Life has its ways.It is unpredictable. It is uncontrollable. It is simply unfair in ways the average human being will never be able to explain. These were all things well-known even before the coronavirus (COVID-19) confirmed all of them as the respiratory disease trickled into the United States, causing a worldwide pandemic and canceling sports across all levels of play. On March 13, the day before the Flagler College softball team was supposed to honor its teammate, who is currently battling stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma, with an honorary first pitch, the unimaginable happened.

Flagler College student Lauren LaRue has been selected to participate in the annual Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at Princeton/Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI) Summer Session. The three-week program is a highly competitive immersive program which emphasizes scholarly interaction between all levels of mathematics students, faculty and researchers. She is the first Flagler College student to be selected for this program.

As part of a “Preparing for a Life Well-Lived 2025” Strategic Plan initiative to better understand the student experience, a committee of students, staff and faculty came together to review over 2000 student and alumni comments! The comments collected are from survey results received during Fall 2018 through Summer of 2019 regarding the student experiences at Flagler College.

On Jan. 16 Flagler College honored its highest achieving students — those who attained placement on the President’s List for their outstanding academic achievements — with a reception in the college’s historic Solarium. These students achieved a 4.0 grade point average with at least 12 hours of graded credit during the Fall 2019 academic semester.

During the students’ winter break, a cadre of 10 Microsoft Xbox consoles were unboxed on campus. Flagler College alumnus Patrick Perkins, ’02, a product marketing manager for the popular gaming console company, wanted to give back to Flagler students and allow them to test out early the newest Microsoft product – the Xbox One X, the newest and most powerful console currently on the market.

Dr. Sandra Miles has joined Flagler College as the new Vice President of Student Affairs. Dr. Miles was previously Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

After graduating May 4, alumni from the class of 2019 are already out in the world doing great things. The Career Development Center has compiled some of the most exciting #FlaglerGradStories to share graduates’ plans after college. Here are their highlights:

This past spring’s trip of 10 students to study the New York art scene marked 10 years of learning on-site. Department of Visual and Performing Arts Chair and Associate Professor Sara Pedigo devised the trip a decade ago to provide direct exposure to an art world that can’t be recreated here in St. Augustine. The typical student makeup includes majors in fine art, graphic design and art history.

The annual Flagler College Power of the Purse® fundraiser was once again an unparalleled success, attracting over 340 enthusiastic supporters to the College’s historic Ponce de Leon Hall on May 9. The sold-out event kicked off with a cocktail/mocktail reception, a silent auction of designer purses and a jewelry raffle and culminated with a luncheon in the Grand Dining Room, including memorable comments from several noteworthy speakers.

After excelling at the Florida chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America – Phi Beta Lambda, FBLA-PBL, state leadership conference, four students from Flagler College-Tallahassee will travel to San Antonio, Texas. They will compete against more than 1,800 of America’s best and brightest college students at the PBL National Leadership Conference on June 24–July 2.

The Flagler College baseball team placed three of its members on the All-Peach Belt Conference Teams, which were announced last Thursday evening at the pre-tournament banquet at the First Coast Technical College's Character Counts Conference Center. Aaron Anderson and Robert Girgis earned first-team honors while Sean Lawlor took home second-team accolades. Anderson was the recipient of the Elite 15 Award presented by the Education Advisory Board (EAB).

On May 4, three Flagler College students attended the district American Advertising Federation awards, the ADDYs, for their work on various advertising campaigns. The ADDYs is the largest awards competition in the industry and is highly regarded as the most difficult advertising award to earn, recognizing excellence and the highest creative standards in advertising.

Flagler College handed out diplomas to 422 seniors on Saturday at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, including 36 locals from St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra Beach. In the spirit of the day known as ‘Star Wars’ day, President Joseph G. Joyner greeted the graduates by saying, “I know where my force comes from, and I hope you find yours too.”

Two recipients for the Fall 2019 semester have been chosen for the newest Flagler scholarship, the LEAD Fund. Selected incoming male students will receive funding in the form of a scholarship as well as support through the LEAD Fund mentorship program. The mentorship component will pair each student with a member of the advisory board for monthly mentorship sessions.

Pauline Tainton, ’19, was accepted to present her paper, titled “The Tidepod Challenge – Crisis Turned Into Success,” at the 29th Annual SSCA Theodore Clevenger Undergraduate Honors Conference. This undergraduate conference focuses on the study and practice of communication. It took place April 3-7 in Montgomery, Ala.

AnneMarie Echols, ’19, has been selected as a JET scholar through the Japan Exchange and Teaching program. The JET program is a national opportunity for select individuals to live and work in Japan to teach English to children or work as interpreters and translators. Participants have the opportunity to serve as cultural ambassadors to Japan and promote mutual understanding between Japan and other countries through language and cultural exchange.

Flagler College’s Psi Chi International Honor Society volunteered during their spring break with the Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA). The students provided registration assistance, helped with set up, break down and event coordination, and served as runners. The SEPA annual meeting was held March 20-23 in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Crisp-Ellert Art Museum and Flagler College are pleased to present the biannual exhibition of work by graduating B.F.A. and B.A. candidates in the Department of Visual Art. The exhibition will open with an artists’ reception on Thursday, May 2 from 5 until 8 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. Additionally, the work will be exhibited during normal operating hours on Friday, May 3, as well as during First Friday Art Walk from 5 to 8 p.m. This is also free and open to the public.

Students who excel in undergraduate research were recognized at Flagler College with a series of events. The Honors Day events schedule included honor societies presentations, individual poster presentations, a formal recognition ceremony and a reception for distinguished majors, their families and their faculty sponsors.

On Thursday, May 2 at 6 p.m.in the Virginia Room of the Ringhaver Student Center on Flagler College’s campus, Flagler’s graphic design senior students will be exhibiting their portfolio work. There are 33 seniors exhibiting their graphic design portfolios and found inspiration in the number to make the theme an 80s theme – 33 years ago.