24 minute read
HATTER READY
A newly introduced initiative, decades in the making, is dedicated to enhancing student outcomes by focusing on hands-on experiential learning — more than ever before.
BY CHERI HENDERSON AND MICHAEL CANDELARIA
Shown above: Provost Elizabeth Skomp, PhD, professor of World Languages and Cultures
Look back at academic student achievement at Stetson, as far as the archives of the duPont-Ball Library will take you, and there is excellence.
In abundance.
All the way back to the founding days of 1883? That might be debatable, but most assuredly abundant success spanned the many decades that followed — each year culminating in commencements filled with graduates poised for promising careers or further education.
Stetson students have always been well-prepared. Yet, that’s not the main story here.
Today’s Stetson students are better prepared than ever.
That’s clear in outcomes for current students such as Sugeeth Sathish and Beverley Herne, who will graduate in May.
Sathish, as a dual-enrollee in high school, took almost every course required for an Economics major and earned Stetson’s top merit scholarship. Then, on campus, he went from J. Ollie Edmunds Scholar to Chief Investment Officer of Stetson’s esteemed studentrun Roland George Investments Program. He’s also an Environmental Fellow. Months ago, he accepted a job at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker in New York City.
Last summer, Herne, a Computer Science major who is also pursuing minors in Data Analytics, Business Systems and Analytics, and Business Administration, completed a 12-week internship as a software developer engineer at Amazon headquarters in Redmond, Washington. At Amazon, she worked on the mission planning team for Project Kuiper, an initiative to deliver fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities across the globe through a constellation of more than 3,000 low-Earth orbit satellites. Soon, Herne will head back to Amazon, employed as a software engineer.
The story certainly doesn’t end there. Students such as Kelly Gende, Abby Clouser and Bruno Soto are experiencing — and benefiting from — Stetson’s newly launched approach to immersive learning: Hatter Ready. By virtue of uncommon hands-on learning scenarios, they are discovering unexpected paths to success.
As a part of the Hatter Ready pilot program started in fall 2024, university faculty made dozens of immersive learning experiences available to their students — activities designed to enhance a minor or major and operate within or alongside a student’s normal course load. Each semester, they will be offered across the curriculum to students throughout the university.
In essence, Hatter Ready is an innovative approach to specialized learning that enhances student engagement through immersive experiences that supplement coursework and provides students with opportunities for exploration, as well as the ability to apply classroom knowledge in real-world contexts.
Through heightened collaboration with professors and classmates alike, students will acquire a set of practical, creative-learning and critical-thinking skills that are greatly valued by potential employers and graduate schools, asserts Provost Elizabeth Skomp, PhD, professor of World Languages and Cultures.
“This will make students ready for whatever their next step is,” says Skomp. “Is it a first job? Is it service? Is it graduate or professional school? No matter what, we know that we are preparing them as well as we possibly can.
“Hatter Ready is a result of our relationship-richness and our commitment to our students. We understand what is required for that close faculty-student interaction. Through the reallocation of time associated with Hatter Ready, we’re creating conditions for faculty and students to work together closely and effectively on an even broader scale than we've been able to do in the past.”
Already, the initiative is taking hold.
CULTURE OF INDEPENDENCE, CRITICAL THINKING
As the students of Jean Smith, PhD, assistant professor of Biology, conduct research in fungal cell fusion, they are thriving in a culture that promotes problem-solving and analysis.
Kelly Gende, a junior in Molecular and Cellular Biology, is one of six students participating in a High-Intensity Independent Research experience. The Illinois native hopes to apply the research skills she’s gaining as she pursues a career in orthopedic surgery.
“Research is a huge part of medicine and gives an opportunity to dive extensively into a field that is heavily intertwined with medicine,” says Gende, a member of the women’s soccer team. “I realized how time-consuming research and the scientific process are, requiring lots of troubleshooting and learning through failure.”
The High-Intensity Independent Research experience allows Smith to build upon an existing immersive independent study course — offering support both in and beyond the classroom. This experience is different from a traditional lab class, as Smith encourages “as much independent thought and planning as possible from my students within a supportive and inclusive environment.” Students experience what it's like to perform experiments in an active research lab, where they are responsible for advancing their
A benefit of having a small group of students working in the lab is that “peer-to-peer mentoring organically happens, as they are often performing similar experiments asking different questions,” cites Smith. She aims to create a research community in which peer and faculty mentors help students succeed throughout their time at Stetson.
For double-major Isabelle Condor (Molecular and Cellular Biology and Applied Mathematics), the course provides the necessary groundwork to undergird her goal of pursuing a doctorate in quantitative biology. The native of Brazil is slated to graduate in 2027.
“One of my key [course] takeaways is the ability to design experiments, analyze data and troubleshoot challenges in the lab, skills that are essential for any aspiring scientist,” Condor says.
Both Gende and Condor laud Smith’s guidance.
“She has provided invaluable advice on how to navigate the challenges of being a scientist, collaboration and maintaining a growth mindset even when the experiments do not work,” Condor comments. “Her support has been essential in shaping my confidence and readiness for a future in science.”
Career In Orbit
Arriving on campus from Gibsonton, Florida, in August 2021, Beverley Herne knew exactly what to expect: ample opportunities for engagement and career exploration. And she has taken full advantage.
Aside from her studies at Stetson — where she has pursued a major in Computer Science and minors in Data Analytics, Business Systems and Analytics, and Business Administration — Herne has presided over both the Tri-Alpha First Gen Honors Society and the Baptist Collegiate Fellowship. She’s been vice president of Stetson’s ColorStack chapter, whose mission is to increase the number of Black and Latinx Computer Science graduates that go on to start rewarding technical careers. She is also the event coordinator for the Caribbean Student Association, a business statistics tutor and a business statistics teaching assistant.
“I remember getting lots of emails from Stetson [during her recruitment], and that kind of urged me to apply,” she recalls. “… Stetson has allowed me to see other things I might be interested in.”
That includes an internship with Amazon. Encouraged by faculty, she applied for the internship in fall 2023 and landed in Redmond, Washington, that following summer. There, she was tasked with helping to develop the user interface on the Project Kuiper Mission Planning team. The initiative is intended to close a digital divide worldwide, bringing broadband to places without reliable connectivity. Her efforts centered on developing a timeline feature that enhanced visibility into mission schedule changes, which provided critical insights to ensure safe and efficient operation of satellites.
“The experience allowed me to dive into the aerospace industry, sharpen my technical skills in React.js and Next.js, JavaScript and technical writing, and improve my abilities in user research. It was a period of growth, both as an engineer and a leader,” Herne describes.
Beverley Herne ’25
Further, she embraced Amazon’s corporate culture, embodied by the 16 leadership principles that guide the company, including Learn and Be Curious. In addition, she attended various industry-related events in and around tech-rich Seattle, making potential career connections that provided uncommon perspective as she entered her senior year.
Now, after “trying to maximize all my options,” Herne is Hatter Ready. In May, she will leave Stetson with firm footing, strong career direction and a job — back at Amazon full time as a software engineer.
‘HUMBLING PRIVILEGE’
Ben Peterson’s introduction to a cadaver lab changed the trajectory of his education, and perhaps even his life.
“It’s an exciting step in my career,” she says, “and I’m looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities ahead.”
The 2024 Health Sciences graduate participated in the dissection of a human body in the UCF College of Medicine Anatomy Lab (University of Central Florida in conjunction with Stetson).
“I was in awe of the complexity of the human body. Holding a human brain, heart and kidney in my hands was a humbling privilege,” he says.
Peterson was overcome with gratitude
Peterson’s Anatomy Lab work exemplifies the experiential efforts in Stetson’s increasingly popular Health Sciences disciplines. Says Peterson: "I was in awe of the complexity of the human body. Holding a human brain, heart and kidney in my hands was a humbling privilege.” for the people who donated their bodies to advance learning and medical science. In addition, the cadaver study helped him chart a career course.
“This unforgettable experience helped confirm that the medical path was right for me,” he adds, noting that he hopes medical school is in his near future.
Peterson’s Anatomy Lab professor and mentor, Michele Skelton, PhD, is building upon that experience this spring in her Advanced Anatomy course. Students benefit from Stetson’s virtual dissection table while working alongside first-year medical students during laboratory rotations at UCF’s College of Medicine.
“Offering the Advanced Anatomy immersive experience in the Hatter Ready program will allow more students the opportunity to study concepts of Advanced Anatomy in both the fall and spring semesters,” says Skelton, associate professor of Health Sciences.
“This is an extraordinary learning experience. They will be able to learn from and with the first-year medical students. They will be able to ask them questions about their career path.”
In the labs, students can compare a normal brain with the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient, allowing them to observe changes including loss of mass. They can also compare healthy lungs with diseased lungs, such as from a smoker.
Peterson, who arrived on campus from Naples, Florida, can attest to the life-changing effects of Skelton’s mentorship, as well as the hands-on anatomy lab. He came away with a foundation that, in his words, “I am not sure I could have gained from any other experience.”
Growth And Community In The School Of Music
“Iron sharpens iron,” as the saying goes. In the School of Music’s Studio Class and Trumpet Ensemble, led by Aaron Witek, DM, assistant professor of music/trumpet and coordinator of brass, students challenge and inspire one another to reach new heights.
Just ask second-year trumpet performance major Abby Clouser. The Starke, Florida, native quickly discovered that the Hatter Ready course offered much more than a weekly meeting with other trumpeters — masterclasses with guest artists, musical and personal growth opportunities, history lessons, pedagogical topics, and a strong sense of community within the School of Music.
“This class exceeded my expectations by providing not only a foundation for developing my technical skills, but also a sense of belonging,” Clouser shares.
(Above) Abby Clouser: “I’m so excited and feel very confident about my future, knowing that I have Dr. [Aaron] Witek’s support to help me reach my next goal.” Witek, shown above with trumpet and glasses, is among the many School of Music faculty who provide mentorship that extends beyond performance.
In class, students perform for one another and provide feedback, offering both encouragement and constructive suggestions for improvement.
This collaborative approach helps students become better communicators, teachers and musicians. Additionally, each student receives a weekly one-on-one lesson with Witek, where he provides mentorship that extends beyond performance, shaping them into “well-rounded people,” he explains. Topics include work ethic, resilience, stress management, burnout, performance anxiety, musical expression, effective practice techniques and teamwork in musical settings.
Witek’s goal in his trumpet ensemble class is to equip students with “skills they can carry beyond this ensemble, both as musicians and as individuals who contribute meaningfully not only to musical activities but to their communities.”
“Trumpet ensemble also offers students real-world experience through performance engagements, preparing them to navigate the professional music industry,” Witek adds.
For Clouser, whose dream is to perform full time with an orchestra, these experiences are invaluable.
“I’m so excited and feel very confident about my future, knowing that I have Dr. Witek’s support to help me reach my next goal,” she concludes.
‘DEEPEN MY RELATIONSHIP WITH ECONOMICS’
Bruno Soto has received plenty of academic guidance during his four years on campus. Such direction, combined with uncommon self-initiative, has led him to classroom achievement as a double major in Economics and Political Science. He has also gleaned insight from a U.S. Department of State internship, along with presiding at Stetson’s Model United Nations and the Alexander Hamilton Society, as well as attending 2023’s inaugural Stetson Days at the Capitol in Tallahassee.
Soto is, in plain terms, a go-getter.
That’s why he speaks so highly of Stetson’s Economics Department Colloquium, calling it an informal opportunity to “really deepen my relationship with fellow economics enthusiasts around our cherished discipline.”
The student-driven, for-credit course is an immersive experience where all senior-level students are placed in charge, meeting every other Friday afternoon to discuss real-world economic issues with continuing economics students. The
Says Bruno Soto about the Economics Colloquium setting: “It’s a space for us to talk about things we would normally not have time to discuss in class.” class was introduced a few years ago and has since evolved, consistent with the Hatter Ready initiative. Topics range from black markets and Artificial Intelligence to the financial nuances of personal relationships and the dollars surrounding the National Football League’s Super Bowl.
Typically, students emerge from this casual setting more informed and prepared to hold conversations on complex, interesting matters. It has allowed Soto to shine in his ability to build relationships and think on his feet.
“The Colloquium is our community,” says Soto, who attended high school in Jacksonville. “It’s a space for us to talk about things we would normally not have time to discuss in class. We basically are on our own to make it however we want. We each make a presentation, and we get to be as creative and entertaining as we want with it. … In the future, in our careers, we’re going to have the responsibility, to take ownership of our work without having to be micromanaged by a manager, right? That’s exactly what we practice at Colloquium.”
The course is supervised by Economics professors Alan Green, PhD, and Khushbu Mishra, PhD, department chair. “We have students and we have faculty, and we all get together, not just in a class, and we’re able to talk about things that relate to economics but aren't necessarily class material,” Green describes.
Senior-level students are asked to research reading materials and make presentations, which are mildly evaluated by other students and discussed in length. Green adds, “We want this to be something the students can enjoy and come to. The students get to know each other, get to form connections there.”
Following graduation in May, Soto hopes to join the Peace Corps for two years before attending law school and eventually working as a human-rights lawyer in a government capacity, preferably the State Department.
“[The Colloquium] prepares us to be autonomous and capable people who are good at lecturing and good at speaking to others in our field about its complexities, which is critical in any career, no less in economics,” Soto says.
A Path Forward
Senior Biology major Kylie Overstreet found her calling under a microscope.
Before participating in the fall-semester Enhanced Research Experience in Cancer Biology class under Associate Professor Roslyn Crowder, PhD, Overstreet says she “was not too inclined towards a specific career over another, but oncology has truly been a calling.”
That calling became clearer when Overstreet encountered something unexpected in her experiment results: Cancer cells died when introduced to the compound she created.
The course is available to undergraduates at any level, and through it students learn how growth conditions affect a plant’s medicinal properties. The course research connected how plant growth conditions can alter phytochemicals produced, which in turn changes the anticancer properties of the plant.
“I took the course as a supplement to further my knowledge and my actual cancer research. In the past, we had primarily worked with plant compounds, seeing how those compounds affect cells and their cytotoxicity,” Overstreet explains. “With Dr. Crowder’s course, we discovered that the way plants are actually grown can affect their impact on cells, which is something I didn’t expect to have such a profound effect. It was very obvious. ‘OK, if a plant is growing in these conditions, it won't kill cells as well as if it was grown in other conditions.’
“That can impact the medical field. If we grow these plants in, say, Florida as opposed to Colorado, we could actually use it as a medicinal treatment for certain diseases, as opposed to how it’s grown in Colorado.”
“The students who participated in the research now have a better understanding of how the manner in which the plant is grown is important and must be considered when investigating the medicinal plants,” says Crowder, noting that the students also gained experience in experimental design and data analysis.
As one of three students in the fall 2024 course, Overstreet forged close relationships with the other students in the cohort, enabling them to collaborate and help one another. The Jacksonville native credits Crowder for her strong mentorship, which has helped her grow as a researcher and formulate future plans.
In mid-March, Overstreet was scheduled to join Crowder at the annual Association of Southeastern Biologists conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to present her senior project research — with the new insight gained from the course providing even more depth.
“I really enjoy studying cancer,” Overstreet concludes, “really enjoy learning everything about it.”
Legal Eagles Learning On The Fly
A case for exemplifying Hatter Ready can surely be made by undergraduate Pre-Law students. The evidence: continual advancement by Stetson’s Moot Court and Mock Trial teams in major university competitions.
Exhibit A: Most recently, the varsity Mock Trial team earned first place at the American Mock Trial Association Regional Tournament, held at Florida State University in February. The team dominated with a 8-0 record against 24 teams. It was the team’s first-ever first place in regional competition, resulting in the first-ever direct bid (since 2015) to the Opening Round Championship Series, a pre-national competition in mid-March.
During the mock trial competition at FSU, students Paula Petit and Anna Beal won “Outstanding Attorney” awards. First-year student Petit comments: “Even though the case itself in Mock Trial is fiction and more dramatic than real life, it has provided me with an amazing opportunity to learn about trial etiquette, objections, entering evidence, how to articulate arguments, learning how to read the judge and overall being polished — things that make you go from a good lawyer to a great lawyer.”
Adds Beal, a senior: ”Mock Trial has been more than just an extracurricular activity. Competing in high-level competitions and putting consistent work into practice gives you a sneak peek of what litigation looks like after law school.”
Tejal Ram ’23, now the Mock Trial Team coach, is a former team member who now attends Stetson University College of Law.
Similarly, Stetson students have excelled in Moot Court competitions, such as last fall’s Sunshine State Regional. Competing against 28 other teams at Nova Southeastern University, Stetson advanced to the pre-nationals in Memphis. The event was sponsored by the American Moot Court Association, the nation’s largest intercollegiate moot court organization.
Andrew Lagenbach, a government attorney who works for the Florida Department of Transportation, coached the Moot Court team and plans to coach again next year. “Over the course of the season,” he comments, “the students worked incredibly hard and grew in their ability to analyze case law and think on their feet while being questioned by judges. It was amazing to see undergraduate students reach a level that would make any lawyer proud!”
In addition to their noteworthy success at tournaments, these students are meeting and working alongside real-world professionals, including attorneys and judges — in true experiential learning, says Joshua Rust, PhD, Philosophy professor and director of Stetson’s Pre-Law program.
“This is a relationship-rich education that encourages connections between professors, students and community members outside the classroom,” Rust describes. “It is my firm conviction that what our Mock Trial and Moot Court students are doing is at the heart of what we want a Stetson education to be. … If the Hatter Ready curriculum is the future of Stetson, then Mock Trial and Moot Court are the future of Stetson. What they’re doing needs to be what we’re all doing.”
Ready For Wall Street
“Stetson has prepared me for my future by opening the door to various programs that really benefited me in terms of gaining the skills necessary to apply for a future career.”
Those are the words of Sugeeth Sathish, majoring in Accounting, Economics and Finance with a minor in Applied Statistics.
Sathish arrived at Stetson from Madison, Wisconsin, as a J. Ollie Edmunds Scholar. Graduating in May, he has already secured a job with Goldman Sachs — the result of a summer internship as an investment banking analyst at the company.
On campus, Sathish has taken numerous leadership roles, effectively leveraging every experiential opportunity possible while cultivating connections with faculty. That includes serving as Chief Investment Officer for the Roland George Investments Program, a studentled fund that manages more than $6 million within the School of Business Administration. Notably, he’s won multiple stock-pitch student competitions on the state and national levels. In addition, as part of Stetson’s Environmental Fellows program, he has worked on the Revolving Green Fund, a source of capital to invest in long-term sustainability projects to generate cost savings. Among the projects is the expansion of Stetson’s chiller loop system.
Sathish is passionate about the intersections of finance and sustainability and will begin work at Goldman Sachs in the Natural Resources coverage group. It fulfills a nearly lifelong dream.
“Stetson provides a lot of experiential learning opportunities, which we call being Hatter Ready,” he concludes.
Advancing Biomolecular Research
The process required critical thinking and problem-solving — a series of trials, each comprising three sequential days of experimentation. Students of Associate Professor of Biology Lynn Kee, PhD, were pioneering a novel challenge.
Kee watched as the young researchers delicately dissected painted lady caterpillars under a microscope, so they could measure the level of a protein involved in development. The process “takes patience, hand-eye coordination and dedication,” Kee says.
In this Hatter Ready experience, students are taking key next steps in research based on earlier findings from Kee’s senior research students, who discovered a 30% increase in lifespan for caterpillars treated with a chemical called rapamycin. The drug interrupts a cellular pathway known as TOR, which regulates cell growth and survival in many organisms. Students are now trying to understand exactly how and why rapamycin has this effect on painted lady caterpillars at the molecular level. Eventually, this will help in understanding whether pesticides affect the TOR-signaling pathway in hopes of protecting the key pollinators.
The Hatter Ready research has fed junior Sophia Toussaint’s hunger for a deeper understanding. “I’m particularly interested in how gene editing can lead to breakthroughs in treating diseases and improving long-term health care,” says Toussaint, a Miami native.
Toussaint and lab mate Pilar Astigarraga Harper, a fellow junior from Spain, met in class and forged a bond. They share a major, Molecular and Cellular Biology, as well as a passion to pursue careers in research and medicine. Also, they are teaching assistants in Kee’s Molecular Biology and Biotechnology course, where students learn and develop skills in modern DNA technology. Harper is also a member of the women’s tennis team.
“At first, I was a little nervous about balancing tennis, classes and this program, but it turned out to be an incredibly fulfilling experience,” Harper says.
Toussaint adds: “The hands-on work, problem-solving and collaboration have exceeded my expectations, making me feel more confident in conducting experiments and interpreting results.”
What The Deans Are Saying
“Faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences have developed a wide variety of immersive experiences, all of which push the boundaries of the traditional ‘classroom’ to provide hands-on, engaged learning. Instead of simply reading about advances in cancer biology, students developed and implemented greenhouse experiments to analyze molecular-level changes in plants that may improve their ability to treat forms of cancer. Instead of simply thinking about how public health organizations could improve, students directly partnered with a local organization and developed an actual plan to improve the lives of typically underserved community members. Instead of only one or two students being able to visit local shorelines to directly observe conservation strategies, an entire class visited several living shorelines to better understand these conservation efforts and develop plans for potential improvement. These are only a sampling of the types of opportunities that students will be able to experience as a part of Hatter Ready, with further offerings including study aways, internships and professional development workshops.
-Kyle Longest, PhD, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Sociology
“Students in the School of Business Administration have the ability to not only study a business discipline, but also practice it through numerous experiential learning opportunities. Students in the Roland George Investments Program manage over $6 million of the university’s endowment with tremendous success. Prince Entrepreneurship students advance their entrepreneurial ideas under the thoughtful coaching and mentoring of our faculty, or they evaluate start-up investment opportunities through our Hatter Angels Investment Program. Our Centurion Sales Program students compete and win awards in national and international competitions, and so do our Business Ethics Program competition and Certified Financial Analyst Research Challenge teams. By infusing our programs with such experiential learning opportunities, we allow students to craft a unique, personal educational journey, and prepare them for the next chapter in their professional lives.”
-Yiorgos Bakamitsos, PhD, Dean, School of Business Administration, Professor of Marketing
“The School of Music is distinguished by its commitment to professional development and experiential learning, ensuring that students gain real-world experience throughout their entire residency. From fully or mostly funded national and international ensemble tours to performances at Carnegie Hall and Steinmetz Hall, chamber music performances and coaching, internships, apprenticeships and professional development conferences, our students are immersed in opportunities that bridge academic study with professional success. These experiences, integrated into the Hatter Ready initiative, equip our graduates with the skills, confidence and adaptability needed to thrive in today’s evolving music industry.”
-Washington Garcia, DMA, Dean, School of Music
“Since Hatter Ready was announced, the library has been busy brainstorming about engagement with faculty and students in their Hatter Ready immersives. Our librarians and archivist will help to program Hatter Ready initiatives like historical research, film festivals, book clubs, research projects and hands-on archival training. Another major partner will be the Innovation Lab, which will support immersives that make use of 3D printing, audio and video production, textile projects, and more. Faculty can make requests for us to purchase innovative materials and equipment for use in the lab. We are [Hatter] Ready and excited to partner!”
-Katy Webb, Betty Drees Johnson Dean of the duPont-Ball Library and Learning Technologies
