Members` Newsletter

StudyFlorida Consortium News
StudyFL Update
International Education News from the Sunshine State
Welcome to the StudyFlorida Members Newsletter!
Issue 1, Spring 2015
StudyFlorida is a not-for-profit professional association comprised of public and private, 2year and 4-year, regionally accredited, non-profit educational tertiary institutions in the state
of Florida. The broad purpose of this consortium is to connect international students with the
excellent opportunities in the State of Florida.
Our primary goal is to promote and market Florida as a study destination for international
students. This eNewsletter will be produced three times annually, and will be distributed to all
StudyFlorida members to keep them abreast of our activities and progress. Please read below
the many activities we have accomplished this first year!
We are also creating a separate eNewsletter for all of our affiliates, EducationUSA advisors,
and other overseas counselors, including high school counselors; this eNewsletter will likewise
be produced three times annually, and will be used to better acquaint all with StudyFlorida,
our member schools, and the various opportunities for study in the Sunshine State.
We welcome all suggestions and input for our eNewsletter. Please send any comments, suggestions, or submissions to Rebecca Hansen (rdhansen@stetson.edu).
Looking Back at 2014—StudyFL Accomplishments
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Create a Board
Create a StudyFL Charter
Drafted the StudyFL bylaws and voted them in
Achieved incorporation and registered a federal ID with SunBiz
Achieved tax exempt status (StudyFL is a 5013c organization)
Began work on a website — www.studyflorida.us
 The website is currently in the final stages of completion, and should be ready
to launch soon!
Created a member application
Held the first membership drive, and secured 18 member schools (list included below)
OACAC 2014 Participation:
 Sent a crew of volunteers from StudyFL member universities to USF for two
days to help prepare the campus for the annual OACAC conference
 OACAC presentation—Introducing StudyFL to the world!
 Jaini Chhaya (University of Tampa), April Crabtree (Eckerd College),
and Stacey Reeder (Florida Institute of Technology) presented
 Session Title—Study Florida: Futures Blast Off Here!
 Distributed StudyFL coasters to all OACAC participants
Created a 3-year Plan (see below)
We are looking forward to an exciting 2015 filled with more accomplishments, thanks to
the momentum of 2014 that was gained through the hard work of our board members.
StudyFL Chair:
Ramona Kirsch, St. Petersburg College — kirsch.ramona@spcollege.edu
StudyFL Board:
Jaini Chhaya, University of Tampa — jchhaya@ut.edu
Stacey Reeder, Florida Institute of Technology — sreeder@fit.edu
Dan Rodkin, Santa Fe College — dan.rodkin@sfcollege.edu
Rebecca Hansen, Stetson University — rdhansen@stetson.edu
If you are interested in joining the StudyFL Board, please contact Ramona Kirsch. We are
eager to add new talent to the team!
A Fond Farewell
StudyFL would like to bid adieu to April Crabtree and Brooke Cutler. Each took a position outside the state of Florida.
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April is now the Director of International Admission at the University of San Francisco.
Brooke is now the Director of International Admission at Pepperdine University
StudyFlorida thanks both of them for their tireless and professional service to our fledgling
organization.
Looking Forward —StudyFL 3-Year Plan
 Year One Objectives
 Complete Website
 Fall 2015 University Recruiting Tour
(Most likely Caribbean or Latin America)
 Summer 2015 Counselor Tour
 Counselor Newsletter
 Member Newsletter
Stetson University’s Palm Court
 Partner with Visit Florida
 Year Two Objectives
 Dues increase to $500 p/ year, unless an employee is on the Board ($300)
 Booth at NAFSA
 Table at OACAC Fair
 StudyFL Promotional Materials
 Successful Tours
 Recruiting tours
 Counselor fly-ins
 Spring university recruiting tour, perhaps including boarding schools
 Year Three Objectives
 College credit pre-conference or state tours, continuing education
 Presence at State meetings
 Presence at College Board new counselor fair (Washington, D.C.)
 Cooperation and advocacy with State organizations
 Fall and Spring recruiting tours
 Add a recruiting tour to spring or fall 2016. Options include Southeast Asia, Latin
America, or the Caribbean.
As you can see, the StudyFL Board accomplished most of the goals for Year 1, and we continue to strive to meet our goals for Year 1 and Year 2.
We urge YOU to join StudyFL and consider volunteering for a member-at-large place on the
Board.
#StudyFL
What should we name our new friend?!
As the StudyFlorida Consortium, we thought it
would be fun to have our own mascot. Our little
no-named friend represents the unique juxtaposition in our wonderful state—a flair for fun and an
admiration for academic achievement. This friend
will travel with our members as they go on recruitment trips in the future, and we can all see what
our colleagues are up to through the hashtag
#StudyFL.
Now, we only have one problem—What should
we name our newest StudyFL member? We’re
excited to see what you come up with!
Please forward all name ideas to Rebecca Hansen at rdhansen@stetson.edu.
Myths about Studying in Florida
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of
Florida? Roller coasters and beaches? Yes we have some of
the most popular tourist attractions in the world and no
matter where you are in Florida you are no more than 60
miles from the ocean; we may have our fair share of fun,
however there are many other reasons that make our Sunshine State just plain awesome!
Every quarter we will highlight a fantastic fact about Florida
that will help you to dispel the myths about studying in our
amazing state.
DID YOU KNOW?
According to the US Chamber of Commerce, Florida is
ranked Number 1 for Business Birth Rate, Higher Ed
Efficiency and Trade Infrastructure. The state has 300
regional and hemispheric
headquarters for international companies and the
fourth largest economy in
the U.S.
Florida is built for business,
innovation and entrepreneurship!
FIT’s Olin Complex: the Engineering & Physical Science Buildings
StudyFL Member Schools
Florida Southern College
Lynn University
Keiser University
Florida Atlantic University
Rollins College
St. Leo University
Eckerd College
Flagler College
Florida Institute of Technology
Nova Southeastern University
Santa Fe College
Stetson University
St. Petersburg College
University of South Florida
University of Tampa
Broward College
Hillsborough Community College
Johnson and Wales University
Do you think someone else might like to be added to our eNewsletter list of contacts?
Not interested in receiving further StudyFL emails?
Please contact Ramona Kirsch kirsch.ramona@spcollege.edu