Discover Campeche Janereth Vargas Cervera has traveled around her home country of Mexico, performing traditional folkloric dances, and once even danced for the princess of Japan. In January, Vargas added Stetson to her destinations. A visiting exchange student, she arrived on campus from her home city of Campeche, Mexico, where folk dancing is a deeply rooted tradition. Performed in elaborate colorful costumes, the dances have Spanish and Caribbean roots depicting elements of everyday life for the locals, as well as the upper class. In February, Vargas performed some of the dances on campus as part of a Discover Campeche program. “There are two basic styles: The Sarao Campechano is more elegant, and the Fiesta del Palmar is a little more playful,” said Vargas, 22, who lived in a Stetson residence hall for six weeks while attending classes (Principles of Acting, Dance Appreciation, French and Portuguese). In Mexico, Vargas attends the Instituto Campechano and majors in art education, with a dream of one day opening a dance academy back home. She is a member of the Ballet Folklorico de Campeche, sponsored by Campeche state’s secretary of culture. On April 16, other dancers from the art education program at the Instituto Campechano will perform at Stetson. Campeche has been a Sister City of Volusia County since 1995, and Stetson’s Latin American Studies Program has maintained a student exchange with the Instituto Campechano for more than 20 years, according to Robert Sitler, Ph.D., director of the Latin American Studies Program and a professor of World Languages and Cultures. Stetson student Tyler Thomas ’18 stayed with Vargas’ family in Campeche last summer. And through that experience, Vargas learned of the opportunity to travel to DeLand — her first trip to America. “For me, Stetson is marvelous,” Vargas said during her visit. “It’s very modern, very cutting-edge. My experience has been meeting a lot of really very nice people.” — Cory Lancaster
Janereth Vargas Cervera visited Stetson this winter, performing native Mexican folk dances and attending classes on campus in DeLand.
DID YOU KNOW?
A Case for Business Ethics
Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport earned an “A” for curricular offerings in trial advocacy, according to preLaw magazine. Stetson, the magazine cited, is home to the Center for Excellence in Advocacy, and offers a certificate of concentration in trial advocacy and social-justice advocacy, clinics and externships, the opportunity to participate in the Stetson Journal of Advocacy and the Law, an online Advocacy Resource Center, online LL.M. in Advocacy and joint J.D./ LL.M. in Advocacy.
Stetson’s annual Templeton Business Ethics Case Competition was held in February, when undergraduate students from 16 invited institutions nationwide had the opportunity to analyze and present arguments on a contemporary business issue tied to financial, legal and ethical issues. The big winners: Campbell University, first place; University of Calgary, second place; University of Florida, third place; and Belmont University, fourth place. During the event at Stetson, teams made preliminary oral presentations to a panel of judges, who were volunteer representatives from top companies across Central Florida. Bracket winners then delivered final eight-minute oral presentations, as the two-day competition narrowed to final winners. “The Templeton Business Ethics Case Competition is a wonderful example of the transfer of learned course material to a real-world setting,” said Jim Beasley, professor of business administration and co-director of the event. “The use of concrete, actual business dilemmas in the cases analyzed by student participants prompts a level of learning that significantly supplements students’ curricular programs in business education. Over the past four years, the Templeton has become a premier program of experiential learning for business students from universities in the United States and Canada.” — Marie Dinklage
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