Award-Winning Northwest Florida State College Contributes Significantly to Area Labor Force скачать в хорошем качестве

Award-Winning Northwest Florida State College Contributes Significantly to Area Labor Force

During the November 2019 Destin Business Forum, the Destin Chamber's monthly TV show, host Amy Perry of Pleat & Perry, P.A., interviews Dr. Devin Stephenson, President of Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC). NWFSC is a comprehensive college offering certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor’s degrees to support transferring students, as well as those desiring to go directly into the local workforce. With 83 percent of its graduates staying in the community, it is a significant contributor to the talent pool for business and industry right in the area. NWFSC has six locations throughout Okaloosa and Walton counties. It has campuses in Niceville and Fort Walton Beach, as well as centers in Crestview, DeFuniak Springs, Hurlburt Field, and South Walton. The total student population is more than 10,000 with 8,000 of those being credit seeking students. About 20 percent of the students are dual enrolled. The college has the highest percentage of students receiving post-9/11 GI bill benefits, which speaks to its high veteran population. As a result, NWFSC opened a new Veterans Success Center this past fall to provide expanded services to veterans and their families. The college is known for its arts and athletics programs. It has four athletic teams – men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball. Together they hold 31 conference championships, 13 regional championships and three national championship. The Mattie Kelly Arts Center hosts a number of events and programs for the community, including artist series, Broadway productions, the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, and the President’s Speaker Series. NWFSC has two organizations dedicated to environmental initiatives. This includes the Mattie Kelly Environmental Institute and the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance. The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance promotes healthy local waterways through monitoring, education, restoration, and research. The college’s accolades are many. It has been named one of the Top 150 community colleges in the nation by the Aspen Institute every cycle since 2010. This is important because the Aspen Institute is the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance across 2-year colleges. The nursing program is ranked in Florida’s Top 10 among all Florida colleges and universities according to RegisteredNursing.org. NWFSC’s welding program is nationally recognized for its students, faculty, and staff. Recently, it received the designation of an Accredited Testing Facility site by the American Welding Society, which allows NWFSC to provide testing for industry certifications on-site at the Niceville Campus. The Collegiate High School is a two-time Blue Ribbon school and ranked first in the state in four-year graduation rates. NWFSC was named the safest college campus in Florida in 2019. Also, NWFSC just received the largest grant in the college’s history from the Triumph Gulf Coast Board. The $2.8 million dollar grant will expand workforce education at the College’s Chautauqua Center in DeFuniak Springs. For more information, please call (850) 678-5111 or NWFSC.edu.