Orlando

Metro Marketing Director Named

Joseph Nardelli has been appointed Metro Marketing Director for all Florida DeVry University campuses. Before joining DeVry University, Nardelli served as Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the International Academy of Design and Technology in Orlando, where he initiated several local and national marketing campaigns. Nardelli is a member of several professional organizations such as the Public Relations Society of American and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He also serves as Vice President of Collegiate Relations for the American Marketing Association, and as the College Liaison Chair of the Orlando Advertising Federation.

FIRST Robotics Boot Camp

For high school robotics teams from all over Central Florida, there was no better place to be than at DeVry University’s Orlando campus for a FIRST Robotics Boot Camp event. The day-long Boot Camp included hands-on workshops on sensors and controllers as well as the mechanics of constructing a robot and programming it to perform a specific function for the competition. "Even though they’re just in high school these students are already fierce robotics competitors," says Steve Brown, president of DeVry University Orlando. "There’s nothing they like more than to have fun together while learning new skills, honing their techniques, and most of all competing."

FIRST Robotics KickOff

With a big boost from NASA, DeVry University’s Orlando campus recently hosted the Central Florida FIRST Kickoff Meeting with a live broadcast from Manchester, New Hampshire, site of the FIRST Robotics annual meeting. Student teams from all over Central Florida watched the live broadcast coverage and heard for the first time the rules and requirements for upcoming robotics competitions. In addition, student competitors received identical kits from FIRST containing everything they needed to construct their robots. According to Campus President Steve Brown, this is the second year in a row that DeVry Orlando has hosted the Central Florida FIRST kickoff meeting. "System-wide throughout our campuses, FIRST events have been a great way for us to connect with high school students and demonstrate our commitment to nurturing student interest in the fields of technology, science and business."

Diversity Employers Awards

DeVry University was recently honored for its continued support of education among minority communities at the Annual Diversity Employers Awards, receiving a certificate plaque from the Hispanic Leaders Chamber of Commerce and Hispanic Achievers for its contribution to local diversity.

DeVry University Orlando sponsors a number of projects that promote educational awareness among local minority communities. Their collaboration with the Hispanic Achievers and the Jamaican American Heritage Organization helps to promote career growth and educational opportunities for minority students. The school's National Society for Black Engineers works to spread information about higher education to minority communities.

PRISM Recognizes HS Teachers

DeVry was represented at the PRISM Teacher Awards Banquet, which recognized 24 elementary, middle, & high school science teachers throughout 8 school districts in Central Florida PRISM is a private public partnership Promoting Regional Improvement in Science in Math. This partnership serves eight school districts across Central Florida (Brevard, Hillsborough, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, and Volusia). Its mission is to recognize, support and foster outstanding teaching and learning of science and math in the Central Florida area. Dusty Maddox, Dean of General Education, was part of the selection committee.

FIRST Robotics Events at DeVry

FIRST Robotics coaches and mentors recently converged on DeVry University Central Florida campus for a day-long Coaches Workshop event, aimed at fine-tuning such skills as motivation, team-building and project management. Without students present, coaches and mentors participate in a dry-run of what student competitors will face in the November 10 Boot Camp challenge, including building a robot to perform specific functions and using the same tools and parts as student teams.

DeVry Welcomes Brion Vibber, Chief Architect of Wikipedia

DeVry University Orlando welcomed the Orlando Java Users Group (OJUG) September meeting to its campus, featuring guest speaker Brion Vibber, the Chief Architect of Wikipedia, the web-based, complimentary content encyclopedia. According to campus president Steve Brown, hosting OJUG with a presentation by Wikipedia's Brion Vibber was "a great opportunity for us to introduce our students and faculty to an exceptional group of industry professionals and to highlight our campus and its facilities."

Robotics Season Returns to DeVry!

DeVry Central Florida campus is catching Robotics fever this fall by hosting a series of FIRST Robotics Competition Events in partnership with Disney, NASA and Workforce Central Florida. The events began with a Robot Roundup kick off event and the campus will also play host to a Coaches Workshop on October 20, a Robotics Boot Camp on November 10 and a Robotics Kick Off Meeting on January 5, 2008. Robotics events says Dr. Eddie Wachter, Dean of Academic Affairs for DeVry University Central Florida, are "designed to give students the tools necessary to help them raise funds, market their team, budget their finances and manage their competitions."

Extreme Interviews

Looking for a way to polish your student's interview skills? Extreme Interviews put students to the test. Education and business professionals interview students in an off-campus, business-like setting and provide feed back on appropriate business attire, handshake, eye contact, resume, informative answers and general preparedness. The one day event gave DeVry Orlando students that opportunity, while faculty staff and business professionals volunteered their time. One interview focused on soft skills and the other on technical skills and students encountered panel interviews, behavioral interviews or skills tests.

Extreme Interviews

Extreme Interviews put students to the test by offering an opportunity for students to be interviewed off campus by education and business professionals in a business-like setting. "Employers" provide feedback on appropriate business attire, handshake, eye contact, resume, informative answers and general preparedness at the one-day event that recently took place at a local restaurant.

Students sign up for two fifteen minute interviews. Faculty, staff and business professional volunteer their time for a day and interviews run concurrently throughout the morning and afternoon. One interview focuses on soft skills and the other on technical skills. Students encounter a panel interview, a behavioral interview or a skills test. While interviewers are not limited to one interview style, only one rule of thumb applies - no coaching. Interviewers use a Candidate Rating Sheet that is given the to student's career advisor at the end of the session.

FIRST Robotics Florida Regional Event

Orlando President Steve Brown and Miramar President Julio Torres represented DeVry University at the invitation-only Sponsors Luncheon event where they met with the keynote speaker, Florida's Lieutenant Governor Jeff Kottkamp. DeVry University was recognized for providing Educational Scholarship Awards.

After the luncheon, Julio Torres was interviewed by a reporter from WTMO Telemundo Orlando TV 40. Jim Kennedy, director of Kennedy Space Center was also a speaker at the event attended by top executives from Lockheed Martin, Motorola, Siemens, Walt Disney World Company, SAAB and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council.

High school students from Florida, seven other states and Puerto Rico participated in the competition Dr. Eddie Wachter, Dean of Academic Affairs for DeVry University in Orlando served as a regional judge for the competition.

Dean Judges 2007 FIRST Robotics Event

Eddie Wachter, Dean of Academic Affairs at DeVry University, served as one of 80 judges at the 2007 FIRST Robotics Championship in Atlanta. The event drew 320 teams with students participating from 8,500 high schools. Prior to judging the national event in Atlanta, Wachter also judged a local Florida FIRST event in Orlando. FIRST --For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology - events draw media attention from such publications as Business Week as well coverage in local print and electronic media outlets.

FIRST (http://www.usfirst.org/) is a non-profit, educational organization founded in 1989 that was founded to inspire and excite young people about science and technology. Teams competed for a series of awards honoring accomplishments in areas including engineering, design excellence, competitive play, sportsmanship, and high-impact partnerships between schools, businesses, and communities.

President Brown Speaks at Beacon College

Orlando Campus President Steve Brown was selected as commencement speaker at Beacon College in Leesburg, Fla. Beacon College is the only accredited college offering AA and BA degrees exclusively for students with learning disabilities.

Prom Dress Project in Orlando

DeVry University's Prom Dress Project partnered with the "Cinderella Project," to collect prom dresses for young ladies in Polk County Schools who could not afford them on their own. Representatives of DeVry University and the Cinderella Project exchanged gowns for selection by high school students.

At DeVry University, Laura Hurley Brunsman created the "Prom Dress Project," asking other DeVry University employees across the U.S. to dig into their closets to find gowns that are no longer needed. These gowns were then to be donated to high school students affected by the recent Central Florida tornadoes.

"The Cinderella Project" began at George Jenkins HS in Lakeland with students collecting gowns for those young ladies in Polk County schools who couldn't afford them on their own.

Nearly 200 gowns were donated through the efforts of the Cinderella Project and DeVry University employees. Gowns came from as far away as DeVry University campuses in Houston, Arlington, VA, Columbus, OH and Westminster, CO., as well as campuses around the state of Florida.