love about small talk in the grocery store.

Hold onto your heart. In this episode, host Vilma Fuentes speaks with Lila Guertin, cardiovascular technology professor at SF, one month after the passing of Lila's mother Azza Guertin. Azza, a biology professor, was "Santa Fe-mous" for her glamour, humor, and commitment to science education at the college. Hear Lila share the international love story between her Baghdad-born mother and her New England-raised father, their world travels, curious culinary experiences, and what it was like to have teaching as a core family value. Take note: four of Azza's children and four of her grandchildren have now graduated from Santa Fe College.

Join our host Vilma Fuentes as she speaks with SF's American Sign Language professor Michelle Freas about all the ways Santa Fe College has expanded its deaf culture curriculum to include the global community. With grant funding from the U.S. Department of State, she and other faculty members have been able to travel and form partnerships with deaf communities in Brazil, Ukraine and Palestine. Did you know our SF students collaborated with students in Qalqilya, a city in the West Bank, to create a virtual online dictionary of sign language? Listen here to learn more, or read our transcripts.

Dr. Jackson Sasser launched his term as the fourth president of Santa Fe College in the shadow of 9/11. The event literally affected his travel during his interview process. Over the 17 years that followed, he developed many programs to internationalize the college. In this interview with host Vilma Fuentes, he discusses these programs and his motivation in taking a community college in a global direction.

The American Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in the United States in 1990, creating a culture shift for many Americans. Ukraine has no such legislation in place, and life for Ukrainians with disabilities can be very limited. In this episode of Developing Global Citizens, your host Vilma Fuentes speaks with Santa Fe College AVP Dug Jones, alumna Natalia Prior and current bachelor's program student Sith Waters, all of whom traveled to the Ukraine to explore accessibility and inclusive education.

Twenty-five years after the end of Apartheid, 16 delegates from South Africa visited Santa Fe College and shared their rich experiences of living, and educating, in a young democracy. Their visit was part of the Community College Administrator Program (CCAP) funded by the United States Department of State. In this episode of Developing Global Citizens, our host Vilma Fuentes discusses the progress and challenges of the last 25 years with special guests:Azwinndini Christopher Tshivashe, Principal of the Limpopo Region CETBhekifini Sibusiso Vincent Mthethwa, Principal of the Kwazulu-Natal Region CETNoluthando Balfour, Principal of King Hintsa TVET College in Gauteng ProvinceWith high unemployment numbers, particularly for blacks, the role of education in South Africa is critical. These three college administrators are entrenched in the work of bringing about social change with the power of education, and they share their stories here.

Between the fall of 2017 and spring of 2018, Dan Rodkin, our Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, traveled to both Ukraine and Russia. His first trip was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State as part of its Community College Administrator program. The second trip was a Fulbright opportunity. He left with the missions of opening up the world for more students and of talking about the importance of academic integrity. He returned with a rich collection of impressions and experiences, which he shares in this episode with our host, Dr. Vilma Fuentes.

Did you know Santa Fe College has an AZA accredited Teaching Zoo? Our host Dr. Vilme Fuentes speaks with the zoo director, Jonathan Miot and Jade Salamone, the zoo's conservation education curator. They share stories about species they have helped rescue from habitat loss and near total extinction and tips for being a more sustainable global citizen.

This fall, Santa Fe College welcomes the American Ballet Theatre and the New York Dance Project to its Fine Arts Hall for an historic event. For the first time since 1974, a U.S. audience will experience “Carmen Suite” performed with a live orchestra. The ballet was choreographed by the legendary Alberto Alonso, who after leaving Cuba came to teach at Santa Fe College. Produced by his wife, Sonia Calero-Alonso, the performance will showcase the talents of principal dancers Sarah Lane and Corey Stearns.In this episode, Vilma speaks with Alora Haynes, chair of the Fine Arts Department at SF. When the Alonsos defected from Cuba, it was Alora who took them into her home and then brought them to the college where they would teach for over a decade. She shares her intimate knowledge of Carmen Suite and the significance of it coming back to the stage.