Rollins: A Magazine For Prospective Students | Volume 2

Volume 2

Future Proof

8 reasons a Rollins education is perfect prep for our evolving world

30 ways you’ll make tomorrow brighter Plus: Behind the scenes of a life-changing field study

Meet the world’s most relatable professor

The Dean’s 6 Faves Welcome to the second installment of Rollins magazine, a new publication we’re producing specifically for future Tars and their parents. Much like our interdisciplinary curriculum, this issue is designed to let you explore and pinpoint your passions. I know you will find plenty to love from the first page to the last, but I wanted to share my top 6 favorite things in this issue so you’re sure not to miss them. By the end of the issue, I hope you’ll consider joining us in making the world brighter, smarter, and more enterprising.

Fiat Lux, Zaire McCoy Dean of Admission Rollins College

Water Works

Deep Dives

Flip this page

P. 12

My Big Break

The Matriarch

P. 8

P. 10

Future Proof

Summer, Shared

P. 14

P. 24

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or the better part of his career, chemistry professor Pedro Bernal has led teams of Rollins students to the Dominican Republic to conduct field studies on water sanitation—monitoring water quality in remote villages and installing water filtration systems in people’s homes. Over the course of the 21-year-old project, Bernal and his students have installed more than 20,000 water filters in rural communities across the island, leaving a lasting impact on the Dominican people and creating life-changing—and sometimes career-defining— experiences for generations of Rollins students.

Forged in the Classroom The two-week field study caps Bernal’s Water, Sanitation, and Health in the Dominican Republic course, which is held during Maymester, Rollins’ month-long celebration of intensive academic exploration.

Students spend the first two weeks of the class working with Bernal to understand the global water crisis and master the equipment and techniques they’ll use on island.

Honed in Our Community

Next, students test their newfound knowledge by partnering with Hope CommUnity Center, a service learning community in nearby Apopka that works to empower Florida’s immigrant and working poor communities. Here, students practice testing water in Lake Apopka, explore the environmental impacts of pesticide-laden muck farms on generations of citrus workers, and dine in the homes of families associated with the center.

At Work in the World

We make a brighter world happen.

At Rollins, you’ll explore the globe and test your ability to make it better. Learn more at rollins.edu/brighter-world.

In the field, students assist Bernal in microbiological and chemical assessments of water in some of the DR’s most remote villages.

The numbers determine immediate next steps— whether the team will install new filters or service existing filters— and contribute to Bernal’s collection of long-term data about the water filters.

Science and service converge in a Rollins field study that has helped bring clean water to the Dominican Republic for more than two decades.

ACADEMICS Develop the expertise to succeed as the world evolves.

SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIP SUSTAINABILITY This chemistry major was one of just 240 students in the nation to earn a prestigious 2017 Goldwater Scholarship.

In addition to winning the country’s most prestigious undergraduate science scholarship, Alyssa DeLucia ’18 leveraged her lab experience and classroom connections to land a pair of prized internship and research opportunities. Next up: making the chemical industry more environmentally friendly.

Ready for Rigor

“The past two summers, I did internship and research programs that were really rigorous and competitive, but I never felt overwhelmed or worried thanks to my Rollins coursework.”

Meaningful Mentors

“My academic adviser (chemistry professor Kasandra Riley) has such high standards. If you can please her, you can please anyone. Working in my research adviser’s lab after my second year led me to the Goldwater.”

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Personalized Support

“My professors are always there, and they truly care about the students. It’s nice knowing they have faith in me and care about me.”

Making Chemistry Green

“I’m narrowing down my list of PhD programs, but my ultimate goal is to work in the R&D sector of the chemicals industry with a focus on sustainability.

I want to help the industry design new catalysts that make their processes more environmentally friendly.”

50+ PATHS TO A TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS

• American Studies* • Anthropology* • Art (Studio)* • Art History* • Asian Studies* • Biochemistry – Molecular Biology • Biology* • Business (International)* • Business (Management)* • Business (Social Entrepreneurship)* • Chemistry* • Classical Studies* • Communication Studies* • Computer Science* • Critical Media and Cultural Studies* • Economics* • Elementary Education* • English* • Environmental Studies* • History* • International Relations* • Latin American and Caribbean Studies* • Marine Biology* • Mathematics* • Music* • Philosophy* • Physics* • Political Science*

COMBINED MASTER’S DEGREES AND DUAL DEGREE PROGRAMS •

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•

Accelerated Management Program (BA/MBA – 3/2) Environmental Management/Forestry (BA/MEM/MF – 3/2) International Business/International Management (BA/BS – Dual)

• • • • • • •

Psychology* Public Policy and Political Economy Religious Studies* Social Innovation Sociology* Spanish* Theatre Arts*

UNDERGRADUATE MINORS ONLY • • • • • • • • • •

• • • •

•

•

Persistently Prestigious

Africa & African-American Studies Archaeology Australian Studies Cultural Anthropology Dance Film Studies German Global Health Jewish Studies Middle Eastern and North African Studies Neuroscience Russian Studies Secondary Education Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies Sustainable Development and the Environment Writing

INTERNATIONAL INTERPRETER Boren scholar Karina Barbesino ’18 speaks five languages and plans to pursue a career in cyber security policy.

GLOBAL GUITARIST Ben Wozniak ’17, Rollins’ 41st Fulbright recipient since 2006, is using his guitar to teach English in Germany.

PRE-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS • • • • • • • •

Allied Health Engineering (BA/BS – 3/2) Dentistry Law Medicine Optometry Podiatry Veterinary Medicine

SERVICE ARTIST Newman Fellow Meredith Ewen ’19 combined her passion for art and service to create an art program for children with special needs.

* Also offered as a minor ROLLINS | 05

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP Engage the world’s most pressing issues.

United Kingdom Anne Fertig ’13 Kenther Ramos ’14

S

ince 2006, 42 Tars have traveled abroad via the Fulbright program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. They served in 20 countries across five continents. Some taught English. Others conducted research.

All of them embodied Rollins’ mission of global citizenship all over the world. While a map could never properly convey the richness of their experiences or the depth of their contributions, it provides an impressive snapshot of their far-reaching and lasting impact.

Ireland Katherine Barnekow ’15

Spain Mexico

Sally Woods ’05

Jane Lombardi ’11

Erin Buthman ’13

Chase Van Steenburg ’08

Alia El-Assar ’12

Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Erie Neighborhood House Majors: Latin American and Caribbean Studies & Spanish Fulbright service: English-speaking assistant in the University of Guadalajara’s agricultural school

Top takeaway: “I really enjoyed and saw the impact I could have doing direct service work.

More importantly, the fact that I lived in Mexico and can understand the struggles people face in Mexico and struggles people face as immigrants here in the U.S. builds rapport with my clients so I can better serve them.”

Did you know?

Rollins has been named a top producer of Fulbright scholars six times.

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Colombia Cameron Mullins ’16

Brazil Kelci Reyes-Brannon ’13

Argentina Brooke Harbaugh ’06

Front-end developer, Cleverbridge Major: Philosophy Fulbright service: English teacher at a vocational

Germany

school in Hamburg, Germany

Shellie Ponce ’06

Top takeaway: “You realize that there’s no singular perspective. You’re so used to viewing everything through this U.S.-based lens. You never realize there are so many different perspectives you could be exposed to.”

Alison Schill ’07 Trevor O’Bryan ’09 Kelly Rolfes-Haase ’09 Kory Eylmann ’12 Ryan Lambert ’13 Princess Dickens ’14 Allen Kupetz ’14 Ben Wozniak ’17

Austria

South Korea

Megan Mascarenhas ’14

Eliza Buckley ’07 Meghan Thomas ’11 Nic Ramos-Flores ’12 Nadia Ramirez ’13 Shelby McGuire ’15

Bulgaria Kaitlyn Alkass ’15

Nepal Ian Wallace ’12

Taiwan

Macau

Turkey

Lambrini Kolios ’13

Jennifer Jokl ’14

Gabriela Hochberg ’15

Rachel Bogdan ’14

Egypt Kate Osterloh ’09

Vietnam

Thailand Foreign service officer, U.S.

William Glass ’14

Mike Gallace ’13 Brenna McKee ’15

Department of State Major: International Relations Fulbright service: Research fellow at American University’s Center for

Malaysia

Migration and Refugee Studies in

Andrea Williamson ’07 ’10MBA

Cairo, Egypt

Aislinn Betancourt ’12

Top takeaway: “All of the

experiences that I had in the Fulbright program— from watching the Arab Spring unfold to working with refugee populations—gave me a much more nuanced view of the world and a much more nuanced view of these global problems that we’re still tackling.”

Benjamin Varnum ’13 Matt Berman ’14

Indonesia Samar Shaukat ’14

Social impact consultant and COO, SVT Group Major: Religious Studies Fulbright service: Teaching five classes to secondary students in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Top takeaway: “Rollins taught me to question everything from a place of humility. Let yourself be the agent of the community that you serve. I carry that to the work I do now—the operative word being ‘serve.’”

ROLLINS | 07

It’s a clear blue day at Kennedy Space Center as computer science major Michael Gutensohn ’18 examines the world’s most powerful deep space propulsion system, one that will eventually launch astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on missions to Mars.

A moment later he’s miles away, floating above an equally impressive rocket, the SpaceX Falcon Heavy.

Then it’s up to the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building, just to enjoy the view. Amazing what you can do these days without even leaving the office.

This semester, Gutensohn began his third internship for NASA, working 45 miles from campus in the Augmented Virtual Reality Lab at Kennedy Space Center. The same computervision concepts he’s honing at Rollins—where he created a camera-based parking-optimization system for his senior capstone project—are the foundation of his work at NASA on 3-D facial and object recognition.

In previous internships at NASA, Gutensohn handled software development at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California and computer engineering at KSC’s Grounds Systems Development and Operations Program. That experience combined with the up-close access at Rollins to some of computer science’s brightest minds is helping him launch a career where not even the sky’s the limit.

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Unbelievable Opportunity “I went to Kennedy Space Center for the first time with my little brother in January 2017, and walking out there I said, ‘I’m gonna work here one day.’

Now, every morning, driving toward that big Vehicle Assembly Building, I never get over the fact I’m working at NASA. It’s a highly soughtafter opportunity—a few hundred applicants applied.”

Seeing the Big Picture “One of my first projects at NASA was working with the User Interfaces Group on a simulated version of the Deep Space Network’s interface software. I started at zero and got to build something from the ground up.

It really gave me a more holistic view of the development processes I was studying at Rollins.”

Interdisciplinary Advantage “The liberal arts and engineering are more tightly knit than people think. I used to hate having to write papers, but it’s such an important skill for anyone in a STEM field. The interpersonal skills I’ve gained from attending Rollins definitely give me an edge. I’ve been able to talk through design decisions with clients and users, asking questions other developers might not know how to ask.”

Small Size, Big Benefits “One of the biggest strengths of Rollins’ computer science program is its size. Because it’s such a small, tight-knit group, you can’t go without learning people’s names and building a relationship with the professors— and that sets it apart from larger schools. The program has taught me to continue learning on my own, to go out and research new things beyond the classroom.”

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The Matriarch From first-year students to fraternity brothers, Rollins English professor Jana Mathews shares something in common with just about everyone on campus.

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FRIEND TO FIRST-YEARS

Mathews takes a particular interest in first-year students, helping them find their place on campus and in life. “They’re grappling with so many emotional and transitional issues and figuring out who they are,” she says.

“I love that messy process.” This spirit carries over to the classroom, where Mathews provides an atmosphere that encourages intellectual risktaking and honest, open exchanges.

“Don’t just give the teacher what she wants,” Mathews explains. “Students should feel really comfortable about failing and making mistakes.”

Mathews also frequently takes this work home with her, inviting first-year students over for dinner parties with zany themes like “Thanksmas.”

“Professor Mathews helps students explore and pursue abstract ideas while pushing them to reach their fullest potential. Although I have only known her for a few months, she has quickly become one of my biggest mentors and supporters.”

THE JAR OF SORROWS

Every Friday in Bad Breakups, students write something bad that happened to them that week and deposit it into the medieval-sounding Jar of Sorrows. While sad music plays, they take turns reading each other’s troubles in dramatic fashion.

“Part of it is just sort of releasing the problems and tensions—things like ‘I’m really worried I’m not going to make friends here,’” Matthews says.

“To be able to say these things in a public setting, and have the support of your peers, that’s big.”

NEW STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

FUN FACTS ABOUT DR. MATHEWS Graduated BYU at 19 PhD in philosophy from Duke Perfect 5.0 on RateMyProfessor.com Left an Ivy League university to teach at Rollins in 2010

HER 5 COOLEST CLASSES Bad Breakups Dungeons and Dragons Game of Thrones Hoarders Sex, War, and Plague

Sammy Kasowitz ’21 appreciates how Mathews makes meaningful relationships that promote selfconfidence in the classroom and beyond. “From the minute we met, I knew she was special,” Kasowitz says.

PHOTO: Mathews regularly invites first-year students to her home for kitschy dinner events like “Thanksmas,” where the only requirement is an ugly sweater and one reason to give thanks.

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MEET MORE OF YOUR FUTURE PROFESSORS at rollins.edu/professors.

You know those incredibly motivating, impossibly inspirational professors portrayed in movies? The ones everyone hopes they’ll have when they get to college? Jana Mathews, Rollins assistant professor of English, is the real-life version.

So says Faithe Galloway ’15, an English major who counts herself among the diverse cadre of students who have benefitted, personally and professionally, from Mathews’ highly engaging blend of academic brilliance and down-to-earth relatability.

“More than any other teacher, professor, mentor, or otherwise, Dr. Mathews has been instrumental to my success,” says Galloway, who works in respiratory sales at a British multinational consumer goods company. “She went above and beyond to help me prepare for my first job—and she is still one of my biggest cheerleaders, encouraging me to dream big dreams and helping me do the work it takes to make them a reality.”

An expert in medieval England— with concentrations in 13th- and 14th-century alliterative poetry, legal studies, textual culture, and kingship—Mathews brings the liberal arts to life through classes like Game of Thrones, which allows students to study Westeros while unearthing the historical events that inspired the HBO series.

Sandwiched between teaching other attention-grabbing courses, Mathews leads an annual studyabroad experience designed for students who face obstacles related to finances, disabilities, and athletics.

She also happens to be the only woman in Florida who serves as executive board chairman of a fraternity chapter.

GET SOCIAL

Deep Dives Explore Immersion—Rollins student journeys of action, education, and adventure—through the eyes of your future classmates.

Check out rollinslife.com for more #unfiltered sights from the Rollins experience.

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During Spring Break 2018, four groups of students traveled to Los Angeles, Memphis, New Orleans, and Portland to tackle some the 21st century’s most pressing issues—from education and poverty to racial equality and sustainability. Rollins Immersion experiences like these occur throughout the school year, taking Tars beyond the borders of campus to put their ideas and expertise to work in our backyard, across the country, and around the world.

FUT URE PRO OF

Take out your earbuds. Turn your attention away from Snapchat for a minute. Take a good hard look at the year 2018. Ten years from now, you’ll be flipping back through your mental scrapbook of Google Home and Spotify the way Nicholas Bowers ’14 looks back on his freshman year at Rollins.

“No one in 2008, especially an incoming freshman, had any idea what was happening around us,” says Bowers from his home in Seattle, where he works as a program manager for Amazon Flex, a now ubiquitous service that almost no one would have believed a decade ago.

The job landscape in the year 2030 is a complete mystery. And that begs the question: How do you prepare students for careers that don’t even exist yet?

After all, in 2008 Amazon was still known as an unconventional online book and music retailer. Snapchat and Instagram hadn’t been created yet. There was no such thing as Uber or Airbnb because “crowdsourcing” wasn’t even a word, let alone a stand-alone economy.

Fast-forward to 2018, and we still don’t know exactly what’s happening around us. A recent report from Dell Technologies estimates that 85 percent of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t even been invented yet. While some might panic at the prediction, Rollins graduates see the future as an opportunity to adapt to … whatever.

At Rollins, we don’t believe in preparing you for your first job after college. We believe in preparing you for a lifetime of learning—of not only adapting to change but leading that change. And it all starts in our innovative general education program.

“We know a student’s first love will usually be their major,” says Emily Russell, associate professor of English and associate dean of curriculum. “But look at credits.

Students take 40 credits for general requirements and 48 for a major. The real difference is how we weave the entire education together and prepare students for an unknown future.”

The first group of students to complete four years in Rollins’ new general education program—Rollins Foundations in the Liberal Arts—is about to take aim at the moving target known as the real world. But while looking ahead, they can also look at the stories of past graduates and be certain of this: As a Rollins graduate, they will be ready for anything, anywhere, and even anytime.

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PROBLEM SOLVE It was a strange time for a lot of people when I was in school a few years ago. Technology was just starting to disrupt the status quo. It’s still like that. People who want to stay in their lanes and rely on what they know have gotten lost. At Rollins we were breaking that kind of mindset. I remember a class where we were challenged to program Legos to do things that had never been done. Where else do you find that in a class?

The relevance of a textbook will expire. That’s why being trained to think innovatively is so valuable. You can always use creative thinking— always. There were so many times in school where we had to figure things out as a team, just like it’s done in the business world.

Amazon is like Rollins in a way. Curiosity is what drives a company like Amazon. We’re changing the concept of retail, delivery, even the checkout process. I love that.

PREPARED TO SOLVE ANY PROBLEM Nicholas Bowers ’14 Major: Physics

Current Career Status: Senior Program Manager, Amazon Flex Amazon Flex Snapshot: Launched in 2015 as a mash-up of Uber and Amazon, where drivers use their own cars to deliver packages within hours of an order.

Career Vision as a Freshman: “I figured I’d be involved in physics research.”

At Rollins you find what you’re passionate about and you pursue that zero to 100 with all your might. I took advantage of opportunities that helped me explore how things work, especially in different cultures.

I’d tell every high school senior this: You need to be in a college environment where you’re encouraged to work together and mentally explore, because if you think outside the box, you’ll find opportunity everywhere. To me, that’s exciting.

“You can always use creative thinking— always.”

FINDYOUR PASSION After graduating from Rollins I felt empowered.

It was a different type of confidence. In every class I’d been taught not what to think but how to think. So I honestly felt I was ready for anything, including the most nontraditional career choice you could imagine.

Nothing went the way I planned. And I’m a serious planner. In high school, I knew I’d go to a big school, get a degree in broadcasting, and have my own opinion show on an established network.

Instead, I went to Rollins, changed my major a couple of times, and took a job with a startup company with no assets and no paint on the walls.

It was just the CEO and me, making an hourly wage that will go unmentioned.

I didn’t have to take this job. But I chose to work here because I saw past the empty spaces and knew what a difference we could make. Everything I learned at Rollins, whether it was in history or literature or any class that seemed to be unrelated to my career goals, it all trained me for this.

Where will I be in the year 2030? I have no idea.

Look at my situation. Fattmerchant didn’t exist when I was in school. In less than four years, we’ve been mentioned as a game-changer with the likes of Spotify and Netflix. Our team is up to 45 employees in Orlando and growing. All of which makes me feel blessed to have been empowered, rather than simply educated. No shift in job trends will ever change that.

PREPARED TO FIND AND FOLLOW A PASSION Lyndsey Lang ’14

Major: Communication studies Current Career Status: Managing Director, Fattmerchant

“In every class, I was taught not what to think but how to think.”

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Fattmerchant Snapshot: Orlando-based startup launched in 2014 to help small businesses save money on credit-card processing fees.

Career Vision as a Freshman: “I was going to be a broadcasting personality.”

ADAPT PREPARED TO ADAPT TO ANYTHING Mehdi Taifi ’07 ’10MLS Majors: International affairs and business Current Career Status: Project Manager, Robinhood Robinhood Snapshot: Launched in 2013 to allow people to invest in the stock market and not pay a brokerage commission; the Palo Alto-based company opened a regional headquarters in Orlando in 2017.

Career Vision as a Freshman: “I had no clue until my junior year and then it was an ambassador for the State Department.”

My post-undergraduate life has been so unpredictable. I’d planned to get into foreign affairs after school. Instead I started out in sales for a financial services company (this after I told the hiring manager I hated sales … and got the job anyway, thanks to the word “Rollins” on my resume). Soon after that I became a licensed broker. My timing couldn’t have been worse because the economy was about to spiral in 2008. So I launched my own startup, which also fell victim to the economy, tried out for the Orlando City soccer team, wrote a book, eventually got into a Wall Street firm and then … made a bold move by joining this young company called Robinhood.

If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. My time at Rollins, including the classes outside my majors, trained me to be resilient in the changing tides of the business world.

Philosophy? Religion? You think, “How do those classes help in business?” It isn’t just the content.

The way the classes were taught helped me understand the world better. I wouldn’t be where I am without that.

This economy didn’t exist 10 years ago. No one had heard of fintech (financial technology) when I was in school. You know what? As new as this industry is, it might not be the same in two years, or in six months. But I’m OK with that.

There’s no point getting stuck in a comfort zone.

The only thing we know for sure is that change will happen. And because of the way I was mentored at Rollins, I can look forward to the future with anticipation, not fear. No matter what lies ahead.

“Because of Rollins, I look forward to the future with anticipation, not fear.”

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WORLD TOGETHER We have dogs in the office. It’s one of those quirks that makes you realize our company is fresh. We aren’t hindered by legacies or old ways of doing things. That’s what drew me here—the adventure of building something new for the good of everyone, every day.

A “sharing economy” seemed cool to me. Even 10 years ago, when it was just a wild concept. No one knew where companies like Airbnb might be going, if they were leading a new wave or not. I came on board in 2015 because it combined my passions for tech and real estate (I’d started my own company, CRE Tech, two years earlier for that reason). Turns out, shared economies have taken off.

Rollins allowed me to see the world. I travel a lot in my job now, and understanding cultures is really important. The time I spent studying in places like Sweden and China and Brazil gave me a jump start on most other people my age.

What we do know about 2030 is that we’ll be increasingly connected. To assume we’ll go back to being more isolated is incorrect. So learning to work together with people from all over the globe, like we did at Rollins, will always be a huge asset.

My motivation isn’t just a paycheck. The general-studies classes at Rollins instilled in me an interest in doing something good for the world. We’re in an increasingly divisive global environment, so companies like Airbnb are special because we’re bringing people together. That’s the same way I’d describe my experience at Rollins.

“Learning to work together with people from all over the globe will always be a huge asset.”

PREPARED TO BRING THE WORLD TOGETHER Pierce Neinken ’06 ’08MBA

Majors: Political science and international business Current Career Status: Global Portfolio Manager, Airbnb Airbnb Snapshot: Launched in 2008 to make people feel at home anywhere in the world.

Career Vision as a Freshman: “I wanted to be an entrepreneur, start my own company.”

R

A Beautiful Future in the Neighborhoods At the same time fledgling companies like Robinhood and Fattmerchant were just starting to disrupt traditional ways of doing business, a group of Rollins faculty was preparing to launch its own paradigm-breaker in the fall of 2015: a general-education curriculum designed to make students more career-nimble—inside and outside their majors. After 10 years in development, the curriculum launched under the name Rollins Foundations in the Liberal Arts. As part of this innovative approach, students take seminars grouped under one of four Neighborhoods, intellectual communities named

THE NEIGHBORHOODS Identities— Mirrors and Windows Key Question: What makes you who you are—and others who they are?

My Greatest Takeaway: “The ability to collaborate with anyone.” — Huda Awan ’18, political science major

“I have to admit, the mere thought of taking an art history class did not excite me. But it wasn’t what I thought it would be. We looked beyond the art itself to analyze what might have been going on at the time, the meaning of each piece, and its relevance to today. Does any of it really matter to a political science major? Absolutely, and here’s why: Working with students from all types of majors and backgrounds has helped me look at the world with a clearer lens. I’m no longer intimidated by the world, or the future.”

BEAU TIFUL FUT URE

partly as a nod to Rollins’ beloved alumnus, Fred Rogers ’51, and partly because of their emphasis on collaborative problem solving. The Neighborhoods connect seemingly disparate classes like history and art and psychology to a hub, or an overall theme. Students do more than memorize.

They use critical thinking and creativity to identify and fix real-world problems. In other words, skills that have always been valued and always will be. So now we ask a timeless question to soon-to-be graduates from each of the four Neighborhoods: How’s it going?

Mysteries and Marvels

When Cultures Collide

Innovate, Create, Elevate

Key Question: How can we embrace the unknown without fear or expectations?

Key Question: In a changing world, we see contact between everything from populations to economies to biospheres—but what happens next?

Key Question: How can you test boundaries and push conventions in a rapidly changing world?

My Greatest Takeaway: “Using critical thinking, confidently, in any situation.”

— Mollie Thibodeau ’18, communication studies major

“One class, Fantastic in Literature and Film, epitomized my Neighborhood and the profound impact it had on me. It challenged me to venture outside my comfort zone through writing, public speaking, and leading. That’s where growth happens. Working among peers also gave me the resilience and confidence to look ahead after a perceived failure. I think this tenant is pivotal in being prepared for the foreseeable, or not-soforeseeable, future.”

My Greatest Takeaway: “Developing a foundation to contribute to innovation instead of being overrun by it.” — Jamie Ngo ’18, economics major

“My major was biochemistry for two years.

Like a lot of students, my plans for the future changed. Studying in my Neighborhood had something to do with that, because we’ve been encouraged to innovate and explore our true passions but from dimensions I never considered. It brings more real-life purpose to each class and adds more value to me as a person—no matter if I’m a chemist or a financial analyst. It’s given me confidence that I can contribute to positive change.”

My Greatest Takeaway: “The ability to come together, empowered by this broad knowledge base, and say ‘Here’s what we know, now let’s make something new out of it.’” — Neeraj Chatlani ’18, computer science major

“I came to Rollins to learn to code and engineer software, but I also got a broader education that helped me understand the things that I really want to focus on in my life.

What Rollins does is help students discover what it is they’re looking for to have a fulfilling profession and a fulfilling life. College is no small endeavor, so you really ought to put that investment toward something as significant as finding something that you truly value and something that you want to push toward.”

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COMMUNITY Gain the courage and capacity to create change in our backyard and around the world.

ENGINEERING A BRIGHTER TOMORROW Grace Soto ’17 logged more than 1,000 service hours as a student.

As a grad, she landed her dream job at one of the world’s top aerospace companies.

It’s no surprise this math and computer science major scored her dream job as a software engineer at Lockheed Martin directly after graduation. In addition to earning a double major, Soto held internships large and small, led an Immersion trip to examine human trafficking, and studied abroad in New Zealand and Spain.

Network Benefits

“A classmate who works at Lockheed Martin told me to apply. Then, another Rollins alum put in a good word for me, which pushed me to the next round of interviews.”

Lasting Connections

“Rollins has connections with organizations all over Orlando, which gave me a lot of opportunities. Seeing a little bit of everything gives you a better picture of how a community interacts.”

Rollins Recognition

“When I went out in the community and mentioned I was with Rollins and a Bonner Leader, people had a good idea of my background and capabilities.”

Equipped to Evolve

“Rollins prepared me for what lies ahead by giving me a diverse way to think about complex issues. I’ve learned to adapt to different situations and people. Life is unpredictable, but I feel prepared for whatever comes my way.”

READ MORE OF GRACE’S STORY at rollins.edu/grace-soto.

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1

Develop promotional plans that help a local social enterprise increase its impact. Each semester, Rollins

offers dozens of community engagement courses that partner Tars with some of Orlando’s most innovative organizations. Last spring, students in Zhaochang Peng’s Global Economy course explored the economic relationship between the developed world and emerging markets by developing promotional strategies for Downtown Credo.

The local direct-trade coffee shop sources its beans directly from growers in Guatemala and Nicaragua, then asks Orlando java junkies to name their own price and uses the proceeds to fund community development projects.

WAYS YOU’LL MAKE TOMORROW HAPPEN IN OUR BACKYARD (AND GET CREDIT FOR IT) From faculty-led field studies to community engagement courses, Rollins offers dozens of ways to help you foster transformative habits of the heart while developing profound habits of mind. Explore three of our favorite ways your future classmates are stepping out of the classroom to make a difference at Rollins and beyond.

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Use 21st-century tools to bring a hidden history to life. Like most Rollins classes, Dan Myers’ Creating

the Digital Future course takes an interdisciplinary approach, challenging students to examine the role of the arts, social sciences, and humanities in driving technological innovation in Revitalize a local ecosystem. It’s one thing to our brave new world. Using modern digital tools to bring local write a landscape plan to mitigate the impacts of history to life, the computer science professor and his students a development project on a healthy wetland—it’s quite developed a another to wade into the mud and plant cord grass and walking-tour pickerelweed. Last spring, students in Emily Nodine’s app for Hannibal Biosphere course dug deep into that distinction (and Square, a historic at times, the mud) while exploring the integration of African-American human beings and the ecosystems we depend on. neighborhood The environmental studies professor and her students located a mile from partnered on a wetland restoration project with Marissa Rollins’ campus.

Williams ’07, a natural resources manager in Orlando, After combing planting hundreds of native plants along North Lake through archival Triplet. In the process, they learned that if you want to photos, artifacts, and interviews with locals, the class helped save the world, you have to get your hands dirty. preserve the past, telling the stories of the neighborhood’s history, its residents, and the pivotal places that shaped this unique community.

Explore more innovative courses at rollins.edu/cool-classes.

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ROLLINS | 21

CAPTAIN OF (NEW) INDUSTRY This former tennis team captain is leveraging his leadership skills to help startups roll out new tech.

Matt Umbers ’05 toured at least 12 schools around the country before deciding to play tennis for Rollins.

“Something just didn’t feel 100 percent right at any of them,” he remembers. “But at Rollins—be it the team, the people, the professors, the size—it just felt right.”

Umbers went on to captain the tennis team during his junior and senior years while earning a degree in political science. Since graduating, he’s made a career of helping startup companies roll out new technology.

Today, he’s senior vice president of sales and partnerships for Abe AI, a startup striving to simplify our financial lives. At Abe AI, he’s empowering financial institutions to support and engage customers through conversational interfaces like Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and SMS in ways that haven’t been available before.

The role requires him to think empathetically on a daily basis and flex the leadership muscles he developed both on and off the court at Rollins.

Learning to Empathize

“Going from Rollins to startups made a lot of sense for me. You can only fix startups if you have a sense of what people’s weaknesses and challenges really are, and you have to work very well as a diverse team.

Learning how to do that was definitely part of my progression and maturity as a tennis player at Rollins and in my career.”

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Finding Your Highest Contribution

“When I think of Rollins, I think of the level of diversity it gives you to explore and keep exploring as you go through your career. To find out what your niche or highest contribution can be. For me it has been the fascination with the unknown—of building from the ground up, making something meaningful, and having a positive impact.”

ATHLETICS Learn to lead on and off the field through our winning combination of world-class academics and championship athletics.

By the Numbers 23 NCAA Division II teams 23 National Championships 90 Sunshine State Conference Championships 33 consecutive semesters with a cumulative GPA above 3.0 7 NCAA President’s Awards for Academic Excellence 77,800 square feet of athletic training space in the Alfond Sports Center

Extending Leadership

“Captaining the tennis team was always about trying to create that level of connection and relationship with teammates. Now it’s the same with my colleagues and bosses. With the CEO who I report to now, I try to make him a better CEO, and he tries to make me a better sales leader. This leadership extends into all different directions—just like in athletics.”

Varsity Athletic Teams Baseball (M) Basketball (M, W) Cross Country (M, W) Golf (M, W) Lacrosse (M, W) Rowing (M, W) Sailing (M, W)

Soccer (M, W) Softball (W) Swimming (M, W) Tennis (M, W) Volleyball (W) Waterskiing (M, W)

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Summer, Shared Each May, Rollins students depart campus and head out into the world to sharpen their knowledge on the stone of experience. This past summer, we asked students to keep us in the loop on all their summer adventures via social media. Dozens obliged our request, and we were consistently amazed by the stories shared through our Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook accounts. Explore a few of our favorites here, then check out an entire summer’s worth of amazing at rollins.edu/summer-stories.

Did you know?

Last year, WalletHub ranked Orlando the No. 1 city for summer jobs. While Rollins students have opportunities all over the world, you won’t have to travel far for real-world experience.

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Alexandria DeLucia ’18, a computer science and math major, researched machine learning and anomaly detection in supercomputers at Los Alamos Laboratory.

Kat Weiss ’18, an international relations major and soccer player, founded a soccer program in Maun, Botswana, and tutored students in math, English, and science.

Mark Gagnon ’19, an economics and philosophy major, was a social media intern at iconic Hollywood comedy club, The Laugh Factory.

Tianna Rosser ’19 traveled to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, to shadow Kayla Johnson, the social media editor for the ESPN show First Take. Rosser, a communication studies major and a forward on the women’s basketball

team, learned firsthand how the show uses social media to market its program.

Ellie Rushing ’19, an environmental studies and communication studies major, revamped the community garden she founded at a Rwandan school last summer so that it will now feed 20 of the school’s most vulnerable students.

Krescent Williams ’18, a chemistry and music major, performed geochemical monitoring on Teide, an active volcano in the Canary Islands.

“It was the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever done.”

Parker Magness ’18 wrapped up a six-month internship at GE Healthcare in Munich while studying at Reutlingen — Isabella Darden ’18, University for one of 13 students Rollins’ international who built a kitchen business dualand bathroom degree program. for an eco-lodge project in Tanzania Social alongside professor entrepreneurship Dan Chong. When and business major the work was done, Carlye Goldman the group went on ’19 studied a safari through public health in Serengeti National Johannesburg, Park.

South Africa.

The global health minor’s studies centered on South

Africa’s health-care system, community development, and malnutrition in rural areas of the country.

through Rollins’ Student-Faculty Collaborative Scholarship Program.

SJ Renfroe ’18, a double major in philosophy and anthropology, traveled to Barcelona with Professor of Anthropology

Ariana O’Keefe ’18 spent five months studying abroad in New Zealand. The

Rachel Newcomb to conduct research on the experiences of Moroccan women migrating to Spain. Renfroe and Newcomb are partnering on the research project

communication and religious studies double major also interned for Be Robin Hood, a charitable clothing brand that donates 10 percent of profits.

Theatre and psychology major Amanda Grace Hughes ’19 and her classmates performed their improv show, Improv Therapy, at Scotland’s

Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world’s oldest fringe theater festival.

Each scene of the original improv show functions as an emphatic retelling of audience-supplied stories, allowing Hughes to combine

her background in theater and psychology.

Business major Catherine Linder ’20 picked up some new strategies for her nonprofit afterschool arts program during Artists Striving to End Poverty’s Artist as Citizen Conference at Juilliard in New York City.

Erin Synder ’19 participated in a 10-week research program at Ohio State University’s Center for Emergent Materials.

The chemistry major collaborated with a graduate research team and developed her own research project.

Stay tuned to Rollins’ Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook accounts for summer 2018 student stories.

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ENTERPRISE When we don’t see opportunities, we make them.

SHOWERED WITH SUCCESS These days, a typical week might see Adam Schwartz ’11 ’12MBA jetting off to Walmart headquarters or hopping a flight to check on his factories in China.

But long before more than 1,000 stores were carrying his wireless earbuds and waterproof speakers, Schwartz honed his entrepreneurial acumen at Rollins.

Origins of Enterprise

“I founded two mobile tech companies while I was still at Rollins and launched FRESHeTECH a year after I finished my MBA. Our first product was a speaker that gives you the freedom to play music, skip songs, adjust volume, and answer phone calls.”

Global Engagement

“Our relationships overseas allow us to do things other companies our size cannot. The most valuable asset we have is our relationship with our factories in China. We live and die by them, and they live and die by us.”

Lasting Connections

“In my Rollins MBA, I learned a lot about competitive advantage, and an elevator pitch competition even led to an inside connection who gave me advice on how to pitch Walmart. As an undergrad, classes like political science and international relations helped me in sales more than anything else— understanding relationships on a macro and micro level.”

Bright Tomorrow

“Every year we’ve existed, we’ve doubled in size. We’re growing organically too— entirely internally funded.”

The 28-yearold founder and CEO of the Orlando-based multimilliondollar startup FRESHeTECH is gaining national attention for his enterprising leadership.

1,963

MORE THAN 80 INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS

FULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT (FALL 2017)

197

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FROM 50 COUNTRIES (FALL 2017)

Rollins at a glance 17

AVERAGE CLASS SIZE

10:1

STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO

91%

OF CLASSES TAUGHT

BY FULL-TIME FACULTY

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MORE THAN 70 PERCENT OF STUDENTS STUDY ABROAD

Established 1885

Select Awards & Rankings Top Ranked for More Than 20 Years U.S. News & World Report No. 2 in Service-Learning Programs U.S. News & World Report, 2017 No. 4 in Commitment to Undergraduate Teaching U.S. News & World Report, 2017 Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars U.S. Department of State, 2013–17 No. 1 in Leadership and Organizational Development Programs HR.com, 2016–18 Ashoka U Changemaker Campus Ashoka U, 2012–2018

MORE THAN 50 AREAS OF STUDY

100+ STUDENT CLUBS

AND ORGANIZATIONS

No. 1 Most Beautiful College Campus The Princeton Review, 2015–16 Top 10 for percentage of undergraduate students who study abroad Institute for International Education, 2013–17 Top 5 for highest percentage of students who participate in alternative breaks Break Away, 2013–17