Jaquan Starling approaches engineering with a humanist edge

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–By Jessica Borsi MFA ’19 “Engineering gives me the space to be logically creative,” is how Jaquan Starling, Honors College student and Interdisciplinary Engineering senior due to graduate this June, describes how he likes to work.   For Starling, engineering isn’t just about building better technology; it’s also about questioning the ethical and societal implications of […]

Inspired by their daughter, Panther parents’ scholarship supports dietetics students completing unpaid internship requirement

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A proud Panther family is helping ease dietetics and nutrition master’s students’ financial burden as they complete their unpaid internship requirement for graduation. The path to a dietetics and nutrition master’s in the state of Florida is a formidable undertaking. Not only is the program itself highly competitive, but a state requirement for licensure can […]

CDR Maguire Inc. CEO and CDR Health Care Inc. CEO, both alumni, give $1.2 million to Honors College for scholarships

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Florida International University alumni Tina Vidal-Duart and Carlos Duart have made a $1.2 million gift to the FIU Honors College to establish two student scholarship endowments. It is the largest gift the Honors College has received from its alumni to date. “We are humbled to be in a position to make this gift,” said Tina Vidal-Duart. “Carlos and […]

MacKenzie Scott makes a $40 million gift to FIU that will transform the student experience

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Philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott and husband Dan Jewett have announced a $40 million gift to FIU. The gift is unrestricted and will be used to support student success programs. “Higher education is a proven pathway to opportunity, so we looked for 2 and 4-year institutions successfully educating students who come from communities that have […]

A local MD’s journey and efforts to increase Black presence in the medical profession

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Dr. Seth Crapp
–By Nina Rose “Do I belong here?”  Look around the classroom. Few of the students look like you, and many come from families of doctors. The faculty don’t look like you, and the school’s culture may communicate that you don’t belong. How are you going to find mentors, build a network? Only a tiny percentage […]

So close! Completion grants push students past the finish line

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–By Kenneth Setzer “I got into college!”  Opening that college acceptance letter is thrilling – and a little scary. While scholarships can help with the costs of tuition and books, a worrying trend that appears later in the academic career sees many students have to choose to delay their studies when the graduation finish line is nearly in sight.  To redress this, more institutions are offering what are called “completion grants,” a type […]

Knight Foundation investment sparks anticipation among FIU students, alumni

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Knight School students
When the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation invested $10 million in the newly renamed Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, students and alumni across the country – like Cesar Villa Garcia ’18, Jose Maldonado ’17, and Ph.D. candidate Mireya Jurado – were ecstatic. The value of their degrees had just received an important boost. The College of Engineering & Computing, which houses the Knight School, is […]

Young alum joins Pathway to Philanthropist program with gift to establish scholarship for first-generation students

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With a recent gift to establish the Ruth Andrade – Jose Alberto Maldonado Zavala Scholarship Endowment, computer science alumnus and first-generation college graduate Jose Maldonado ’17 has become one of the first members of FIU’s Pathway to Philanthropist program. The scholarship will benefit first-generation students in the Honors College, of which Maldonado is a graduate, […]

Donors inspired by a campus experience that continues to enrich their lives: Meet Herb Gruber and Donna Steffens ’06

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The BBC Student Food Pantry upgraded to a new space this year, and a group of highly motivated students in the College of Arts, Sciences & Education are getting a well-earned boost toward graduation, thanks to the support of a lifelong learning student named Herb Gruber and his partner, FIU alumna Donna Lee Steffens ’06. […]

With gift to establish scholarship endowment in honor of her teenage daughters, FIU employee joins new Pathway to Philanthropist program

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Inspired to set an example for her two teenage daughters about the positive impact women can make in the world, Smilka Melgoza recently made a gift to establish the Vivian and Vanessa Melgoza Scholarship Endowment at FIU. The scholarship is named for her 13- and 15-year-old daughters and will support students in the Honors College, […]