FIU Magazine - Winter 2014 - FIU's Ebola Fighter

Magazine WINTER 2014-15 VOLUME 31

FIU’s Ebola Fighter Dr. Aileen Marty in West Africa

Homecoming highlight Nearly 7,000 students rocked to the beats of internationally renowned DJ Tiesto and American rapper TY$ at the annual Panthermonium concert that kicked off Homecoming week 2014.

Photo by Eduardo Merille ’97, MBA ’00

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On the COVER FIU’S EBOLA FIGHTER

Dr. Aileen Marty answers the call of the World Health Organization to work in West Africa. ​ over photo: Dr. Aileen Marty speaks with C an official of Nigeria’s Port Health Services.

global citizens in action

FIU receives national recognition for its Peace Corps volunteer program

A sanctuary grows MMC’s newly revived nature preserve is an educational and recreational oasis.

The Asia connection FIU builds a variety of educational ties to the world’s most populous continent.

Veterans-to-nurses

Armed services personnel earn their BSN in a special FIU program.

WINTER 2014-15

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magazine.fiu.edu Online-only stories, videos and photos

Desmond Meade JD ’14 overcame homelessness, drug addiction and incarceration before taking on his current battle: a fight for his own civil rights.

Nature walk Take a video tour of MMC’s Nature Preserve, a hidden oasis in the middle of a bustling urban center.

East to West Observing American students enrolled in FIU’s China program helped Chinese national Margaret Fan ’10, MS ’12 make a smooth transition to the U.S.

Washington, D.C., rising stars Kate Yglesias Houghton ’06, pictured left, and Peter Smith ’06, JD ’09 are making a difference at the national level.

Science made simple Professor Marcus Cooke explains: What exactly are free radicals and why should they scare us?

Whenever you see the play button, visit magazine.fiu.edu to get more with our online videos and photo galleries •

Watch novelist and FIU Creative Writing Professor John Dufresne talk about the process of crafting a story.

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See where in the world FIU alumni have volunteered with the Peace Corps.

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Read about the FIU Young Alumni Council, a new group that aims to serve FIU.​

Be featured on Facebook! Send us a photo of yourself reading FIU Magazine - at home, at work or on vacation - and we will share it on our Facebook page! Email photos to magazine@fiu.edu.

from the Editor Three years ago, FIU Marketing Director Eduardo Merille and I were brainstorming ways to elevate FIU on the national stage.

We know FIU is a special, transformative place full of amazing people. How then, with limited resources, could we show the rest of the world what we see?

We settled on the ideal showcase: a TEDxFIU event featuring alumni, faculty and students contributing to the global community of ideas. At the event and online, we could invite the world to experience the intellectual, scientific and artistic richness that define FIU. Approved and officially licensed by the national TEDx organization, we set about identifying and coaching our speakers—no notes and no podium allowed on stage!—and soon had a buzz going. To help us along, we sought out a few more FIU folks who truly “get it”—such as our emcee Alberto Padron, who immediately recognized the potential of our idea. He’s been the face of TEDxFIU for three years, perfectly framing and shaping the event so it is an unforgettable experience for the audience. And Communication Arts staff member Char Eberley likewise came on board, eagerly participating in countless rehearsals and sharing her public speaking expertise and genuine support. We are grateful to Alberto and Char and the many others who fell in love with this idea worth spreading.

Convinced TEDxFIU was the perfect platform, we still wondered: Would anyone else? Well, three years later the numbers are proof positive of the impact: hundreds of speaker applicants, tickets sold out in a matter of hours, packed audiences, more than 300,000 views of our TEDxFIU videos.

And then there are the speakers themselves – alumni, students and professors who have bared their souls, made us re-examine our thinking, inspired us to try again and dazzled us with their innovation.

The theme for TEDxFIU 2014, held on Nov. 13, was “Fearless Journey,” a motif that is the essence of the event itself. Our speakers shared their stories of adversity: watching beloved people die, losing it all, crashing at 200 miles per hour (literally) on the way to the finish line. And they shared their stories of triumph: transforming the lives of children, building homes in Haiti, giving back autonomy to aging adults. I invite you to be inspired by the Fearless Journey by watching their talks on the TEDx channel at go.fiu.edu/ tedxfiu2014.

Until next time,

Deborah O’Neil MA ’09 P.S. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook: facebook.com/FIUMagazine

FIU Magazine Editorial Advisory Board

FIU President

Heather Bermudez ’06, MS ’12 Marketing Manager South Beach Wine & Food Festival

FIU Board of Trustees

Mark B. Rosenberg

Gisela Casines ’73 Associate Dean College of Arts and Sciences Lori-Ann Cox Director of Alumni Advocacy​ University Advancement Paul Dodson Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Amy Ellis Assistant Director of PR and Marketing Office of Engagement Stephen Fain Professor Emeritus College of Education

Albert Maury ’96, ’02 (Chair) Michael M. Adler (Vice chair) Sukrit Agrawal Cesar L. Alvarez Jose J. Armas Jorge L. Arrizurieta Robert T. Barlick, Jr. Alexis Calatayud Marcelo Claure Mayi de la Vega ’81 Gerald C. Grant Jr. ’78, MBA ’89 Claudia Puig Kathleen Wilson

FIU MAGAZINE Division of External Relations

Lazaro Gonzalez Marketing and Branding Strategist Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management

Sandra B. Gonzalez-Levy Senior Vice President

Terry Witherell

Vice President Susan Jay Assistant Vice President of Development Karen Cochrane Director and Assistant Dean for Medical News and Communications Advancement Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

Deborah O’Neil MA ’09

Nicole Kaufman Editor Assistant Vice President for Engagement Andra Parrish Liwag Campaign Communications Director University Advancement Larry Lunsford Vice President for Student Affairs University Ombudsman Maureen Pelham Director of Clinical Trials Division of Research

Alexandra Pecharich Managing Editor

Aileen Solá-Trautmann Art Director

Doug Garland ’10

Senior Multimedia Producer

Angeline Evans

Digital Media Manager

Mary Sudasassi Director of Public Relations Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences Duane Wiles Executive Director Alumni Association

Writers

Karen-Janine Cohen Robyn Nissim Jamie Giller

Magazine Intern

Mark Williams Chair, Department of Health Policy and Management Stempel College of Public Health

Ray Boyle

Photographers

Branaman Photography Eduardo Merille ’97, MBA ’00 Charles Trainor Jr.

Copyright 2014, Florida International University. FIU Magazine is published by the Florida International University Division of External Relations and distributed free of charge to alumni, faculty and friends of the university. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. To reach us, call 305-348-7235.

Alumni Office: Write to Office of Alumni Relations at MMC MARC 510, Miami, FL 33199 or call 305-348-3334 or toll free at 800-FIU-ALUM. Visit fiualumni.com.

Change of Address: Please send updated address information to FIU Office of Alumni Relations, MARC 510, Miami, FL, 33199 or by email to alumni@fiu.edu.

Letters to the Editor: FIU Magazine welcomes letters to the editor regarding magazine content. Send your letters via e-mail to alumni@fiu.edu, by fax to 305-348-3247 or mail to FIU Magazine, Division of External Relations, MMC PC 515, Miami, FL, 33199.

Letters may be edited for length and clarity. All letters should include the writer’s full name and daytime phone number.

Alumni, please include your degree and year of graduation.

14212_12/14 FIU Magazine is printed on 30% PCW recycled paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council

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Ninth-graders do the honors at the opening of a public high school at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus. President Mark B. Rosenberg, center, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, left, in blue tie, joined the community to celebrate MAST@FIU, a magnet school in the tradition of the highly respected Maritime and Science Technology Academy on Key Biscayne.

Photo by Kristen M. Rubio ’11

President’s Corner Mark B. Rosenberg Dear FIU Family: We are celebrating a historic victory! On Nov. 4, 2014, the

students, alumni, faculty and staff. We want to thank our Board of Trustees, the FIU Foundation Board of Directors, the President’s Council and Alumni Association, our donors and Friends of Higher Education, led by FIU alumnus Eddie Hondal ’88, MS ’00.

With our community behind us, we are ready to move forward.

voters of Miami-Dade County gave us a mandate to expand and

There is much work to do. FIU will continue to work with the

create more and better educational opportunities and jobs for the

County and the Fair to find a new, suitable location for the Fair.

residents of Miami-Dade County. More than 315,000 voters said

We are committed to working with our elected officials in

“YES” to FIU!

Tallahassee to identify the funds to pay for the relocation. We

Thank you! ¡Gracias! Mesi!

want a win-win-win solution. No county dollars will be used, and

We would not be at this point without the support of the county

we will not raise tuition to pay for this effort!

commission, Mayor Carlos Gimenez and his staff.

We are very thankful to the voters of our community and our 4 | WINTER 2014-15

This expansion will have an annual recurring economic impact of $541 million for our community above the almost $9 billion FIU

On The Prowl

already provides. It will bring about the creation of jobs and a $900 million investment in construction.

The consensus in our community is that world-class cities deserve world-class universities. With your continued support, we are building a world-class university!

Sincerely,

Mark B. Rosenberg President

Be WorldsAhead

As FIU prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding—with a year of festivities and commemorations in 2015—FIU Magazine invites you to share your stories and photos. Go to fiu.edu/memories to tell us in which course you met your spouse, where on campus you hung out with friends, the name of the professor who changed your life and anything else that left an impression on you as a student. We’d love to hear from you.

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On The Prowl

FIU honored for public service commitment In recognition of the university’s commitment to community engagement and public service, FIU has received five Florida Campus Compact awards, including one for the university’s partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

At an October awards ceremony in Jacksonville, the university received the 2014 Engaged Campus Award. The award recognizes universities that improve community life and educate students for civil and social responsibility.

Part of a national network of colleges and universities, Florida

Treasure: A Triumph in Stone

Campus Compact works to integrate service with higher education.

FIU also received a second place award for CampusCommunity Partnerships in recognition of ACCESS, the university’s collaboration with the school district created in 2010 to improve high school success, increase graduation rates and promote college readiness. One of the signature initiatives of ACCESS, The Education Effect, has dramatically improved student outcomes

The Wolfsonian-FIU’s bust of Venus, the goddess of victory, commemorates a decisive triumph by Italy over Austro-Hungarian and German forces during a battle of World War I. “Victory of Piave,”

by Arrigo Minerbi (Italian, 1881–1960), celebrates Italy’s success

at Miami Northwestern Senior High School in Liberty City. The

at the site of the Piave River in 1918, the same year in which the

partnership recently launched at a second school, Booker T.

sculpture was completed. Part of the Wolfsonian-FIU’s permanent

Washington Senior High School in Overtown.

Mitchell Wolfson Jr. Collection, the work is on view through April 5 in

The recent awards follow on the heels of FIU’s recognition

by Washington Monthly​in August as a top community

the museum’s exhibition “Myth and Machine: The First World War in Visual Culture.” ​

engaged university.

College of Medicine TV show spotlights health and medicine The FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine (HWCOM) has launched a local health television show, For Your Health. The half-hour program features HWCOM doctors and other FIU experts sharing their knowledge on timely and important health and medical issues.

The first edition aired Oct. 19 on WPLG-TV, Channel 10. Subsequent programs are planned on a quarterly basis.

Watch the show at medicine.fiu.edu/foryourhealth

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Study examines sex, drugs and disease in the Dominican Republic

On The Prowl

By Robyn Nissim In the Caribbean, the tourism industry is a major boost to the economy. Away from the stresses of everyday life, tourists lose their inhibitions and open their wallets, looking for an experience that truly takes them away. But FIU medical anthropologist Mark Padilla in the School of International and Public Affairs has found that what happens on the island is not staying on the island—and that has far-ranging consequences for the entire region.

Currently the Caribbean has the highest rates of HIV infection outside of subSaharan Africa. Nearly 75 percent of those cases occur in two countries: Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which comprise the island of Hispaniola. The Caribbean has also become a primary crossroad for cocaine and heroin from South America, a $5 billion a year trade directly responsible for the majority of street-level drugs sold in the United States and Europe.

At the same time, the Dominican Republic has become the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean, attracting more than six million visitors every year.

Padilla is embarking on a new, multiyear study that aims to identify and address the different factors—such as the sex trade, high rates of illicit drug use and a boom in tourism– that are colliding and contributing to a major regional health crisis.

The prevalence of HIV among sex workers and homosexual and bisexual men in the Caribbean indicates that research, policies and prevention programs may be missing a key demographic. “It’s wrong to look at one issue in isolation,” Padilla noted.

“We are committed to reducing the impact of the dual epidemics of both HIV and drugs in the Caribbean in order to protect the health of both the Caribbean populations as well as Americans who are in close contact with the Caribbean,” Padilla said. “Our project would develop the first national intervention to reduce the impact of both HIV and drug abuse in Dominican tourism zones,” he said, “and may serve as a model for the entire Caribbean region.”

The project has the support of a diverse group, including a Community Advisory Board comprised of community members, leaders of the Dominican government, tourism and business leaders, as well as Florida congresswomen Ileana RosLehtinen and Frederica Wilson. As Padilla explained, what is happening hundreds of miles away is actually very close to home.

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On The Prowl

Federal grants awarded to Latin America and Africa programs FIU has received three prestigious grants to fund programs and student scholarships in areas of strategic importance for the United States: Latin America and Africa.

“The U.S. Department of Education awards these grants in an effort to help our nation enhance its leadership role in the world and foster global engagement,” said FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg. “These awards solidify our position as a solutions center that addresses themes of global consequence.”

A total of $2.3 million dollars in Title VI grants were awarded to two centers in FIU’s School of International and Public Affiars.

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The Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowship grant will provide more than $1.2 million in funding for undergraduate and graduate students in the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) for area studies and language training in

FIU students carry less debt and have fewer loan defaults

Portuguese, Haitian Creole and Quechua, including study abroad programs. LACC received the largest award allocation for Latin America.

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teacher training programs in partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Miami Dade College.

FIU students owe less when they graduate than do their peers nationally. And they are more likely to pay off their loans.

Even as fewer students nationwide are

The National Research Center grant will provide LACC with $900,000 to expand its

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The Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language grant will provide $187,000 to expand an undergraduate certificate in African studies within the African and African Diaspora Studies program.

defaulting on their federal student loans, FIU students are ahead of the curve, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The official three-year federal loan default rate for FIU

Frost museum director named The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum has announced the

dropped to 8.9 percent. The official national

appointment of a new director. Jordana Pomeroy takes over in 2015 after

default rate stands at 13.7 percent.

having served as executive director of the Louisiana State University

The average debt carried by FIU’s class of

Museum of Art. There since 2012, she doubled museum membership,

2013 was $17,893 versus an average $25,550

overhauled exhibition programming, wrote a new strategic plan, galvanized staff and

for public university graduates nationally. That

built active participation and support from the community. Previously she served as chief

places FIU at No. 13 among institutions whose

curator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

students graduate with the least debt load,

Pomeroy replaces Carol Damian, who stepped down after six years as director and

according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2015

chief curator. Damian’s tenure was distinguished by a commitment to the museum’s

edition of Best Colleges. FIU is the top Florida

educational mission. She and her staff enhanced scholarly research and interdisciplinary

school in this category.

collaborations by offering the museum as a local and global center of knowledge

“Seventy percent of FIU students receive some form of financial aid, and less than half

and culture. Under her watch, the Frost has curated dozens of ground-breaking and celebrated exhibitions. Damian will remain a professor of art and art history.

take on student loans. We are pleased to be recognized for the work that has gone into

College of Law alumnus Alexander Martini, 28,

keeping tuition affordable and higher education

earned the highest score among more than 2,800 who

accessible in South Florida,” said FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg.

took the Florida bar examination in July. The 2014 grad enrolled in evening classes at FIU while he worked full time as an Internal Revenue Service agent. As the top scorer, he was invited by Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labraga to speak during the induction ceremony of new

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attorneys in the chambers of the Florida Supreme Court.

#1

On The Prowl

FIU partners with Florida Keys sanctuary

FIU has been named a major partner of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

under an agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NOAA is committing $1.3 million in funding, and FIU’s School of Environment, Arts and Society will support sanctuary operations with scientific, technical, educational and administrative personnel.

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects 2,900 square nautical miles of critical marine habitat. FIU scientists have been conducting research and monitoring activities in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary since its inception in 1990. Past projects in the Florida Keys include the monitoring of seagrass, water quality and coral reefs as part of the Water Quality Protection Program, as well as numerous experiments that have helped the world understand the factors necessary for a healthy environment.

Today, FIU also features the Medina Aquarius Program, which is dedicated to the study and preservation of marine ecosystems worldwide. Off the coast of Key Largo, this program houses the FIU Aquarius Reef Base, the world’s only undersea research laboratory.

Wine Professor earns President’s Council Worlds Ahead Award Beloved wine professor Patrick “Chip” Cassidy ’75 is the recipient of the 2014 President’s Council Worlds Ahead Award, the most prestigious prize conferred at the annual Faculty Convocation and Awards Ceremony in October.

“I’ve been at FIU for a long time and to win this award is a great honor,” Cassidy said. “Becoming a teacher was the most wonderful thing to ever happen to me. People always tell me that this hospitality school is one of the best, and I’m proud to say that.”

In a 40-year career at the university, Cassidy has a record of monumental accomplishments. Back in the 1990s he approached the country’s largest wine and spirits distributors to invest in a proposed beverage management center at BBC. Today the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center is the region’s premier educational and product-testing facility, unlike any other in the country. And to support the center all those years ago, Cassidy organized a one-day fundraiser that has since grown into the nationally recognized weeklong South Beach Wine & Food Festival. That annual event offers students unprecedented practical learning experience, has brought millions in scholarship money back to the school and attracts thousands to Miami Beach. Most recently he developed a wine certificate program for industry professionals.

Finalists for the award were Professor Thomas Breslin from the Department of Politics and International Relations and Professor Ediberto Roman from the College of Law. WINTER 2014-15

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Stemming the spread of

Ebola FIU’s Dr. Aileen Marty is uniquely qualified to help keep the virus from crossing borders in Africa.

By Alexandra Pecharich

Fighting Ebola is all in a day’s

diseases known to man, starting with the

had been manipulating small pox and plague

oldest: leprosy.

to make them more dangerous.”

An uncommon education

deployments of biological agents such as

work for Dr. Aileen Marty. The 25-year Navy veteran, now

“Who wants to go work with a disease that

anthrax and viral hemorrhagic fevers. “I wound

with the Herbert

is that disfiguring?” Marty, 57, recalls asking

up with top-secret clearances and learned

Wertheim College

herself while stationed at the former Armed

of unbelievably nasty ideas that people had

of Medicine, didn’t

Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington,

accomplished all over the place,” she says.

think twice when

D.C. “I was scared. It’s contagious.”

“And among those very, very frightening

the World Health

Dr. Aileen Marty

Later she would hear of other countries’

Still, she took the assignment, inspired

Organization (WHO)

largely by the man who would become an

called her last fall

early mentor.

and again in January to help lead containment efforts in West Africa.

“This is a situation that I happen to have

“It was his humanity. It was his own

diseases was Ebola.”

On the ground in West Africa The WHO has several times called upon

willingness to sacrifice himself,” Marty says

Marty to take assignments around the world,

of renowned microbiologist Dr. Wayne

and in August she began a month-long stay in

a tremendous amount of knowledge about

Meyers’ profound influence upon her. “He led

Nigeria, then-little affected by Ebola but very

and experience with,” she explains, “and it’s

by example.”

near the line of fire.

impossible, if I’m asked, for me to say, ‘no.’”

What drives Marty is a commitment that

Meyers, 90, doesn’t recall any

The outbreak—naturally occurring and not

squeamishness on Marty’s part. But he

the product of terrorism—was first reported in

comes from deep within. Born in Cuba

does remember a hard-working young

March of 2014. It has resulted in the infections

and raised in the United States since the

physician who joined him on trips to leper

of more than 20,700 people in West Africa and,

age of 4, she credits her grandfather a

colonies, helped him hunt down African

as of early January, more than 8,200 known

powerful influence.

monkeys with non-lethal darts so as to test

deaths, mainly in Sierra Leone, Liberia

them as possible carriers and co-wrote

and Guinea.

“He said it so many times, what a generous country this was and how we owed them a debt,” Marty remembers. “And I felt the weight of that.”

And so she enlisted after medical school and embarked on a career that would lead

scientific papers with him.

“It did not surprise me,” he says of his one-

In Nigeria Marty worked daily from dawn until almost midnight in challenging conditions

time protégé’s successful efforts in the Ebola

to train screeners, doctors, nurses and others

battle. “Typical of Aileen Marty.”

to recognize potentially infected persons

Her education under Meyers was followed

entering the country via airport, seaport

to specializations in infectious diseases,

by another fascinating chapter. In the

disaster medicine and the science, medical

mid-1990s, Marty was called to the State

processes and secured needed equipment

response and policy related to weapons of

Department. “The Soviet Union had broken

and resources. That work has paid off. As of

mass destruction. Her unique trajectory began

down, and some of their defectors had been

early January, Nigeria remained Ebola-free. But

with her studying some of the most loathsome

debriefed,” she recalls. “We learned how they

the epidemic still rages, and ending it remains a

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or border crossing. She also developed

worldwide concern. The WHO estimates that

complete with GPS capability, on those who

$1 billion will be spent before the contagion

have been in high-risk contact with infected

is eradicated.

individuals but show no symptoms (and, therefore, are not contagious) and follow them

A potential game-changer Upon Marty’s return home in the fall, media

electronically?

Already 700 health care workers have

flocked to hear her story. In one interview, she

contracted the disease in West Africa,

happened to mention the lack of precaution

where treating patients is expensive and

surrounding her re-entry into the United

cumbersome. The gear workers don includes

States: The very types of questions she had

an average of $100 of protective wear, such

the project, the staff keeps track of patients’

taught screeners in Nigeria to ask of incoming

as a coverall suit and gloves, that must be

data. Those with “bad” numbers can be

visitors were never put to her by customs or

discarded after a maximum-two-hour use. And

identified for additional interventions while the

other officials. “Nobody had asked, nobody

the gear’s bulkiness—which impedes health

others continue with prescribed treatments

had cared,” Marty recalls.

care workers’ hearing, vision and manual

without the burden of examination.​

Within days, Marty’s comment loomed prescient. A Liberian national who had worked with Ebola patients entered the United States

dexterity—does not allow for a patientcentered experience.

Suddenly, Marty had a 21st-century

A humanitarian to the core In January Marty flew back to Africa, this

via Washington, D.C., before continuing on to

solution to bring to the table. Existing

time to Equatorial Guinea, a country free from

Texas. Following the disease’s typical 21-day

technology—in the form of a $120 fitness

the virus (not to be confused with Guinea,

incubation period, the man became sick and

bracelet—could provide myriad benefits:

one of the worst hit). There she again led

sought treatment. He eventually died but not

“We will get better information on the

screening efforts, this time in anticipation

before two nurses who cared for him in Dallas

patients, more accurate data with less risk

of the Africa Cup of Nations, a soccer

had contracted the illness.

to health care workers, which leads to better

tournament typically attended by thousands.

Unworried for herself but nonetheless taking responsibility for her health, Marty

management of the patients and better survival of everybody.”

And already she is planning to tread again where many rightly fear: as early as March Marty hopes to return, this time to observe

had been monitoring her vital signs with a

Marty introduced her idea in a CNN

fitness bracelet, the kind that records body

online op-ed and soon was contacted by

the pilot program in Sierra Leone. Her

temperature and pulse and is available at

an organization interested in running a pilot

tirelessness remains but a reflection of who

sporting goods stores. A fever would indicate

program. That trial launched in January with

she is.

a potential problem, although that information

100 patients at a treatment center in Sierra

alone is not enough to prove Ebola.

Leone. Each was outfitted with an electronic

that we do things that make a difference,”

bracelet that records body temperature,

she says, “that we can feel at the end of

we use such monitors on Ebola patients

oxygen saturation and other vitals. Via a free

the day, or even at the end of our lives, that

in the wards? Why not slap a bracelet,

app and Internet connected specifically for

we’ve made a real difference.” n

And then it occurred to her: Why don’t

“I think it’s really important to make sure

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iller

By Jamie G

Jachary Murray ’09 braves a Mongolian winter to fetch his daily wat er.

igh ith h s w wing e s po llo ’10 a fo m. eld olombi al foru fi f e u h C g S n n i i il nie ents tab pha Ste ol stud cture a o sch uest le g her

View a world map of FIU Peace Corp volunteers at magazine.fiu.edu

Shala Me indel ‘08 p lays with Miani Orp children a hanage in t Casa Sorsogon City, Phili ppines.

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F

rom Morocco to the Philippines, FIU graduates have served the Peace Corps in more than 60 countries around the world, earning the university

national distinction by the world’s preeminent international service organization.

In 2014, the Peace Corps recognized FIU as a leader among Hispanic-Serving Institutions for producing volunteers. To date, nearly 200 FIU alumni have served, and 11 are currently abroad.

Meet Peace Corps’ Lillian Carter Award winner Helene Dudley MS ’90 at go.fiu.edu/Helene-Dudley​

Since May 1998, FIU has partnered with Peace Corps for a Master’s International Program and has recently added an undergraduate track, Peace Corps Prep, focused on international relations and community service. The program builds on the Global Learning for Global Citizenship initiative and meets the growing demand for diverse applicants for the service organization as it continues to tackle the most pressing needs of people across the globe.

“I believe that what makes FIU students so appealing is this focus that the entire school has on international business, service and environmental issues,” said Steve Hunsicker, Peace Corps recruiter. “The school really lives up to the ‘international’ in its name.”

But it’s not the academic training alone that makes FIU alumni desirable candidates, says Hunsicker. The organization also values the school’s growing minority population, representing the rich, multicultural backgrounds of Americans. Hunsicker says that the success of volunteers often relies on being able to relate to those in other countries, regardless of backgrounds. This global perspective, he says, is paramount.

A centerpiece of undergraduate education at FIU, the Global Learning for Global Citizenship initiative launched in 2011, requires all students to take global learning courses. The goal is to provide students with opportunities to explore real-world problems, learn global perspectives and ultimately be globally engaged.

Hilary Landorf, director of Global Learning, knows the value of a global perspective and Peace Corps first hand, as a returned Peace Corps volunteer who served in Morocco from 1979-1981.

“I truly believe in Peace Corps. For me, and for everyone I’ve ever met, it’s a life transforming experience,” she said. “When I came back two years later, I felt very confident in my language and teaching skills. I went back to school, got a master’s degree and also got certified in ESOL.” Landorf is now spearheading FIU’s Peace Corps Prep Program, which consists of four global learning courses, four semesters of foreign language, a minimum number of approved global co-curricular activities and a written selfreflection. The unique combination of undergraduate coursework and community service focuses on international development. FIU is the only school in Florida and the largest of the 24 schools that offer the program.

At the graduate level, Professor Krish Jayachandran, who heads the Master’s International Program, sees the implications of international service through the research students conduct. While the majority of the thesis topics are based on local research in the U.S., Peace Corps students focus on global environmental and social issues.

The MIP allows students to earn up to six credits for their Peace Corps service and upon completion of the classes, awards a master’s of science degree in environmental studies with a concentration in biological management. n Turn the page to meet a few FIU volunteers

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COLOMBIA Stephanie Sheffield ’10, is serving in Santa Marta, Colombia, a coastal city flanked by beautiful beaches and the Sierra Nevada mountains. She arrived in August of last year for her assignment, Teaching English for Livelihoods (TEFL) project.

Zachary

ngolia

right)- Mo r a (f 9 ’0 y a rr Mu

The TEFL project supports the training of Colombian primary and secondary teachers in improving their English as a foreign language teaching abilities through co-teaching, co-

MONGOLIA

language, Mongolian. In between teaching,

planning, workshops and one-on-one tutoring

Zachary Murray ’09, currently serving in

Murray works with local Mongolian teachers,

with volunteers. Sheffield works with both

Mongolia, wakes up in the middle of the night

instructing them on lesson planning and other

English and non-English teachers to improve

to restart the fire in his ger, a portable tent that

formal skills.

their spoken and written English skills.

Mongolian nomads still use. The tent provides

Murray thrives on the variety and scope of

Ultimately, the project allows for the

little warmth from the frigid temperatures.

work that comes with his main assignment.

development of bilingual community

Buckets of water and eggs freeze overnight.

He’s worked with two other Peace Corps

activities, giving young Colombians the tools

He can’t remember the last time he ate a

volunteers to establish a basketball leadership

to become competitive workers in different

green vegetable.

camp, and provides dental education and

“I eat carrots every day,” Murray said,

care for the local youth.

speaking to FIU Magazine from Mongolia.

“I spearhead projects, go to businesses

The Miami-born and raised alumnus

to ask for funding, and organize camps,” he

has learned to adjust to his new lifestyle in

said. Doing it all in another language adds to

Uliastai, the rural city accessible by a 30-hour

his skill set.

bus ride from the capital, Ulaanbaatar. With

“The point was not for me to do the

snow on the ground seven months out of the

basketball leadership camp alone, but to train

year, his daily attire consists of heavy layers of

the Mongolians to do it so they can continue

clothes and boots.

doing it yearly and make it sustainable,”

“Living in a developing country really pushes you,” Murray said. “When things don’t

he said.

As for what’s next for the world traveler,

work out or go to plan, it teaches you a lot. It

he’s contemplating a variety of options,

even teaches you how many days you can go

including the Foreign Service, returning to

without showering.”

Japan, or maybe heading to graduate school

The religious studies graduate got bit by the travel bug after a visit to Israel so he moved to Japan after graduation and became an English teacher in Kagoshima. He then moved

in the U.S. Ultimately, Murray knows that Peace Corps has shaped him into a different person.

“I like my mind always being open and

to Kyoto, learned Japanese and worked

discovering new things,” he said. “You learn

in guest houses in Tokyo before carefully

a lot about yourself while you’re doing Peace

planning his next step – joining Peace Corps.

Corps – you not only give, but you receive a

He was assigned to teach English in Mongolia. That involved adding a third 14 | WINTER 2014-15

lot, too.”

el ’08 Shala Meind

- Philippines

fields, especially the hospitality and tourism

to practice English with her and other Peace

industry. Sheffield feels Santa Marta

Corps volunteers.

has the potential to be a major tourist

“Spanglish is probably my favorite,” she

destination if the community becomes

said. “It has grown to be pretty big, and

more proficient in English.

we’ve been able to help a lot of college

“FIU helped me become a great teacher,”

students and young professionals increase

said Sheffield, who majored in Spanish and

their English proficiency and become more

minored in education. “In turn, it has helped

comfortable speaking English. Many of

me become an awesome Peace Corps

them are studying fields that would benefit

volunteer. I feel that I have a lot of tools to

greatly from more English speakers such

offer the English teachers here in Colombia

as hospitality, tourism and international

that I learned from FIU.”

relations.”

In addition to teaching English, Sheffield serves as a resource, educating community members on nutrition, wellness and sexual

Sheffield plans to return to the States for graduate school after her service ends.

“I love education,” she said. “I want to

health. She hosts girls’ camps, English

see what I can do on a global scale to help

clubs for local children and bilingual forums.

people get quality education.”

Stephanie

Sheffield‘

10 (far l eft)- C

olombia

She also organizes a weekly event called “Spanglish” where university students come

the Philippines Three years after returning from the Philippines, Shala Meindel ’08, still sends packages of supplies to the orphanage she served in while in Peace Corps.

Her FIU studies in criminal justice and social work led to an assignment at an urban juvenile detention facility on the Southeast

drove her to apply for grants to supply

she was still tasked with teaching basic

the center with books. Slowly, she began

reading skills, she continued to address

teaching basic literacy.

individual needs.

The children helped Meindel learn Tagalog,

Meindel won a grant through the

the local language, to communicate better

Appropriate Water Project to pay for a water

with them and understand what their lives

pump for the village, eliminating the one –

were like on the streets.

and-a-half mile walk previously needed to

“They have to figure out how to cope with

get water. Running water improved personal hygiene and agriculture in the community.

Asian island. The locked-down unit had no

being on the streets their whole lives and

windows, air conditioning or beds. It housed

experiencing trauma,” she said. “You try to

dozens of children ranging from three to 18

teach them things that they would use in

carries on her mission to help at risk youth,

years old. Many had been charged with petty

real life. The kids in the U.S. do drugs to get

now serving as an outreach worker in

crimes such as theft, while others were there

high. Over there, they get high to cover the

San Diego.

for murder. Meindel saw only children in

hunger pains. As a result, they get addicted

need and was focused on ministering to their

at really young ages.”

critical needs: literacy, life skills, and drug and alcohol intervention.

“It was an amazing experience,” Meindel

About a year into her time at the facility, she was transferred to a new site – a

Since returning to the U.S., Meindel

“I still love the work, but it’s different,” she admits. “Adjustment was, phew, I don’t think I’ll ever adjust. I’ve been gone three years and I still miss it every day.”

n

Catholic orphanage for boys in a rural

recalled. Many of the children had never

village. Her new assignment was working

gone to school and supplies like crayons and

with teenagers who had fallen so far behind

paper were foreign. Such limited resources

in school they could no longer attend. While WINTER 2014-15

| 15

The reviva

Nature P

Campus-wide effort transforms MMC

By Douglas

Take a virtual stroll through the Nature Preserve at magazine.fiu.edu

T

ake a look at an aerial image from South Beach to the Everglades and consider the terrain. Notice the

emerald in the sand.

More than 6,000 years old, the 16-acre

In a relatively small space, the preserve

shades of gray, orange and blue of the roads,

preserve at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus

contains three distinct ecosystems – tropical

roofs and lakes. Attempting to find patches

has never been more alive. Boasting about

hardwood hammocks, freshwater wetlands

of undeveloped land in this city can be a

10,000 visitors a year, it is home to more than

and one of the most endangered habitats in

daunting task. In fact, less than 3 percent

450 plant and animal species, including many

the world, the pine rocklands.

of Miami’s native pine rockland habitat still

that are endangered. It serves as a living

As rare and valuable as these ecosystems

remains. But within this chaotic tapestry

laboratory for more than 25 different FIU

are, if they are not functional and accessible,

of concrete and palms that we call home,

courses, as well as an outdoor classroom/

their true value is lost. For many years the

the FIU Nature Preserve stands out like an

park for local schoolchildren and residents.

future of this urban oasis was uncertain, but

16 | WINTER 2014-15

al of FIU’s

Preserve

C’s 16-acre habitat into a green oasis Garland ’10

years, Parker and other volunteers protected who has championed the revitalization of the

the valuable land from development. Yet

a recent revival effort, initiated in 2010, has

preserve for the last four years as its official

during that time, the Nature Preserve was

solidified the preserve’s place on an already-

caretaker.

more an unrealized vision than valued

dense university campus.

In 1978, Professor John Parker, along

space. Relying only on student volunteers

“Pre-2010, when there were narrow trails,

with other faculty members, founded the

to maintain it proved insufficient, and

no lighting, no signage and no staff - this was

FIU Nature Preserve with the idea that if

eventually the preserve developed its

a pretty scary place to be. People didn’t like

this small piece of land was left untouched,

share of problems: stray dogs, garbage,

coming out here because it was not safe,”

it would eventually develop into a thriving

overgrown trails, evasive exotic species and

says program coordinator for the Office of

ecosystem for plants, wildlife and, most

the occasional homeless resident.

University Sustainability Ryan Vogel ’12, ’14,

importantly, students. For more than 30

Continues WINTER 2014-15

| 17

Continued With every new building constructed at FIU, the preserve seemed to move closer

Photo by Gretchen Scharnagl into an endless source of creative inspiration.

FIU faculty and staff who contributed to the

“It is often hard to justify with dollar

Ignite campaign and through annual benefit

to the center of MMC. As the campus grew

values,” she said, “but I would argue the

concerts. In addition, Vogel created the FIU

around it, the preserve seemed doomed for

dollar value is priceless.”

Urban Forestry Internship Program through

development. Much like the rest of Miami,

In 2010, Vogel, along with faculty, staff and

support from the Florida Forest Service, the

land at FIU is a scarce commodity. The urban

more than 2,500 student volunteers, began

FIU Department of Biological Sciences and

forest could no longer be ignored. A case for

bringing renewed purpose to the preserve.

the FIU Department of Earth & Environment.

protecting it had to be made. To many, it was

The process of clearing out invasive species

Paid interns made the revitalization possible.

obvious that the busier university life became,

and garbage, relocating stray dogs and setting

Soon a once-hidden lake at the north end

the more the community needed just what the

up proper signage took four years of manual

was revealed to the public, and today it has

Nature Preserve has to offer.

labor and smart spending during an era of

become a popular backdrop for the hosting

statewide budget cuts.

of martial arts and yoga classes. Heinen says,

“Preserving natural spaces is like preserving art,”said art Professor Gretchen Scharnagl,

Professor Joel Heinen of the Department of

“For all those years many people worked very

who has been using the preserve to inspire

Earth and Environment has served as faculty

hard at it without an overall plan. It’s difficult

student artwork for many years. Her students

advisor for the preserve since 2005 and

to get things done when relying only on

have spent countless hours under its canopy

raised $100,000 for an endowment through

volunteers. But now that all of that has been

with pencil and sketchbook in hand, tapping

the support of the Martin Foundation, from

done, I think it’s very, very good.”

18 | WINTER 2014-15

Down and dirty: The brothers of Theta Chi fraternity​, above, help plant new trees in the preserve. At left, the preserve attracts joggers, artists and student volunteers.

Photo by Nick Vera ’13 Perhaps the most significant addition to

out there day and night. We see people

paths and trim trees through his landscaping

the preserve is the half-mile jogging path

engaged with this space in a way that we had

company, True Tree Service.

and exercise equipment that now border

always dreamed of. ”

it. The popular workout circuit was created

In its new role, the preserve is more

Connie Amram, a staff member in the Office of External Relations, makes use of

with leftover construction funds from the

accessible than ever to the local community.

the preserve’s walking trail several nights a

preserve’s newest next-door neighbor,

It has become a training facility for many

week. “I love walking out from my office at

Parkview Student Housing.

university sports teams and local high

the end of the day and getting some exercise

From the outset of the massive

school track teams, as well as hosted

around the perimeter. The rubber walking trail

construction project that became Parkview,

environmental education workshops,

is great on my knees, and it feels safe to walk

Director for Facilities Planning Jim Wassenaar

concerts, yoga and martial arts classes and

at night with all of the additional lighting.”

understood the danger of building so close to

even several 5k runs.

the preserve.

Ian Wogan ’10 practiced yoga in the preserve

Today, the FIU Nature Preserve’s beauty doesn’t just come from the lush vegetation

“When the president selected the building

as a student. “It’s much better than doing yoga

and musical wildlife, it comes from its

site for Parkview, it created some concern as

in a classroom. The fresh air, the trees—it really

functionality and accessibility. No longer is

to how the two would coexist,” Wassenaar

is nice to have all this on an urban campus.”

it only a place to study or admire from afar,

says. “The reality is, the preserve has become

Since graduating, Wogan has been able to give

but a place for the community to enjoy and

a part of the university fabric. We see joggers

back to the preserve, donating time to clear

utilize daily.

n

WINTER 2014-15

| 19

20 | WINTER 2014-15

By Alexandra Pecharich | Illustration by Lazslo Kubinyi

FIU’s relationship with the world’s largest continent continues to grow. As the center of global economic power shifts and as interest in understanding other cultures expands on both sides of the Pacific, FIU has stepped up to create new opportunities for learning.

From study abroad programs to places such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan and India to FIU’s engineering programs in South Florida in support of Chinese graduate students and a well-established hospitality and tourism program in Tianjin, China, FIU has found numerous and innovative ways to meet the needs of U.S. and Asian students.

The dragon has served as a symbol of

FIU at th e forefront

held the upper-management positions at those

Chinese culture for thousands of years. Its

In May at its annual commencement

sometimes-menacing appearance does not

ceremonies, the FIU program that offers

to progressively change, especially as the

detract from its positive connotations: power,

China’s first and only in-country foreign

hospitality and tourism infrastructure continues

strength and good luck.

companies—something Chinese leaders want

dual-enrollment degree celebrated its tenth

to grow. (By most accounts, at least one new

Yet for all the mythic creature’s bravado—

anniversary. To date, more than 1,000 Chinese

hotel opens in China every day.)

Chinese parents, in a traditionally patriarchal

citizens have earned FIU degrees in hospitality

“That’s how they saw this partnership,

society, have long pushed their sons to work

and tourism management on their home turf,

as a strategic mechanism to help prepare

toward dragon status—it has for most of

and another 1,100 are currently enrolled.

graduates to be qualified to go in the

history contented itself at home, not looking

“There’s no other arrangement in China

hospitality and tourism businesses and

to venture beyond the borders of its

like what we have,” says Mike Hampton,

eventually assume the senior executive

native land.

dean of FIU’s Miami-based Chaplin School of

roles,” Hampton says. “They would like to see

Hospitality and Tourism Management, which

Chinese nationals serving in key leadership

decades, China has steadily and methodically

oversees the China program. “The student

roles within Chinese businesses.”

grown into a global economic power. Its

goes all four years in China and earns an

meteoric ascent on the world stage belies its

FIU degree.”

That is, until now. In just a few short

past as a once fiercely inward-looking nation.

The program grew out of China’s need for

Today, graduates of FIU’s China program— known formally as the Marriott Tianjin China Program in recognition of a major donor to

Today it actively seeks to engage with the

high-level executives who understand how

FIU’s program in South Florida—hold top jobs

outside, both at home and abroad. And to

to do business in the global marketplace,

with multinational corporations such as Hilton

help keep its momentum going, the dragon

Hampton explains. While Chinese citizens staff

Worldwide and Royal Caribbean. Many work

has come knocking on the door

the country’s international hotel, resort and

in China, while others—including some of the

of the Panther.

restaurant chains, foreigners generally have

more than 250 who followed up their ChinaContinues WINTER 2014-15

| 21

Continued based FIU degrees with a master’s from the

York University and Dublin University are

program at Qingdao University in the eastern

Chaplin School in Miami—are involved with the

among the many that have visited FIU’s

province of Shandong follows in the footsteps of

development of huge Chinese resorts in places

TUC campus.

the original hospitality program. Students will earn

such as the Bahamas and Brazil.

Says Peng Lu, FIU’s associate provost for international programs, who travels

An ausp ici ous b eginning

regularly between Miami and China, “In China,

degrees from FIU after completing four years’ of education in their own backyard.

“There is an interest in trading with Latin

FIU is very famous and one of the reasons is

America,” explains Pascal Becel, chair of FIU’s

came about as Chinese leaders recognized

because people can actually

Department of Modern Languages in the School

a need to fast track hospitality and tourism

see FIU in Tianjin.”

of International and Public Affairs, “so training

The unprecedented collaboration with FIU

speakers of the language is an important goal to

education. A meeting between officials at Tianjin University of Commerce (TUC) and FIU’s Jinlin Zhao, a hospitality professor who

M ore to come The experience in Tianjin has inspired a long

achieve this.”

In fact, the move is just that: a first step toward

was born in China, led to talks, and the Chaplin

list of potential FIU-China projects—nearly

FIU’s introducing an international business

School’s strong reputation—other universities

four dozen, more than with any other country.

program at Qingdao University in a few years. Lu

vied for the opportunity that FIU eventually

These include 11 active, albeit currently small,

confirms that China’s interest in the Spanish has

won—sealed the deal.

programs in the College of Engineering that

everything to do with China’s interest in building

Soon after, in 2003, FIU set about working

offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees in South

up commerce with Latin America.

with local authorities. TUC would build, at its

Florida to Chinese students. Many of the other

own expense, a dedicated campus based on

proposed projects live only on paper in the form

Lu says. Just as many Americans are rushing to

specifications provided by FIU. Classrooms

of agreements and likely will take several more

learn Mandarin, so the Chinese are scrambling to

and labs, for example, would mirror their

years to materialize. And several are cooking.

acquire the language of the next region in which

Currently on the front burner: four more

they want to do business. With English already

counterparts in Miami, and the curriculum—

“Spanish is the hottest language in China,”

all courses are presented in English—would

hospitality management programs in, as

follow precisely the one offered stateside.

Hampton calls them, “strategic cities,” among

Currently about 60 students per year

“Everything is taught the same way,”

them Beijing and Shanghai. These programs,

are majoring in Spanish at Qingdao. FIU’s

Hampton says. “It’s not just the language.

Hampton says, promise to be bigger than

involvement should raise the quality of studies

It’s all the learning outcomes, all the support

the original in Tianjin simply by virtue of their

and is expected to make a big impact on the

services. We have our career services support,

location in travel-and-tourism hotspots and

verbal proficiency of graduates—Chinese

our counseling support, everything.”

in their ability to attract and educate far

programs have traditionally placed greater

greater numbers.

attention on writing skills—who will take jobs as

And the same graduation requirements that apply to undergraduates in Miami—among

“We have the opportunity to be the driving

conquered, Spanish represents the new horizon.

translators and interpreters, Becel says. In Miami,

them a passing grade in English composition—

force in hospitality and tourism education in

she and colleagues will train some of the current

have to be met by Chinese students in

China,” Hampton says. “We have experience

Qingdao faculty in methods and approaches

compliance with the standards of the U.S.

now that has given us unique insight into how

commonly employed in the U.S., emphasizing, for

organization (the Commission on Colleges

to work closely with government and industry

example, the importance of student interaction

of the Southern Association of Colleges and

to help achieve the goals that they’ve set for

in the classroom over lecture-style teaching. As

Schools, or SACS) that accredits FIU.

their growth and development.”

well, she will hire additional Spanish instructors, likely from within the large South Florida talent

Today the program remains unique in China.

Representatives from foreign universities

Ch ines e trade

pool, to travel to China and teach the upper-

have regularly come to TUC to observe and

Just as learning to navigate the hospitality

division courses that constitute the FIU portion of

learn from FIU in preparation for their own

business within the context of western

the degree.

collaborations with Chinese universities,

practices remains critical to China, so also

although no other has established an in-

does learning to do business in general. Once

very exciting,” says Becel, who anticipates that

country dual-degree program. Administrators

again, FIU has been tapped. Slated to start

cohorts will swell to 100 annually within a

from the University of Central Florida, New

as early as this fall, FIU’s Spanish-language

few years.

22 | WINTER 2014-15

“It’s been a very challenging project, also

Continues

FIU hosts several study abroad programs in

Ch ina, with students visiting Beijing,

Shanghai and Hong Kong, among other cities.

FIU’s in-country Marriott Tianjin China Program offers local students degrees in hospitality and tourism management, an arrangement soon to be replicated in other cities. FIU has plans to run a Spanish-language program at Quindao University in the province of Shandong, and an internship program in Macau for Miami-based hospitality and tourism majors provides professional training in one of the world’s largest gaming centers.

Japan The Asian Studies Program sponsors the Southern Japan Seminar and publishes the Japan Studies Review.

In addition students can apply to spend a semester or full year in Japan through collaborative programs established with Kanda University of International Studies, Kansai Gaidai University and Ritsumeikan University.

The Honors College takes students on a 28-day

study abroad trip to Cam bod ia and Vi etnam to learn about culture and

history, with an emphasis on U.S. involvement in Indochinese conflicts and how the U.S.-Vietnam War has influenced foreign policy. And for 11 days the group teaches English to aspiring

Read the story of FIU China program alumna Margaret Fan at magazine.fiu.edu

teachers in Cambodia.

The Honors College takes students on a four-

week study abroad trip to I n d on esia to explore the effects of globalization on religious life. Time is divided between the islands of Java and Bali, and students explore temples as well as meet with community activists and representatives of NGOs. FIU’s Department of Religious Studies has a formal arrangement with the Jain Vishwa Bharati University in northwestern

I n d ia, to which several students

travel annually to participate in a summer program. Faculty also travel there to conduct research.

WINTER 2014-15

| 23

Continued Good for South Flori da FIU’s expanding presence in China can be

visiting and trading in Latin America for 10 years now to learn the language and culture,”

among those promoting the windmills.

“By 2040, it is estimated that the Chinese

attributed to both its academic strength and its

he says. “I think we at FIU can create a hub

economy will dwarf the U.S. economy,” he

location in a city regarded as the gateway to

here for training, understanding, knowledge.”

states. “We must prepare our students and

Latin America.

And, Mora adds, that education must extend

community for this eventuality.

Chinese officials, Lu explains, would like to conduct their business, particularly with Central American officials, in Miami, with its

in both directions: “Latin Americans want to understand and do business in China.”

Clearly, any efforts made by FIU have the

“Our academic collaborations and partnerships with Chinese universities and students will enable us to deepen

established commercial infrastructure that

potential to contribute profoundly to South

cooperation and mutual understanding as

includes firms specializing in international law

Florida and the state. As FIU’s backyard

well as economic well-being with China.”

and a world-class port. Where trust in support

becomes the nation’s center for Sino-Latin

of direct business relations between Latin

American commerce, the local economy will

being is real, Lu says. With 1.4 billion

America and China generally does not yet

benefit from new port fees and the expansion

people, China is the world’s largest

exist and past dealings have not always gone

of services and related industries that support

education market, and one with needs the

well, Lu continues, South Florida makes an

such trade.

country internally does not have the capacity

The two-way street of economic well-

to meet. “China’s education supply is not

“Our academ ic co llaborati ons an d partn ers h i ps with Ch in es e uni versiti es an d stu dents wi ll enab le us to deepen co operati on an d mutual un derstan d ing as well as econom ic wellb eing.”

—Presi dent Mark B. Ros enb erg attractive meeting ground to carry out trade

Helping the Chinese advance their

enough and cannot be improved soon,” he says. That’s where universities like FIU come in.

And so Lu encourages FIU to continue to lead, which includes fostering exchange and mutual understanding in a variety of ways.

To that end, FIU is introducing students in South Florida to Chinese culture and language through several study abroad

negotiations and sign distribution agreements.

hospitality and tourism goals already is having

programs for undergraduates and one for

Having FIU as an academic partner provides a

a positive trickle across effect, Hampton says.

international MBA students that is run by

“Because so many of the companies that

the College of Business. And recently Lu

base from which China can move forward, Lu says.

are branding the resorts and operations being

has been tasked with establishing

developed by Chinese investment groups are

programming through FIU’s University

example, would like to maintain an office at

based right here in South Florida”—among

College, which offers noncredit courses and

FIU out of which to operate when in town

them locally headquartered, alumnus-owned

professional training to the community, and

for meetings with business and government

Kerzner International, which is working with

he is working with the Miami Dade College-

leaders. And FIU and Miami-Dade County

a Chinese conglomerate to build the $1.5

based Confucius Institute, which offers

officials together have considered doing the

billion Atlantis Resort in the coastal city of

similar outreach.

same at Qingdao’s campus. Lu believes FIU

Sanya—“revenues come back to those brand

could possibly facilitate greater interaction

companies,” Hampton explains. “The residual

among all parties by organizing conferences

impact of that permeates many, many levels

“FIU’s approach to China is aligned with

that would touch upon both academic

to benefit everybody. It’s good for the state of

our broader strategy to provide high-quality

research and trade issues.

Florida. It’s good for America.”

learning and research opportunities to our

Officials in the port city of Qingdao, for

Frank Mora, director of FIU’s Latin American & Caribbean Center, agrees that the university has a role to play. “There is a

students and faculty,” he says, “and to use Good for FIU “When the winds of change blow,” goes an

significant demand on the part of Chinese

old Chinese proverb, “some build walls, while

businesspeople and others who have been

others build windmills.” President Rosenberg is

24 | WINTER 2014-15

The activity vis-à-vis China simply reflects what FIU is all about, Rosenberg says.

win-win partnerships to find solutions to community problems.”

In the end, both the dragon and the Panther come out ahead. n

Interest in Asian studies at FIU explodes Student demand drives growth in Asian Studies degrees

By Deborah O’Neil MA ‘09

G

rowing up in Miami far from any cultural

studies. Additionally, the program publishes

connection to Asia, Jennifer Garcia

an academic journal, holds academic

’09, MA ’11 became enchanted with the hit

conferences and workshops and organizes

the Japanese consulate, museums and federal

Japanese anime TV series Sailor Moon. At the

community events.

agencies. After earning her master’s degree,

time, she didn’t really know anything about

“If you look at our enrollment, the trajectory

this special genre of animation, nor was she

is upward,” Heine says. “Student demand is

familiar with Japan’s vibrant pop culture.

really there to study this part of the world.”

Instead she was drawn to the series’ heroine, Usagi Tsukino, and its portrayal of magical

The growth of Asian Studies has been supported with more than $2 million in grants

develop a Ph.D. program.

Graduates of the program are working in

Garcia spent two years living and working in Japan as an English teacher.

Asian Studies is intentionally interdisciplinary with 16 faculty members in language studies, literature, sociology, religion,

girls who use their powers to

art, history and international

thwart evil.

relations. Around 400 students

She wondered if there were

a year are enrolled in Japanese

other cartoons like Sailor Moon.

and Chinese language courses

Eventually, Garcia found a store

at FIU. Heine, who founded the

in Miami that sold original and

program and has guided its

unedited Japanese anime comic

growth, is among the nation’s

books and videos.

most respected scholars of

That extracurricular interest

Japanese Buddhism.

grew, and by the time Garcia

During her time at FIU, Garcia

was ready for college she

was awarded scholarships that

knew she wanted to study

allowed her to study abroad

Japan. She found all she wanted and much more in

Jennifer Garcia ’09, MA ’11 on her journey to the top of Mt. Fuji

in Japan twice, solidifying her decision to live there in the

FIU’s Asian Studies Program within the

from the Japan Foundation, the National

future. The transition into Japanese culture,

College of Arts & Sciences.

Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S.

a topic that is the subject of many books by

Department of Education and the Freeman

American travelers, was a smooth one, Garcia

courses and opportunities in place,” said

Foundation. A $275,000, four-year grant from

said, because of her coursework at FIU.

Garcia, who eventually earned bachelor’s

the Japan Foundation has enabled FIU to

and master’s degrees. “Scholarships and

fund faculty research and travel in Asia, the

years, studied the tea ceremony, learned

study abroad allowed me to indulge in

expansion of the Asian studies collection at

about race relations and pop culture in

these passions.”

the library, workshops and guest speakers.

Japan. Garcia found that her knowledge

The grant also helps support the Japan

of Japanese culture opened doors to new

degree programs for the same reasons.

Studies Review, a peer-reviewed academic

experiences and friendships.

Students often fall into two camps, Director

journal published jointly by Asian Studies and

Steve Heine says: they want to study Japan

the Southern Japan Seminar.

“It has a good diversity of professors and

Many come to FIU’s popular Asian Studies

for its culture or they want to study China for

She had taken Japanese language for four

“It all came full circle,” she said. “Studying in-depth gave me a well-rounded education

Introduced in 2002, Asian Studies today

and then when I went there, I lived it from

enrolls 150 undergraduates, plus 200 minors

the Japanese perspective as well. People

and certificate students. The seven-year-old

say to me, ‘Wow, you’ve gone way out

do both by offering interdisciplinary degrees,

master’s degree program has 25 students and

there living in the Far East and experiencing

study abroad, internship opportunities

is graduating eight to 10 students each year.

something not many Americans have.’

and comprehensive foreign language

Heine has recently put forth a proposal to

It’s made me very grateful that the Asian

its economy.

The Asian Studies Program allows them to

Studies program is there.”

n

WINTER 2014-15

| 25

Th e Past m eets th e pres ent Study Abroad students see how Asian artistic traditions influence contemporary art

By Karen-Janine Cohen FIU students with an interest in Asian art

while also offering unprecedented access to

U.S. exhibits. For nine studying art and art

the studios and homes of working artists.

history, however, meeting the famous Chinese

personally knows many of China’s artists,

extraordinary.

the group was warmly welcomed by such luminaries as performance artist He Yunchang,

film,” said senior fine arts major Nathalie

multimedia artist Wang Qingsong, woodcut

Alfonso of the inherent distance in classroom

artist Yang Hongwei and painter Lan Zhenghui.

studies. “Being here,” she said of her trip to

Students also gained a first-hand awareness

China, “you are not in a film anymore. You are

of the key role tradition plays in contemporary

backstage.”

Chinese art. Xu’s work, for example, invites

Last summer the program introduced

people to consider how China can grapple

students to contemporary art through the

with its own history, both ancient and modern,

lens of history. It focused on current work

while moving forward.

while familiarizing students with the ancient

26 | WINTER 2014-15

Led by FIU Professor Lidu Yi, who

artist in person during a study abroad was “Seeing work in class is like watching a

Artist Xu Bing in his studio

included trips to cultural and historic sites

know the work of Xu Bing through books or

“How do we face this history? If we throw

traditions and age-old cultural sensibilities

away everything, we have nothing,” said

that still exert influence today. Excursions

Xu, who, in 1999, was named a MacArthur

Fellow during a time when he lived primarily in the United States. The last centuries, he noted, were all about industrialization and westernization. Little attention was paid to preserving China’s own tradition. “We need to explore the essential values that come out of this tradition.”

Talking to the students, Xu drew a direct line from traditional landscapes to the inspiration for his work. Reverence for nature permeates the work of the early masters, he explained, and landscape painting—along with calligraphy, which is integral to China’s visual art—are seen as the rich apex of Chinese art. They embody the traditional virtues of Chinese culture.

To understand those influences, students visited museums to see the celebrated landscape paintings from the Song and Ming

Above, a visit to the Yungang Grottoes Research Institute; at left, the Yungang Grottoes in China’s Shanxi Province feature stone carvings from the fifth and sixth centuries.

dynasties as well as early Chinese bronzes.

Along with art, students also visited historical sites, among them the archaeological digs in Xian that hold the Terracotta Warriors, the buried army of China’s first emperor dating to about 200 B.C. A high point of the trip was two days spent at the Yungang Grottoes, a religious shrine and World Heritage site near Datong. Buddhas as tall as 50 feet and exuberant stone carvings of thousands of smaller Buddhas dating from the fifth century attest to the arrival and influence of Buddhism in China. There, the students toured a section undergoing restoration and still off limits to the general public. Zhang Zhuo, director of the Yungang Grottoes Research Institute, sponsored the group’s two-night stay and held a seminar on the challenge of conserving the sacred site while also welcoming visitors.

The easy flow between China’s past and present is striking, said Roderick Smith ’14.

“They still have ties to their history, all the way from pre-history and pre-colonial times up until

which makes it unique and at the same time, somehow familiar.”

Expanding students’ vision and their understanding of Chinese culture was a goal of the trip, Yi said. “I want this to be a transformative experience in many ways,” she told the students upon their arrival. “I saw the world, and the experience of learning different cultures transformed me. I want you to have the same experience, to transform, in spirit, in reality, in your future. You can feel it. You can touch it. It resonates inside you.”

Senior art history major JeanCarlos

Xu Bing: Writing Between Heaven and Earth February 14, 2015-May 24, 2015 The Frost Art Museum follows up recent exhibits by two other Chinese artists—the worldrenowned Simon Ma and Wang Qingsong— with a show by MacArthur Fellowship-winner Xu Bing. The exhibitions together formed the museum’s 2014-2015 series “3 Giants of Chinese Contemporary Art.” Visitors are invited to view Xu Bing’s printmaking and installation pieces, which showcase writing as image.

The museum, at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus, is open Tuesday-Sunday, and

Fernandez quickly understood Yi’s message.

admission is free. For more information, go to

“Looking out the window when you are on a

theFrost.fiu.edu.

bus or a taxi adds another layer to what you know about art,” he said. “It’s the art, the food, the culture, all of it together.”

n

Karen-Janine Cohen is a fine arts student with a focus in drawing and ceramics, and expects to graduate this year with a BFA.

now,” he said. “Chinese art has its own rules and vernacular, based on its own tradition, WINTER 2014-15

| 27

New cohort “deploys” in January The next group of nursing students will benefit from the lessons learned in year one.

David Hildreth, an academic coach for the program, said it was good to have a small first group because they were able to make changes along the way with little effect on the Photo by Charles Trainor Jr., Miami Herald

students. “It was a test flight,” he says.

Like most new programs, the VBSN program has had a few issues: for example,

Battle-tested veterans join ranks of FIU nurses ​ achelor’s program offers medics and others with B medical backgrounds credit for time served

figuring out the pacing of classes and scheduling classes around students’ required reservist training. (Three of the first four students were reservists; half of the incoming cohort are reservists.)

Jalicia Johnson, who has worked as a lab technician in the Army Reserve for seven years, is among those just beginning the

By Ray Boyle

I

combat-tested students who’ve seen things

program. She believes her rigorous physical

n his 20-year Army career, Victor

that traditional nursing students have not.

and mental training, coupled with her

Arvizu was used to making split-

“They’re a different group.”

experience in the lab, have prepared her for a

second, life-saving decisions on the

Most come in having already mastered

career in nursing.

battlefield. More recently, the retired Army

fundamental procedures like administering

medic had to learn to let his professors run

IVs and conducting patient assessments,

done in a timely manner,” she said. “I’ve

the show.

and they are comfortable working in

learned how to lead.”

Arvizu literally came straight from

“I’ve learned prioritization, getting things

extremely stressful environments. Arvizu, for

Afghanistan to FIU. He is one of four

example, dealt regularly with trauma injuries

students who graduated in December

such as gaping wounds, collapsed lungs

from FIU’s Veterans Bachelor of Science

and compound fractures.

A life of serving others Students like Arvizu and Johnson see the program as a step toward their dream

in Nursing (VBSN) degree program, which

Their test at FIU is to learn to leave to

careers and a way to continue contributing

debuted in January 2014 and a year later

the doctors what were once commonplace

to society. Arvizu plans to eventually get his

welcomed a new cohort of 30.

tasks for them – for example, stitching up

master’s degree as a certified registered nurse

patients and inserting chest tubes to inflate

anesthetist, and Johnson hopes to become a

the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing

a collapsed lung – and instead learn to work

commissioned nurse in the Army Reserve.

& Health Sciences program graduates

with pediatric and geriatric patients and

veterans with some type of medical

focus on post-operative care, activities they

given to society once and want to do so again

background in just one year instead of the

never encountered in the military.

is something that FIU values and supports.

Supported by a $1.3 million federal grant,

standard 18 months. Their real-world knowhow takes the place of basic courses.

That can be difficult at times, Arvizu

The fact that service members have already

“What we’re doing here impacts their

admits, but “you have to keep an open

income levels, whether or not they’re

mind,” he says. “Try to take what the

employed, and it can make huge differences

extraordinary life experiences,” says VBSN

professors tell you before what you would

in their personal lives,” Olenick says. “These

Program Director Maria Olenick of the

already know. Learn from them.”

vets deserve it.”

“They definitely bring with them

28 | WINTER 2014-15

n

Dear Fellow FIU Alumni: I hope the holiday season brought all you desired.

Last year my wife Samantha and I had the honor of attending a wedding in Jupiter, Fla. Our friends, both Gators, had a beautiful ceremony and a fun reception.

Mixed in with the many Gator alums were five of us Panthers: Kate Wesner ’03, Camar Jones ’00 and Len Collins ’96, in addition to Samantha and me. Once we discovered our FIU roots, a special bond was born between us. And while I might not be the most objective person, can I just say that the five of us were the life of the party. Why? Because we are FIU and have much to be proud of!

The fifth largest university in the country and the second biggest in Florida, FIU has an impact on

FIU 2014-’15 Alumni Association Board Executive Committee Frank Peña ’99 President Eddie Hondal ’88 ’00 Vice President Maria Garcia ’05 ’08 Secretary Benjamin Sardinas ’01 Treasurer Enrique Piñeiro ’03 Parliamentarian Gonzalo Acevedo ’91 ’10 Past President

the world that is proving greater every day. To harness that impact—specifically the influence of our alumni—the Alumni Association is widening its circle to actively reach out to younger graduates so that they remain an integral part of the FIU family from the moment they earn that degree. You can read more about the Young Alumni Council at magazine.fiu.edu.

Juan Carlos Alexander ’04

And then there is the impact of our faculty research and outreach. A friend shared with me the story of his 10-year-old son, who has ADHD, and the amazing work of FIU’s Center for Children and Families, which has helped his child succeed in Read more about the Young Alumni Council at magazine.fiu.edu

Officers Gabriel Albelo ’93

school and social settings. You can learn more about their programs at ccf.

Gus Alfonso ’02 ’08 Michelle Arencivia ’00 Nicolas Bardoni ’12 Dwayne Bryant ’93 Nestor Caballero ’95 ’97 Elizabeth Cross ’89

fiu.edu.

Isabel Diaz ’01

Finally, this past election cycle proved how big an impact FIU can make.

In November, Miami-Dade County voters said “Yes!” to FIU by overwhelmingly supporting Expand FIU, our initiative to explore growing the Modesto A. Maidique Campus. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 miles away, 1993 FIU grad Evelyn Sanguinetti was elected lieutenant governor of Illinois, the first woman to hold the post. Hosted recently by the Washington, D.C., alumni chapter, Evelyn made clear that she still bleeds blue and gold.

Sharon Fine ’99 ’11 Anastasia Garcia ’89 Abhishek Hawaldar ’05 Jorge Hernandez ’95 Michael Hernandez ’04 ’11 Miguel Larrea ’96 Jaime Machado ’01’10 Michael P. Maher ’97

Our FIU is truly “Worlds Ahead.” Be proud, share your FIU story and be the “life of the party” in 2015.

Ana Martinez ’92 Gabriela Martin-Brown ’96 Marcel Monnar ’03 ’12

Frank Peña President, Alumni Association Board

Alberto Padron ’98 ’09 Pedro Pavon ’04 Alex Pereda ’97 Aslynn Rivera-Tigera ’98 ’01 Casandra Roache Henriquez ’04, MPH ’06​ Colleen Robb ’00 ’03 Ralph Rosado ’96 ’03

Young Alumni Council founding members: back row, from left, Marcos Oyola ’11; Phillip Lloyd Hamilton ’12; Hiram Hernandez ’03; Mario Martinez ’12; Travis Stokes ’09, MPA ’12; Daniel Garcia ’10, MST ’12; Jose Bowles; front row, from left, Lourdes Dominguez ’13; Kimmie Schmidt ’09; Brenezza Garcia ’05, MS ’07; Manny Arce ’03; Thomas Pla ’03; Adrian Molina ’10; Angelique Freire ’11; Erika Galan ’11; Carolina Bayona ’11, JD ’14.

Celina Saucedo ’99 ’11 Sergio Tigera ’01 Erick Valderrama ’95 _________________________________ Duane Wiles Executive Director Alumni Association

WINTER 2014-15

| 29

Class Notes 1970s

2000s

Patrick “Chip” Cassidy ’75, a professor in the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, received the 2014 FIU President’s Council Worlds Ahead Award.

1980s Joseph Haj ’84 received the 2014 Zelda Fichandler Award, which recognizes an outstanding director or choreographer who is transforming the regional arts landscape, from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Michelle Otero Valdes ’89 recently spoke at the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute in New Orleans on “International Conventions and their Applicability in U.S. Maritime Cases.”

14th Annual Charity Gala

Honoring FIU’s Most Outstanding Alumni

Save the Date Saturday, March 28, 2015

1990s Charles A. Garavaglia MA ’91 was elected chairman of the City of Miami’s planning, zoning and appeals board.

Evelyn Pacino Sanguinetti ’93 ran on the Republican ticket in November and was elected lieutenant governor of Illinois.

The Hialeah-raised daughter of Cuban and Ecuadorian parents majored in piano performance at FIU before going on to law school and positions as an assistant district attorney and a councilwoman in the Chicago suburb where she currently lives with her husband and three children.

Elena M. Dieppa ’94 recently sold a portion of her company, Clear Sky Property Management, and joined Boutique Hospitality Management, which manages properties in Miami, Atlanta and Panama. She is currently engaged and will marry Alexander Puga on Feb. 5, 2015.

FIUalumni.com/torch To reserve a table or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Paulina Muñoz at 305-348-4486 or Munozpau@fiu.edu.

30 | WINTER 2014-15

Eugene Butler Jr. MA ’95 was recently promoted from interim executive director for Exceptional Education and director for Middle Schools to assistant superintendent for Student Services in the Tucson Unified School District in Tucson, Ariz.

Ana Maria Rodriguez ’99 was recently re-elected to the City of Doral Council, for a second four-year term.

Alumni Association Lifetime Member

Chi Ali ’00 and Veronica Trujillo were married July 19, 2014, in Galveston, Texas, and later celebrated in the Caribbean.

Roxanne Molina ’00, MA ’06, Ph.D. ’12 was recently recognized as an Emerging Leader by PDK International, a global association of education professionals.

Rodolfo Rodriguez-Chomat ’01, MBA ’13 recently completed his first year at Solomon Search Group as the director of attorney recruitment. He specializes in attorney placements at law firms and corporations throughout the country with specific focus in South Florida. He was also recently extended membership to Beta Gamma Sigma, Delta Epsilon Iota and the Golden Key International honor societies in recognition of his academic successes while attending the MBA program at FIU.

Richard LaBarbera ’02 and Jillian Mayer ’07 received the 2014 South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship.

Catherine Poindujour ’05 was recently awarded an educational specialist degree in school psychology from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Randy Mora ’06 was recently appointed Town Attorney for Kenneth City in Pinellas County, Fla. Fabienne Kellerhals-Perez ’07 and Armando Perez welcomed their first daughter, Camilla Julia, on March 8, 2014.

Esther Colombo-Cruz MA ’08 recently showcased several of her paintings in an exhibition at the Museo Rosa Galisteo in Sante Fe, Argentina. President Rosenberg has also selected her artwork for display in the Reagan Presidential House beginning in November.

Jacklyn Meyer ’08, MS ’10 Arthur “AJ” Meyer ’09, MS ’11 welcomed their

and

little Panther, son Greyson Parker Meyer, on November 6, 2014.

The College of Business recognized 2002 outstanding alumni during its annual Hall of Fame Awards gala. The 2014

Jenise Fernandez ’10 recently accepted a reporter position as a member of the local Channel 10 (WPLG) news team. Her previous experience includes working as an assignment reporter for KATC-TV 3 in Lafayette, La., and WEAR-TV in Pensacola, Fla.

winners included (from left):

Alexander Mijares MBA ’11, Alina Villasante, Guillermo G. Castillo ’81, Randy Robertson ’84 and Eric Maldonado ’86.

2010s Sarah Bartels ’10 is currently working as a producer and casting director for a short film called Two Secrets. This is her first major film project since graduating from FIU. Christi Fraga ’10 is the current vice mayor of Doral and youngest councilwoman in the city’s history. She was also recently appointed to the 2014-2015 Miami-Dade County League of Cities Board of Directors where she will focus on efficient government administration across municipalities.

Brian Ortiz ’11 recently earned the Ring of Honor from Pepsi in recognition of his great success as a sales associate. Given to him by CEO Indra Nooyi (the two are pictured left), the award is the company’s highest accolade. Brian worked his way up from an internship with Pepsi to his current position as key account manager for the Southeast Region, North American Field Operations. He is based in Miami.

2013

Abdel Perera ’11 recently attained his dream of becoming a Foreign Service officer.

After graduating from FIU, he earned a master’s degree in international affairs from American University in Washington and served twice as an intern with the State Department.

Sworn in on August 8, he has been assigned to a two-year consular tour in Buenos Aires.

Jose Pagliery ’11, a technology writer for CCNMoney, published his first book, “Bitcoin and the Future of Money,” about the currency’s mysterious beginnings, its dark side and its economic impact.

Rachel Fernandez ’12 and Emilio A. Urgell ’11 were married on December 7, 2013, at the Coconut Palm Inn in Tavernier, Fla.

Mary Larsen ’12 showcased her paintings in two recent Miami-based art exhibitions: “Short Story” and “11 / 11 – Eleven Artists on the Eleventh Month.”

Carmen Ferrer MIA ’14 has been accepted into the boating and nautical design doctoral degree program at the University of Genoa in Italy.

CONNECT. GIVE BACK. ENJOY. CONNECT. GIVE BACK. ENJOY.

Membership dues help create scholarships and alumni programming, whichdues in turn a stronger and Membership help help createbuild scholarships andFIU alumni ultimately increases the value of your degree. programming, which in turn help build a stronger FIU and ultimately increases the value of your degree.

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How to Write a Story Creative Writing Professor and novelist John Dufresne delivered a captivating talk at this year’s TEDxFIU: Fearless Journey on how to write a story. This passage is adapted from his talk.

Watch the talk at go.fiu.edu/tedxfiu2014

We read stories—and write them—to

You sit in the quiet room, choosing work over diversion. You

make sense of our lives, to be entertained

understand that writing stories is not an escape but a plunge into

and to feel something. We read and write

reality. You try to express what is inexpressible, to say what can’t be

to be transported to another, more lucid

said in any other way. You believe that only what can’t be explained

and compelling world, to learn about

is important, and only what is ephemeral is of lasting value. You insist

ourselves and what it means to be human.

on meaning, but not on answers. The point is not to answer, but to

This narrative impulse is as basic as

question; not to solve, but to seek; not to preach, but to explore; not

breathing.

to assure, but to agitate. Not to explain the mysteries of life, but to

The first commandment of fiction writing is Sit Your Ass in the Chair. Writing is a

celebrate the mystery itself.

You need two skills to be a fiction writer. You have to know how to

physical activity. There are decidedly more people who want to have

write and you have to know how to tell a story. The second skill is far

written than there are people who want to write. Writing is what you

more difficult. No matter how luminous your prose or how fascinating

do, not what you’ve done. Writers write. And writing is work. So you

your characters, if you have no plot, if the characters have nothing

sit in your chair at your desk, and this is what you bring with you:

meaningful to accomplish, the reader will put down your story. Plot is

•

A sense of wonder

the gravity that holds the world of your story together. And the basic

•

Patience

plot of every story is: a central character wants something intensely,

•

A love of words

goes after it despite opposition and, as a result of a struggle, comes to

•

Passion

a win or a loss.

•

Doubt, anxiety and fear

•

Time and lots of it

You write about people in trouble, people at the end of their rope, desperate people taking desperate measures, because only trouble is interesting. Everything that you don’t want to happen to you or your

Now we dispel three myths:

family and friends should happen to your characters.

And you sweat the small stuff because the truth is in the details.

1.

We are not inspired to write. We write and then we are inspired.

2.

Writer’s block is an excuse. If you didn’t write today, it’s because

Writing a story is archaeology. Not all the details in our notes will make

you chose not to.

it to the page, but each affords us insight into our characters. The

Writing a story is not about freedom. There’s nothing so

details that make the cut will be those that are vivid and consequential,

tyrannical, so paralyzing, as the blank page.

that express a theme or advance the plot while revealing character.

3.

Revelations lurk in details.

The first act of writing is noticing, seeing what others don’t. You

Stories aren’t written but rewritten. Most of the important revelations

savor what they miss. It’s a provocative world out there, and you make

happen in revision, but you have to have something to revise—a

yourself susceptible to it. You try to see as many levels of meaning as

complete first draft. Beginning, middle, end. The purpose of this draft

you can. You give your imagination opportunities. You present it with as

is not to get it right but to get it written. To expect too much from the

many images, concepts, ideas and paradoxes as you can—and some

first draft is to misunderstand the writing process. A good first draft is a

will fire up your brain.

failed first draft. If at first you succeed, try, try again. n

32 | WINTER 2014-15

VIP:

Very Important Panther

Diane Ramy Faulconer • Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences, 1974 • Master of Science in Management, 1974 • Lifetime Member, FIU Alumni Association Q: You spent nearly 40 years in the nursing profession. What attracted you to the field?

A: As a 12-year-old I went into the hospital for an ear infection.

To pass the time, I read all the then-popular Cherry Ames novels, which were about a mystery-solving nurse. I also greatly admired the nurses who took care of me. That was a great motivator, and so in high school I enrolled in all the courses required to get into nursing school.

Q: And did you go straight into nursing school?

A: The day after high school graduation I was on an ocean liner headed to Italy with my grandparents. We stayed for three months, and when I returned I inquired about admission at the nursing school affiliated with a college in my hometown in Connecticut. I was accepted even though classes had started a month before, so I spent the time trying to catch up on everything I had missed. More than a decade later, I earned two degrees from FIU. Q: Dean Ora Strickland likes to say, “Nursing can take you in so many directions.” Was that the case for you?

A: Definitely. Most of my career was spent at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, where I worked my way up from a team leader in the surgical unit to supervisor of the operating room to coordinating the ambulatory services of 52 specialty clinics and, finally, serving as director of nursing for the operating room and post-anesthesia care unit. During that time I published more than two dozen articles and was active on the editorial boards of several nursing publications, not to mention managing seven-figure budgets and a large staff. Later, I worked as an independent consultant specializing in healthcare operations, interim management and quality assurance.

Q: You and husband Lee made a seven-figure planned gift in support of graduate students pursuing careers in nursing and business. What prompted this generosity?

A: We were influenced by the actions of Warren Buffet and others who have set an example of giving back to the community. The best way to support the community is to educate people. This is the right decision for us.

Q: You have retired from nursing. How do you spend your time?

A: I have traveled the world—over 120 countries—visiting some as many as three or four times. I continue to travel and have many great experiences and meet such interesting people.

Photo by Branaman Photography

2013 | | 33 33 WINTER FALL 2014-15

Division of External Relations Modesto A. Maidique Campus, MARC 510 Miami, FL 33199-0001 Change Service Requested

First FIU President Charles E. Perry, left, stands in 1972 on the steps of FIU’s first building, Primera Casa, with artist Albert Vrana. To enhance the aesthetics of the building affectionally known as PC —the five-story concrete structure was once the largest in the State University System with more than 200,000 square feet of floor space­­— Vrana received a $40,000 commission to create the bronze Las Cuatro Razas (The Four Races), which is 103 feet wide and still adorns the facade today.

Get the full story at go.fiu.edu/historyphoto

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