Robbins said she was inspired to title her manuscript, “Play Button,” because technology and visualization are so prevalent in today’s society.

“I liked the idea of the title having something to do with technology because that’s where everything is going these days visually,” she said. “I was hoping for the idea that the reader would, figuratively speaking, push the play button by opening the book.”

Robbins says her writing has matured since her first book of poetry, “Hope, As the World is a
Scorpion Fish,” was published by The Blackwater Press in 2008.

Dubbed the Lionheart Relay, the 12 team members took turns running in pairs for 3 miles at a time. They left Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah at 5 a.m. and arrived back in St. Augustine the following evening.

The marathon trek — which saw each runner log more than 30 miles — wasn’t for training. It was a fundraiser for Athletic Department and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which is one of the NCAA Division II and the Peach Belt Conference’s main charitable organizations. The team raised $3,500 with the run.

1. It’s all about “Shen” — a serious attitude. And “Yi,” which is strength of mind with focused attention or intent.
2. Body structure is critical. You must be properly aligned, balanced and with a round shape. A straight arm is a broken arm.
3. Go with the “Flow.” That is a slow, continuous movement with your rooted feet stuck to the ground.
4. Don’t forget your “Chi” — the breath of life. Chi is a field of energy in and around you that restores and energizes. To develop it, start with long, slow, deep, smooth, even breaths.
5. Over time you will develop your agility, flexibility and strength, leading to low stress, great sleeping and a very healthy body and mind.

Armstrong, who already carried the title of retired professional, spent the past 13 years in the communication department sharing stories of his reporting days withstudents.

“For more than 30 years I had worked in front of the camera and behind the microphone for an audience that I never saw … Teaching is entirely different,” said Armstrong. He is a former reporter and senior correspondent for CBS News who has written eight books.

Armstrong never understood why his father loved mentoring as a hockey coach. “He often told me how rewarding and gratifying that was,” he said.

“While I was doing the news I never really understood. I do now.”

Horner, who was an English professor and known for his animated, enthusiastic, even overly excited teaching style, spent 22 years at Flagler. “I just didn’t feel pulled toward other colleges,” Horner said. “I did not feel the spell that cast itself upon me like gravity; it kept pulling me to my home.”

Horner’s experiences with bullies led him to write, “A Hole In the Wind.” The novel is set around the sport of bike racing where one racer struggles with feelings of loneliness and frustration. But the novel culminates with an experience that makes him ultimately feel wanted and alive.

As he moves on, Horner will miss “students who cared about learning. Not merely about earning, but about grappling for insight, for evidence and for analysis.” With his newfound freedom, Horner plans to spend his time writing and bicycling.

Eide, an associate professor of education, joined Flagler in 1997. Eide says one of her fondest memories at Flagler was with another former English professor, Dr. Frances Farrell. One of the greatest pieces of wisdom Farrell gave to her was, “Life’s too short. Eat dessert first.”

Eide, who just moved to Utah, is going to miss the close-knit feel Flagler offered. “I fell in love with the community. There’s always something to do, always someone to do things with, and always people there to support you and to help you out if you needed anything,” she said. “That’s hard to get started when you go into a new community.”

The reorganization models many other colleges and universities where career services is under student affairs/services offices. The transition will include a restructuring to offer more support to students in their career search, as well as graduate school selections.   

“I’m extremely excited about the position,” Nelson said. “I have a passion for helping people find their career paths and I’m thrilled to focus on it full time. It’s a difficult time to find a job right now and knowing the right steps to take is essential.”

She will oversee major changes to the college’s existing career program in order to make it more comprehensive for students and focused on careers or graduate school.

Flagler College-Tallahassee has more than 480 students with degrees including business administration, accounting, elementary education and elementary education/exceptional student education.

Parks earned his Ed.D. in adult and career education from Valdosta State University in Georgia, and has also served as assistant academic dean at the Valdosta campus of Georgia Military College.

This year’s champion was Texas State University – San Marcos. First runner-up was Drury University, and Syracuse University finished as third runner-up.

More than 170 teams competed at the national competition after moving on from 12 regional competitions this spring.

Emily Marcellus, president of Flagler SIFE, said this year’s theme for the competition was “To Empower the People in Hastings to Empower Themselves.”

“This year, our goal was to bring the town of Hastings back to life socially, economically and environmentally,” Marcellus said.

The team has been working on several projects this year including Opportunities Unlimited, Conservation Cadets and Containers for a Cause. The containers project is a shipping container the team renovated into a living space.

Flagler SIFE has competed in the final four several times before. The group won the national title in 2004 and 2009, and came in second in the world in 2005. Worldwide, SIFE teams create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that focus on market economics, entrepreneurship, personal financial skills and business ethics.

“This is perhaps the most important and even the most exciting thing to happen to me,” she said, adding that Chicago is one of the foremost schools for studying ancient history.

Howlett said she has always been interested in studying Egypt and ancient history.

“In studying Egypt I am not only studying the beginnings of the modern world, but my own beginnings,” she said. “Egypt is one of the oldest civilizations, an example of what we were when we were just beginning to think on a grand scale. The Western World likes to believe it began with Greece and Rome, but the beginnings can be traced back even further, to the first civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia.”

Wayne Riggs, Ph.D., Howlett’s adviser and assistant professor of history at Flagler, said Howlett is an outstanding student, both academically and personally.

“Nicole is a brilliant person with a very gracious personality,” he said. “We’re all very excited about
her acceptance.”

• Communication and student newspaper students won seven awards in the 2010 Society of Professional Journalists Region 3 Mark of Excellence Awards. Flagler’s online student newspaper, the Gargoyle, took second place for Best Independent Online Student Publication.

• Associate Professor of English Hadley Mozer, Ph.D., recently had his essay titled “’Ozymandias,’ or De Casibus Lord Byron: Literary Celebrity on the Rocks,” selected as the winner for the best article published in the 2010 European Romantic Review journal.

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