Category: Academics

Fischler Academy Students Visit Austria, Study Education System

A group of Fischler Academy students recently had the opportunity to visit Austria in December 2022, where they learned about the country’s education system.

The Austria trip was part of Fischler International, a program where Fischler Academy students get to go to different countries to see the education system and learn more about the countries themselves. The specific area the students visited was Vienna, the country’s capital where they got to see what the schools were like and learn more about the culture.

The goal of these international trips is to not only learn about the educational systems in those different countries, but for Fischler Academy students to learn different concepts that they could potentially apply to their careers.

“One of the things we thought was impressive is that a lot of kids have independence in Austria and were expected to build things on their own and be the masters of their own destiny,” said Fischler Academy Director Luke Williams.

Williams gave an example of how students as young as fourth grade used handsaws and other equipment to design and build their own pinball machines that you would not see in the United States and were given more independence. He also gave an example of how students as young as 2 years old were even changing their own diapers.

“Teachers were there to help facilitate that process. It wasn’t so much that the teacher is constantly telling them ‘Do this, do that,’ but that they had that freedom, that independence to do so.”

The students also got the chance to see the University of Vienna, where they learned more about its history, the programs it offers, and tour the campus.

“It was great to learn more about this historic university,” Williams said.

Other visits are planned, with a Fall 2021 cohort planning to visit Italy, specifically Rome, to learn about the education system and see what the schools are like in Italy.

Posted 02/19/23

University School Participates at ISSEEN Institute

Jaimie Crawford, Upper School Director; Ann Marie Sellers, Director of Student Academic Services; and Andrew Stephens, Director of Experiential Learning, presented at the Independent Schools Experiential Education Network (ISEEN) Winter Institute in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. Their presentation entitled “Identifying Core Competencies to Drive Experiential Education” was selected for the Model Programs and Practices Workshop, and showcased innovative curriculum from our math, social studies, and world language departments.

Also, in attendance was Kevin Dibert, USchool’s Community Service Coordinator. The conference was attended by more than ​40 schools from across the U.S., Canada, and even as far as Vietnam. USchool’s participation as a model program shows we are a leader among our peer schools in the field of experiential learning.

Learn more about NSU University School’s college preparatory program for students in Preschool – Grade 12 at www.uschool.nova.edu.

Posted 02/05/23

Fellows Selected for Conrad & Scherer Pathways Program

Front row (left to right): Averi Krickmeyer, Jordyn Minnis, Kayla Ferguson, Kennedy Newsome, Aleiah Luster, and Simone Martinez; back row (left to right): Alibek Normamatov, Victoria Newell, Jade Williams, Theodor Pintille, Eric Bonilla, and Alex Rosenblum

The Conrad & Scherer Pathways to Careers in Law – a collaboration between the Fort Lauderdale law firm, Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law (NSU Law) and Fort Lauderdale High School’s Pre-Law Magnet program – recently announced its selection of the 2023 Fellows.

These 12 junior and senior law magnet program students will participate in several activities designed to give them a clear understanding of the pathway toward a career in law. The fellows enjoyed a trip to the NSU College of Law and a reception Thursday, Jan. 26, where they were given a tour and had a chance to meet with NSU faculty members and NSU Law alumni who are Broward County judges. The Fellows also will visit the Broward County Courthouse and spend time at the Conrad & Scherer offices.

The fellows were selected from applications that included teacher recommendations, a resume and essay about why they want to pursue a career in law.

The 2023 Conrad & Scherer Pathways to Careers in Law Fellows* are:

  • Eric Bonilla (12th grade), hometown
  • Kayla Ferguson (11th grade)
  • Averi Krickmeyer (11th grade)
  • Aleiah Luster (11th grade)
  • Simone Martinez (11th grade)
  • Jordyn Minnia (11th grade)
  • Victoria Newell (11th grade )
  • Kennedy Newsome (11th grade)
  • Alibek Normamatov (11th grade)
  • Theordor Pintillie (12th grade)
  • Alex Rosenblum (12th grade)
  • Jade Williams (11th grade)

*all are students in the Fort Lauderdale High School Law Magnet program

According to Janine McGuire, a Conrad & Scherer partner managing this program, the Conrad & Scherer Pathways to Careers in Law provides an opportunity for high school students to gain exposure to the entire continuum, from high school through a career in law.

“Based on our experience with the program last year, we see clearly how this experience helps students understand what is involved in following a legal career path,” she said. “We are particularly excited about the addition of the Conrad & Scherer Pathways scholarship that will support one undergraduate student enrolled in NSU’s new legal studies bachelor’s degree program.”

“The partnership between NSU, Conrad & Scherer, and Fort Lauderdale High represents a unique and strong opportunity to support our community’s diverse student population by giving minority students a chance to learn about careers in law,” added José Roberto (Beto) Juárez Jr., dean of the Shepard Broad College of Law.

Posted 02/05/23

Student Case Competition Unravels Misinformation

The Office of Student Success in collaboration with Razors Edge Research hosted a one-week Case Competition in the Fall 2022 semester known as “Dissin’ Misinformation.”

The competition focused on a case study of how-to today’s world where there is a huge volumes of information, disinformation, and misinformation spreading rapidly on the internet making it difficult to discern what is true. Students then developed teams of 1-4 members selected a misinformation topic of their choice and provided solutions with peer reviewed scientific literature and other credible sources.

The students created a multimedia presentation educating the general public about how the misinformation spread, explaining what makes the misinformation incorrect, and spreading the correct information.

The students’ presentations were evaluated by a panel of faculty judges. Our three top winners received gift card prizes for their proposals.

1st Place Winner:

Topic: Statistics Regarding Harassment/Assault/Abuse

Case Competition Team: Kamalika Pothapu & Caroline Siu Yen Rodriguez

Sejal Jain

2nd Place Winner:

Topic: Obesity Medicine

Case Competition Team: Sejal Jain

3rd Place Winner:

Topic: Sunscreen Misinformation

Case Competition Team: Nimisha Kumar, Lauren Solovey, & Rojie Ekanayake

Posted 02/05/23

Winter Issue of Mako Undergrad Student Journal Available

The Winter 2023 issue of NSU’s Mako Undergraduate Student Journal  published with multiple faculty-mentored student-articles in diverse categories is now available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/mako/.  The journal is online and free and offers articles from across the university.

The reviewers and editors were Aarti Raja, Ph.D., Navdeep Gill, Ph.D., and Santanu De, Ph.D., all faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences from the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS).  Librarian Keri Baker, M.S., of HCAS served as the publication coordinator.

Further submissions are encouraged to support the unique publication experience for our undergraduate students.

Posted 02/05/23

Halmos Faculty, Alumna Present on Indigenous Conflict Resolution

Ismael Muvingi, Ph.D.

Ismael Muvingi, Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS) and Kimberly Hamilton-Wright, Ph.D., doctoral graduate of DCRS, presented at the 2022 Association for Conflict Resolution Annual Conference held in Orlando and virtually. The theme of the conference was Evolving Horizons in Conflict Resolution.  The presentation was entitled, “Uncustomary Connections: Mainstreaming Indigenous Conflict Resolution Practices.”

Muvingi is the faculty advisor to the African Working Group. His academic interests include human rights, African politics, and transitional justice with a special focus on Africa.

Kimberly Hamilton-Wright, Ph.D.

In addition to her NSU degree, Hamilton-Wright holds an M.P.A. from Webster University, and a B.S. in Journalism from Kansas State University. She is a conflict analysis and resolution researcher, practitioner, and curriculum developer with expertise in womenwarography, gender, veterans, and military community issues. Her research interests also include mainstreaming of indigenous conflict resolution practices. Hamilton-Wright is developing a womenwarography course and outreach program. Additionally, she developed the graduate course, Conflict and Peace Connections: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Women in U.S. Military Communities, as well as the undergraduate course, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: U.S. Domestic and Global Perspectives. As a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) certified practitioner, she provides workplace and group dynamics consulting and workshops.

Posted 01/22/23

Professor Employs Mindfulness in His Teaching Philosophy

Professor Arvind Gudi, Ph.D.

In a fast-moving, innovative business world, staying on the cutting-edge is an extremely valuable skill. Among the emerging business leaders are digital entrepreneurs – self-employed venturers who promote their businesses outside their local communities, relying on information technology and digital media tools to attract potential customers.

Professor Arvind Gudi, Ph.D., with the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, knows the ins and outs of this business strategy.

“My research is focused on digital entrepreneurship, knowledge management, knowledge integration in emergency management, and human-computer interaction,” he said.

“I received the President’s Faculty Research & Development Competition Grant in 2022 as principal investigator, and I’m currently developing collaborative research articles. The topic of the grant proposal is ‘Environmental Change due to COVID-19 and Digital Entrepreneurship.’”

Professor Gudi received the Excellence in Service Award from Dean Andrew Rosman of the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship.

Digital entrepreneurs are able to pivot services, branding and pricing without suffering significant turnaround time. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon – four of the top five most valuable companies – are products of digital entrepreneurship.

Born in the state of Karnataka, India, Gudi’s family settled in South Florida more than 35 years ago. He received his Ph.D. in Business Administration and Master of Science in Management Information Systems at Florida International University. He came to Nova Southeastern University about nine years ago.  Prior to his academic career, he has more than 20 years of experience in corporate management and consulting.

Gudi, who teaches in the Department of Decision Sciences, has been published widely in scholarly journals including the International Journal of Knowledge Management, International Journal of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, Behaviour and Information Technology, and Health Promotion International.

Since arriving at NSU, Gudi was honored with the Teaching Excellence Award for his pursuit of excellence in teaching and student learning in 2018-19. He also received the Service Excellence Award in 2021-22 for his outstanding service activities to NSU, corporate partners, and community members.

One of Gudi’s most prized innovations that he has brought to NSU was the creation of the Mindfulness Society, where he serves as a faculty coach and adviser for the professional and personal development of its members, which include faculty, students, staff, and corporate partners. Through the society, participants enhance their educational and professional pursuits through developing self-awareness, focus, concentration, perspective, mental agility, openness, intellectual curiosity, and other qualities.

“These are the essential characteristics to enable them to be effective and successful leaders, corporate managers, entrepreneurs, and engaged community members,” Gudi said.

“The Mindfulness Society fosters an innovative learning environment toward self-development, transformation and value-based lifestyle.”

Gudi started the society in 2017, because he saw something critically missing in the education experience.

“My observation and experience in the academic and business environment is that everything we do is necessary and required but not sufficient for us to have fulfilling and successful lives,” he said. “I believe that we need to develop education systems that are integrated and holistic,

be aligned with the vision and mission of HCBE Best for our World TM.”

When it comes to teaching, Gudi focuses on making learning not only holistic but inspirational and never-ending.

“As teachers and researchers, we are in a unique and responsible situation where we can make a significant impact on students in particular, and society in general,” he said. “My goal is to inspire students so they continue the process of learning even after they have completed the program and are able to apply the lessons learned in their personal and professional lives. A great teacher once said, ‘A student is like a lamp to be lit and not a bucket to be filled.’”

Posted 01/22/23

Fischler Academy Student Heads 3rd Grader Responsibility Project

A Fischler Academy student is heading a project teaching elementary school students responsibility while tackling a common problem in class.

Danielle Gross, a junior at NSU’s Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice Fischler Academy program, is the newest head of the Responsible Pencil Project, an initiative where third-grade teachers are presented with a numbered set of four pencils for each student. The teacher assigns a set to each student and records the number.

Then, if somebody finds a pencil, the number will show which student it belongs to. Once a month, teachers do a class pencil count to see how many still have their pencils and sends the number to our NSU team. Prizes are awarded accordingly.

In addition to teaching the students responsibility, it also helps ensure that each student has a pencil (making their teacher’s life a tiny bit easier) as well as keeping NSU connected with its alumni.

Several Fischler alumni — Sherilynn Soto, Hannah Parisealt, and Aryanna Chang — who are currently working as third-grade teachers have joined the project. They were then encouraged to recruit their fellow co-teachers as well.

“It’s been awesome because no one has asked for a pencil,” Pariseault said.

Teachers at Davie Elementary were also asked to participate, with positive results.

“They are a lifesaver in my classroom,” said Davie Elementary teacher Mrs. Jeter.

The Responsible Pencil Project is a Skunks Works project. Gross is not the originator of the project, but she took responsibility of it earlier this year as a Skunk Works Team Leader.

Skunks Works Team Leaders are student employment positions at NSU where the students identify problems in K-12 education and then work as a team to develop a solution.

The term Skunk Works is often used to refer to a group within an organization that is given a high level of freedom while they work on a special or secret projects. It originally was used by security, arms, and aerospace company Lockheed Martin to refer to a secret project that resulted in the development of advanced aircrafts.

Posted 01/21/23

University School Teacher Awarded French Teacher of the Year

Upper School teacher Tara Ellsley was awarded the French Teacher of the Year award at the Florida Foreign Language Association annual conference where she led a workshop titled Diving Into a Class Novel: My First Attempt. Congratulations, Tara, on this outstanding recognition at the state level!

The best lessons are learned from the hearts of truly great teachers, and we are grateful to have exceptional, experienced educators here at USchool positively impacting the lives of our students.

Learn more about NSU University School’s college preparatory program for students in Preschool – Grade 12 at www.uschool.nova.edu.

Posted 01/21/23

Halmos Faculty, Students Publish Bacteriophages Discoveries

Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D.

Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D., and Katie Crump, Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS)  co-teach a two-semester, 3-credit biology research course open to freshman and sophomore students of any major, known as BIOL1000 and BIOL1001, Introduction to Biology Research I and II. This course is part of a national CURE (course based undergraduate research experience) known as SEA-PHAGES, or Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science. In the course, students take ownership of a research project that aims to isolate and characterize undiscovered bacteriophages (known as phage) from the soil that infect and kill bacteria. Any new phages identified could potentially be used in the future as alternative therapeutics to treat antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.

 

 

Katie Crump Ph.D.

Recently, Garcia and Crump along with nine NSU undergraduate students, published their findings from the 2021-2022 BIOL1000 and BIOL1001 course in Microbiology Resource Announcements (https://journals.asm.org/doi/epub/10.1128/mra.00973-22). The article highlights the discovery and characterization of two new Gordonia rubripertincta bacteriophages, Genamy16 and NovaSharks, that the NSU undergraduate researchers identified using microbiology and genetic approaches. In addition to the journal article publication, the genome sequences of Genamy16 and NovaSharks were also published in GenBank, a comprehensive public database: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/2288522742 and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/2288522955

The NSU undergraduate research team includes Sarah Ballarin, Samia Callabero, Joshua Chan, Bhavya Soni, Maria Paula Farez, Ashley Guillen-Tapia, Nashrah Pierre-Louis, Victoria Polishuk, and Melissa Bell.

Please see: https://journals.asm.org/doi/epub/10.1128/mra.00973-22

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/2288522742

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/2288522955

Posted 01/08/23

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